Let Bistrot La Minette Transport You To Provence Tonight

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Bistrot La Minette has a slew of dinners scheduled this summer that will transport guests from Bella Vista to France.

In June, July, and August, chef-owner Peter Woolsey and executive chef Kenneth Bush will feature a different region of France, from Provence to Lyon — starting tonight and tomorrow.

On Wednesday, June 21st and Thursday, June 22nd, the chefs will highlight Provence, where Woolsey lived for a summer in 2000. The menu includes classics like Niçoise salad, mussels with white beans, basil pistou and toast points, white wine-braised beef short rib with carrots, tomato, olives and fingerling potatoes, and cherry clafoutis, a classic Provencal-style baked flan with cherries and lemon crème fraiche ice cream.

Dinner is $45 per person, with an optional $20 wine and spirits pairing.

In France, July means Bastille Day. And on July 13th and 14th, Bistrot La Minette will celebrate with a $40 four-course meal of traditional French dishes served in classical French style — which means a huge serve-yourself second-course buffet meant to evoke the family picnics French families often eat over the holiday weekend.

The menu kicks off with a vichyssoise starter, then the buffet, which will include treats like button mushrooms cooked in court-bouillon with lemon and tomato, duck confit with croutons, and potato salad with ham, cornichons and crème fraîche. Guests can choose between half a roast chicken, filet of salmon, or a pan-seared pork chop with sides for the third course, with a choice of almond cakes, chocolate mousse terrine, or raspberry mille feuille (puff pastry) for dessert.

And in August, the restaurant transform into Bouchon La Minette to celebrate its ninth birthday with a meat-heavy menu typical of a classic Lyonnaise bouchon. From Monday, August 21st through Friday, August 25th, guests will dine on charcuterie (like sausage and pork rilettes), salads, and cold appetizers, then a choice of main course and family-style sides, an optional cheese course, and a lavish dessert (chocolate mousse or tartine praline). The each course will be accompanied by aperitifs, wines or digestifs.

The meal is $45 per person, with an optional $5 addition per cheese ordered.

Make reservations for Bistrot La Minette’s summertime celebrations here.

Bistrot La Minette [Foobooz]