Review by Molly Abraham
Oakland Press
2 February 2001


: Feb 2 restaurant

Bistro Bourdeau
3315 Auburn Road at Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills. 248-852-3410.
 
 RATING: 3 stars
 
HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 4-10 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sundays.
PRICES: Lunch appetizers $3.95-$7.50, sandwiches and salads $4.50-$9.95, entrees 8.95-$15.95; dinner appetizers $3.95-$7.95, main courses $10.95-$23.95, desserts $5.25, with a sampler of several $11.95.
CREDIT CARDS: AE, MC, Visa and Discover
LIQUOR: Yes
NONSMOKING: 100% in the dining room; smoking only in the bar. 
PARKING: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
RESERVATIONS: Yes
 
      Walk into the sparkling new restaurant on the corner of Auburn and Squirrel Roads in Auburn Hills, and you won't believe it's been open for less than a month. Bistro Bourdeau is a remarkably finished product, right down to the last detail, and that's because there is one perfectionist in the kitchen and another in the dining room.
    Proprietors Susan and Kipp Bourdeau, 27 and 31, have a marriage that's nearly as new as the restaurant they opened on Jan. 9 with family backing after nearly a year of negotiations and planning, and three whirlwind months of construction.
     Not even the building's former owner, Patrick Elwell, can recognize the place, which was completely gutted and redesigned, with a circular main dining room done up in a rich blue and Dijon mustard color scheme with knotty wood partitions recalling the wooden crates in which vineyards ship their wines. 
    Its 212 seating capacity is nicely disguised with an additional dining area of nooks and crannies along the outer walls offering intimate seating for those who like to tuck into a corner, and plenty of white linen-swathed tables out in the open for others who like to be part of a scene. Wine glasses stacked pyramid style and carefully chosen wine decanters and black wrought iron decorative pieces carry out the vineyard theme atop the wooden partitions that define the main dining room.
   Susan, the front of the house person, came up in the Ritz-Carlton chain in Washington, D.C. and Hawaii, and obviously took the training to heart. "She even gets upset if the napkins aren't rolled so that the hems are on the inside," confides her husband. His expertise is in the well-equipped kitchen.
  A Culinary Institute of America graduate, class of '92, the Davison, Mi. native came up with the contemporary American menu that shows influences from his past experience. There are tropical touches from Florida and Sea Island, Ga., along with a few from New Orleans, all wrapped up in his Michigan roots. A case in point: Great Lakes whitefish encrusted with finely-ground andouille sausage served atop sauteed spinach, one of the most appealing treatments of the ubiquitous fish I've tried in many a moon.
   New Orleans was only an afternoon's drive from the Cloister at Sea Island, where he worked his way up from fry cook through saucier, garde manger and sous chef to become executive chef at the resort's private club, Ocean Forest Golf Club before leaving to take a post in Destin, Fla. 
    Bistro Bourdeau's lunch and dinner menus are precisely the right length, filling just one page of handsome ivory paper with a list that doesn't try to be all things to all people. And nowhere do the menus say "broiled to perfection" nor do they have incorrectly spelled words. If poorly rolled napkins are Susan Bourdeau's pet peeve, mine is overblown menu verbiage and blatant misspellings, and this restaurant passes with flying colors.
    Appetizers, just eight including soups, are the same at both lunch and dinner. The shrimp and shiitake springroll, which is presented spilling out of a white Chinese carryout container on a plate painted with a bright dipping sauce of mango and Scotch bonnet peppers and carefully sliced cucumbers, is outstanding for those who like a spicy dish and the presentation is typical of the creative style of the restaurant.
    The house onion soup, a creamy variation on the heartier classic, is made with five different varieties of onion, housemade croutons, chicken stock and just a sprinkling of grated Parmesan, and it is subtly delicious and not overly filling as traditional French onion soup so often is. Kipp presented it in a hollowed-out onion at first, but has since re-evaluated that decision as impractical. The soup is now served in a bowl which keeps it hot longer. Satisfaction wins out over presentation.
    Other appetizers include a witty Buffalo-style shrimp served with celery and blue cheese dipping sauce and a good-for-sharing dip of artichokes and Boursin cheese in a round loaf of sourdough bread with warm pita chips. Breads are made by pastry chef Sheila Nawrocki, who is also responsible for the fanciful, whipped cream lavished desserts, many of them lush chocolate concoctions but also including a wonderful apple tart as well as humble apple brown Betty.
   But that's getting ahead of the main courses, some of which span both lunch and dinner, including thinly pounded chicken breast pan-fried with sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, onions and baby green beans; jambalaya pasta, a toss of andouille sausage, chicken and shrimp with Cajun spices in a light cream sauce at lunch, and in a sherry cream sauce at dinner, as well as two interpretations of whitefish, the New Orleansy andouille one and a simple lemon herb treatment for those who like their fish pristine.  
   The evening menu also includes steaks and chops presented with up-to-date flair, such as the blue cheese and bacon crusted filet seared with peppercorns and served with merlot sauce; double-cut lamb chops with a rosemary rub served with a goat cheese quesadilla and mint pesto; and a thick pork chop marinated in fresh herbs and accompanied by caramelized onions, grilled apples and apple brandy-flavored cream sauce.
   Lighter dishes include a simple, herb-roasted chicken with baby green beans and grilled mahi mahi marinated in citrus juice and herbs and served with lobster and shrimp potato hash. The hash is one of eight side dishes which may be ordered at an additional $3.95 - none of them the typical broccoli/baked potato lineup. Instead, they include cheddar scalloped potatoes, garlic mashed redskins, sauteed spinach, steamed asparagus, marinated mushrooms, baby green beans and a small chef's salad.
    A recurring theme is a frizzy heap of flash-fried sweet potatoes looking like a redhead on a bad hair day. It takes a special Japanese mandoline to cut the potatoes into such tiny strings, and Kipp reports that the task is so much fun, his staffers vie to man the mandoline.
   Servers dressed in white shirts, black trousers and big white bistro aprons serve efficiently and knowledgeably. My only small complaint: they tend to try to whisk away glasses and dishes too quickly.
   A small but well-selected and moderately priced wine list accompanies the fare, as might be expected of a family named Bourdeau. The spelling of the family name was changed a few generations ago from its original Bordeaux. About a quarter of the 45 selections may be ordered by the glass, including Chateau St. Sulpice Bordeaux, a mellow red.
   In any case, Kipp Bourdeau is well named. He could prepare eggs Benedict when he was barely tall enough to reach the stove and knew from the age of five that the family insurance business was not going to be for him.