Le  Coucou is a large place spread over several rooms, with one of those having the open kitchen.  It has been open for just under one year.  It has a pretty dressy feel with nice linens and lots of candlelight, however the small tables are fairly close together and there is a slight level of noise to contend with.  There is a combination of seating arrangements with some tables and chairs and also some bench seating along partitions.  There was no background music.  Service was nice but not overly friendly.  Reservations are a must and they do turn the tables.  All the food was rich with tasty sauces, but do go hungry as it is heavy food.  

 

Bread was a nice chewy dark variety served with salted Vermont butter and a Mangalica lard – that actually tasted strongly of pork.

 

We split an order of Poireaux or cooked leeks topped with toasted hazelnuts.  The leeks were absolutely tender and dressed with a tasty vinaigrette.  The nuts added a needed crunch and nice flavor.  A good dish and not too heavy.

 

The Crepinette de volaille aux foie gras et fruits was ground chicken mixed with chunks of foie gras and garnished with roasted pineapple.  On top were some dill and chives, which were a bit strong but easily moved to the side.  It was really delicious, moist and had a tasty sauce.

 

The Ris de veau or sweetbreads were served from a saucepan tableside to a warmed bowl with the remainder left in the pan for you to eat or share.  The sauce was totally rich, thick, and dotted with crunchy bits from pan drippings.  The sweetbreads were sauced with maitake mushrooms which were barely cooked and lovely. The sweetbreads were cooked perfectly and seasoned with tarragon which I expected would be a stronger flavor than it was.  It was really good and worth saying again, also extremely rich.

 

The Canard was served as 3 pieces of rare duck breast paired with a piece of seared foie gras.  They were adorned by kumquats, almonds and olives.  It was all really good.  The duck was tender and not at all livery and the foie gras made a perfect accompaniment for it.

 

The Filet de boeuf was 2 medallions of beef cooked a perfect rare served with a heavily rendered sauce of bone marrow, a few sprigs of watercress, some onion and topped with additional marrow and alongside a dish of shredded slow cooked oxtail meat with potatoes and sautéed onions. The filet was nice but the oxtail was the star here – so tasty.

 

We were stuffed so I got a photo of the dessert menu but we settled for the final treats given to all – chocolate/raspberry sheets, apricot jellies and butter cookies with ginger.  The Cookies were outstanding!