Merci is a tiny place run by Chef Michael and Courtney Zentner.   The place has about 26 seats and opened in March of this year.  There are 6 tables and 6 additional seats at the counter.  The French style bistro has closely set small tables and a seasonal menu.  The three story building used to house a corner store on this first floor and but the Zentner’s have done a complete rennovation of the place with the upper floors housing unrelated tennants.  Cherry cabinets line the back wall and are the same wood used for the tables.  There was one piece of art above the fireplace and several windows with curtains to the outside streets. Music was in the background and service was directive in that many of the plates are small and meant to be shared.  Parking was on the street, if you can find it – I recommend taking a ride-share.  The wine list was small and didn’t offer much breadth but they haven’t been open long.  There is no full bar.  The food was mixed and on the pricey side but the place has potential.

Set-up

Food

Charred cabbage Caesar salad comes with squash mostarda and Fox Farm gouda.  This is not a traditional Caesar salad but a fun variation.  I like the crisp cabbage as a green but the cheese was harder to identify.  The squash was perfectly cooked and good and I liked the crisp crumbs and the texture they added.

Focaccia stracciatella is topped with Benton’s ham and pistachios.  This item, along witht he Beef Wellington,  has been on the menu since they opened.  The doughy focaccia is stuffed with  cheese and topped with the thin sliced smokey ham.  It all blended very well and offered good flavor as well as texture.  I could see why it has been a constant on the menu.

Beef Wellington is for two and also comes with Duchess potatoes and sauce poivrade.  The whole one is brought out first to show you and then taken back to the kitchen for resting and slicing.  The presentation is beautiful but the flavor didn’t match.  Although the craftmanship of the crust was obvious the flavor was lacking and all I could think was that it was made with shortening other than butter.  The mushroom duxelle layer was nicely encased in a thin slice of something that kept their moisture from sogging out the crust.  The tender beef was cooked a perfect medium rare but held little flavor of its own.  On the side were some mushrooms and vegetables that were nicely done and tasty, as they benefitted mostly from the  rich sauce poured on the plate.  The accompanying mashed potatoes were fine but dull.

A Mallorcan almond sundae is on a citrus cake and topped with an oat crumble.  The soft ice cream sat at the counter a bit long waiting to be carried to the table but that couldn’t damage its good flavor and texture.  The crumble topping was tasty but the ice cream spilled over the sides when you tried to get a bit of the cake below to go with it.  Still a thumbs up for this one, though.