But sometimes you have to escape to the French countryside, and in Bethesda you can do that, too. A French farmhouse awaits minutes away at 7101 Brookeville Road in Chevy Chase, where La Ferme has been in operation since 1985.
Thirty-one years later, La Ferme is updating its popular Sunday brunch with new options geared to 2016 diners. You can still get the three-course, $31 menu. But now you can order any two menu items, and add a beverage, Mimosa, Bloody Mary or a glass of house Champagne for $31, as well. Choose two appetizers and a drink. Two desserts and a drink. Two entrees and a drink, etc.
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| Mimosa |
I tested out the brunch menu for you yesterday, with the dashboard thermometer reading over 90°F and the air thick with humidity. That made a perfect and refreshing Mimosa an easy choice to start off with, in the air-conditioned dining room of this rural retreat surrounded by tall trees. 5 stars (out of 5).
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| French Onion Soup |
Another no-brainer - order the French Onion Soup, one of the restaurant's signature items. Under a thick topper of rich Gruyère cheese is a highly-flavorful broth filled with lots of tender onions and chunks of bread. The soup easily earns a 5-star rating, putting more pedestrian, watery "French Onion" soups to shame.
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| Look at that cheese! |
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| House-made croissant |
A starter basket of house-made croissants are just-right in terms of texture, but could use just a bit more buttery flavor, earning a solid 4-stars.
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| Linguine with fresh vegetables, olive oil, garlic and arugula |
On to the main course, where I chose one not typical of France: linguine with fresh vegetables, olive oil, garlic and arugula. The vegetables yesterday included sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms, which gave the entree an earthy, rustic flavor. Black olives are the secret weapon in this dish, giving a pickled zing. I would definitely get this again. 5 stars.
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| Chocolate and Grand Marnier Cake |
For the big finish, I ordered the Chocolate and Grand Marnier Cake, which joins their warm crepes filled with milk chocolate and hazelnut ganache as the best choices from the dessert menu. A yellow orange Grand Marnier cake sandwiched between a chocolate mousse filling and a layer of creme, topped with chocolate icing and shaved chocolate, gets an extra boost from the raspberry coulis that garnishes the plate. This is the best slice of cake I've had in a restaurant this year. It melts in your mouth, and disappears from the plate before you know it. A solid 5 stars.
So, whether you are a Francophile or just seeking a good Sunday brunch deal, stop by La Ferme on a future Sunday this summer between 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM. They have a porch for dining al fresco, and are in the process of adding a new bar that will feature a special selection of Cognac and small plates.
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| Renderings of the future bar addition |
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| The airy side porch capitalizes on the tree-lined setting |
Check out the Sunday brunch menu online, and call 301-986-5255, as reservations are recommended.
42 comments:
'One can never tire of pretending they are in Paris in downtown Bethesda's Bethesda Row area. A breakfast at Paul Bakery or Le Pain Quotidien, enjoyed on Bethesda Lane with the morning news from Le Parisien, Le Monde or Le Figaro. Dining Parisian café-style on the sidewalk with Steak Frites at Mon Ami Gabi. Catching the latest French import at Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema.'
Well said Robert. You really capture the essence of why us Bethesdians love Bethesda so much. Merci!
La Ferme is fantastic as well. Our family have been enjoying their fare for the last 10 years. Since the twins are no longer welcome to dine there with us, we can drop them off with the au pair at the little breakfast and lunch grille next to the grocery store and enjoy our meal at La Ferme. But shhhh, its a best kept secret! Your rave review won't keep it our little secret for much longer.
Well done, loved the pictures as well.
Their menu and plating seems to be pretty old fashioned. Not at all progressive.
Looks delicious!!
Looks yummy. Why did you order linguine at a French restaurant though? I'd love to see how they do on typical French entrees.
Great photos! It looks like its in a French village.
"with the dashboard thermometer reading over 90°F and the air thick with humidity", who in their right mind would order piping hot French Onion soup?
@8:00 everything looks like a country club from 1987. Preppy 'progressives' like Poppy live for that kind of crap.
How was dining with the geriatrics?
"For the big finish, I ordered the Chocolate and Grand Marnier Cake, which joins their warm crepes filled with milk chocolate and hazelnut ganache as the best choices from the dessert menu."
Your comment seems to imply that there are other dessert items that you ordered that are not as nearly good as the first three, possibly even crappy. Why not mention those as well?
"A starter basket of house-made croissants are just-right in terms of texture, but could use just a bit more buttery flavor, earning a solid 4-stars."
Well, it's nice that you didn't just automatically give everything 5 stars. But what exactly is "buttery flavor"? Do you mean simply "butter"? Are you suggesting that these croissants were made something other than their quintessential cooking fat, and some dreadful, biofuel-worthy substitute was used?
@8:54 - He's used to it. His mom took him there.
The trolls are grasping at straws for dumb comments today...ugh
We are watching you Dyer ... We know what you've done. One day we will expose you and you will be in prison, god willing.
@ Poppy: "...why WE Bethesdians..,"
Mimosas are basically wine coolers right?
More like Bizarro World wine coolers.
Wine cooler = Fizzy mixer with still wine
Mimosa = Still mixer with fizzy wine
Ah we need a on going series about wine cocktails on this blog. I think it might blow up readership.
If Dyer doesn't like comments about his black trench coat, then why does he keep wearing it?
1:39 PM - Poppy knew that things were going rapidament au midi the moment one of The Twins said "OMG" instead of mon dieu.
9:09 you should be ashamed of yourself for saying something so untrue and so disgusting! Absolutely pathetic. 9:09, YOU are more likely to be the kind of person we should be afraid of in our society, you are obviously mentally unstable, and you spend all your time trolling and spouting garbage on the internet all day...
Dyer "forgot" to sign in again.
I love when the old legacy local media flips out in Dyer's comments section.
Keep trying guys!
@ 7:09 PM - Hello, Woodmont/Elm/Trawick.
Hahaha. You think you are so funny you dumb troll, you think making light of the violence that occurred in FL is hilarious. Nobody finds that funny, and in this day and age you can't joke about this stuff, so you best change your tone before you find yourself in a heap of trouble. Geez get a life. So pathetic.
"Get a life. So pathetic", he frantically responds in just one minute.
Old legacy local media is flipping out in the comments here. Red alert. Usually means they're in trouble.
@7:20 I doubt Trawick is a big Dyer supporter, at least in Dyer's eyes. The main reason is she's heavily involved in BUP (Bethesda Urban Partnership) and they put out the newsletter with links to the other website and not Dyer's site.
@ 7:38 PM - One minute, then three minutes. Who's "flipping out"?
Great report. I'm making a reservation!
9:06: Sometimes eggs and other fats can enhance "buttery flavor," hence why I did not limit it to "butter."
"the old legacy local media flips out in Dyer's comments section."
You think that every one of Dyer's critics works for the Washington Post or the Montgomery Sentinel?
@ 5:38 AM - Seems that anyone who publishes on Blogspot would rightly be called "legacy media".
"I'm waiting here all day to see what time anybody posts and catch them in the act!!" Once again, pathetic. Also pretending to be a psychic who can identify anonymous posters.
This.
Pain Perdu “La Ferme” - (Crème brulee French toast served with apple wood smoked bacon, spiced pecans and Maple syrup)
@ 5:59 AM - Silly Shill. One doesn't have to watch every comment as they come in, timing them with a stopwatch, to calculate the time between them. Dyer's blog, primitive as it is, includes time stamps on all comments (even if they are all off by three hours).
8:28AM - Silly Troll. You're still calculating the time between posts!
Pathetic and pitiable.
I really enjoy reading Dryer....he performs a good community service.
But, the stupid attacks on Dryer were first amusing but now grown old.
Lets get off his rear and let him report.
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