The Leptologists Eat at Chez du Bon

Candice: This is a first for us.
Paul: Yes, our first French restaurant, Chez du Bon. It's on South High Street just past the Statehouse.
Candice: It's dark coming inside from the street. Loud music is playing.
Paul: It has a grotto-like feel to it.
Candice: We're seated at a small table between a wall and a pole.
Paul: I'll take the pole. You take the wall.
Candice: Shouldn't that be the other way around? I'm the agile one, after all.
I order the Fig Ricotta & Honey Tartine for appetizer and the Sea Scallops Provencale.
Paul: Pfft, I am a crossfit master now.  I stand on my head, for Pete's sake.  I take pole position.
I order the Lobster Bisque and the Duck Cassoulet.
Candice: You're right.  I was mistaken.  My flexibility is of the mind anyway - Look, squirrel!  I can see it now because it's a little brighter because our eyes have adjusted.
Paul: I feel constricted. It's like this pole is looking over my shoulder.
Candice: Make up your mind.  Are you going to twirl on it or let it intimidate you? I see the water is served in a carafe. I like that. Elegance. I especially like the freestyle painting on the walls.
Paul: The colors are a little too dark for my taste, but I can appreciate the artistic sense of it.
The bisque and appetizer arrive.

Lobster Bisque

Candice: Very pretty bisque.
Paul: It's wonderful. There's a long, gentle heat to it.
Candice: Let me try.... That may be the best lobster bisque I have ever had. The cream and lobster are perfectly meshed.  It's like the lobster had cream for blood before they killed the poor sucker. Niiiiice.
Paul: Your tartine is plated beautifully.
Candice: It is well done, isn't it? But the figs and arugula have a burnt taste. It's interesting, but weird.

Fig, Ricotta and Honey Tartine

Paul: The figs are sticky and sweet. You're right. It's not a usual taste for a typical American palate.
Candice: The food is brought before our appetizer and soup are done. I don't like that.
Paul: There is not a lot of room on this small table. They should have waited for us to finish.
Candice: You always have my back.  Always.  Even when I'm wrong.  Of course, I do have to put up with you whispering into my ear how wrong I actually am when that happens, but I can live with that.
And, yum yum - these scallops are fresh and juicy and  the risotto is perfectly cooked.  Not squishy and undone, but soft and firm.  Well done, Chez Du Bon.
Paul: That is a nice plump scallop. The risotto is very tasty. Your dish is nicely seasoned.
Candice: Yup, it's good. How's the cassoulet?

Sea Scallops Provencale

Paul: It is magnificent.
Candice: Really? That word.  Alright, hand over a forkful.
Paul: Oui! The flavor is amazing. The duck is rich, but not greasy. The sausage is simple and the mashed sweet potatoes on which it all rests is a wonderful contrast.
Candice: Wow. That... is... amazing. The beans are perfectly cooked. The porridge is a perfect thickness. That is the best cassoulet I have ever tasted.  Two bests.  This is getting to be worth it, eh?
Paul: Agreed. It is fantastic. I'd come back to have this again and again.
Candice: Well, damn!

Duck Cassoulet

Paul: What?!
Candice: You win, asshole. I ended up with the weird food this time. You ended up with the best bisque and the best cassoulet we've ever tasted.
Paul: You can't win them all.
Candice: Well, I was kinda on a roll there...
And, the atmosphere is growing on me. It's not as oppressive as it was when we entered.
Paul: I still feel like someone is looming over my shoulder.
Candice: Embrace it already.  I'm going to walk around to the back.
Paul: I'll wait patiently here....
Candice: Sorry, that was a bit abrupt, wasn't it? You won't believe this. There's a whole other half of the restaurant back there, and it's lit well.
Paul: Let me see. You're right. And no one is seated in this open and brightly lit second dining room.
Candice: I would rather that they had sat us there or at least given us a choice.
Paul: Indeed. What do you think?
Candice: This was a fantastic meal, yours moreso than mine. But mine was still interesting and tasty. There's lots on this menu to sample--
Paul: --I'd get the cassoulet again.
Candice: The dining was elegant and the service was excellent.
Paul: So worth the price?
Candice: For this level of service and taste? Definitely.
Paul: Worth the wait?
Candice: We were seated immediately, and the food came quickly, maybe too quickly.
Paul: And worth coming back?
Candice: Yep.
Paul: Agreed. Three green checks, all around.
Candice: We'll have to find other French places to review.
Paul: How many more are there in Columbus to find?
Candice: You got me, dude.  Google, hello?  Let's go before the pole asks for your phone number.

	Candice	Paul
Worth the Price?
Worth the Wait?
Worth Coming Back?