Dinner with a friend at Lotus Asian Bistro

A new restaurant opened up in Ferndale California.  Lotus Asian Bistro.  A cute little restaurant inside a small Victorian home on Main Street.  It used to be the home of La Petite Maison.  It's great to see the place open up as a restaurant again, and the food was fantastic as was the service.  I'm so glad I got a chance to go eat dinner there with my dear friend while she was here visiting.  This is what we ate tonight:

Tempura Green Beans with Tahini Dip.  

This was fantastic!  The dip was slightly spicy and the green beans were very fresh.

 Baked Vietnamese Pork Buns with Sweet Chili Sauce

Amazingly good- The bread on these wasn't your typical Pork Bun bread - it was sweet like Hawaiian bread.  Keep in mind - this restaurant is Asian Fusion - not traditional Asian food. 

 Baby Bok Choy and Spinach with Green Papaya, Dried Apple, Water Chestnuts and Toasted Almonds, Tossed With Raspberry Mango Dressing. 

This was the only disappointment of the evening. It wasn't a huge disappointment.  The veggies were all very good, fresh and a fun mixture, but the dressing didn't have any flavor.  It was pretty to look at, but I literally could not taste it.  It needed some oomph to pull the dish together.  As it was, it tasted pretty bland and unexciting for such a fun an interesting mixture of fruits and vegetables

 Wild Smoke Cured Salmon with Thai Basil, Toasted Peanuts, with Wasabi Mayonnaise and Citrus Confit.

I can't even put in words how good this was.  The description leaves out the fact that there is salmon roe and some other type of roe that looked like a green flying fish roe.  The Citrus Confit looked like it had some type of seaweed in it that was delicious. The texture of the salmon was heavenly, and the smoked flavor made it extremely rich and delicious.  The serving looks small, but it's more than enough with all of the flavor that it carries.

 Green Scallion Pancake with Pulled Roasted Duck, Asian Slaw and Hot Mustard Sauce.

This was a perfect contrast to the salmon dish.  More heavy and satisfying.  A definite comfort food.    The sauce on the pulled duck was nice and sweet and perfect with the tangy mustard sauce.  The Asian Slaw was nice and crisp and gave a nice crunch along side the duck.  And I really need to figure out how to make the pancakes.  This was a fun Asian twist on a Southern dish.

 Coconut Sweet Rice and Mango Spring Rolls with Raspberry and Vanilla Sauce

We just had to try a dessert on top of everything else.  This was very unusual and delicious.  It wasn't overly sweet, which was nice. The sauce was plenty sweet and was a good enhancement to the mildness of the spring roll.  It was perfectly cooked, crisp on the outside, moist and deliciously gooey on the inside. 

 This is also a tea house and there is a huge list of teas on their menu, but we couldn't resist trying one of their sake infusions instead.  This one was called Joy. 

Chilled Sake, Pineapple and Orange Juice.  It paired well with the spring roll dessert.

All in all Kriss and I had a great dinner dinner together.  Dinner is always better shared with a good friend.  And I think Kriss would agree with me, we highly recommend Lotus Asian Bistro to all of our friends who happen to live near, or be visiting anywhere near Ferndale California. The prices are reasonable, the food is fantastic and the service was stellar. 

You can find them at 619 Main Street, Ferndale CA.  And get this!  They do take out!  You can call them at 707-786-4900.  Click here for a sample of their menu.  Another awesome thing!  They're unlike so many other Humboldt County restaurants in that they have figured out that they need to be open on a Sunday.  I'm beyond thrilled about that!  Their hours are Friday 4 to 9, Saturday and Sunday 11:30 to 9, Monday 4 to 9 and Tuesday 11:30 to 9. Also available for special events and functions.  Go check them out!  You won't regret it.

La Petite Maison

Friday I had a rare opportunity to have a lunch date with my husband, sans children. I decided to go to La Petite Maison in Ferndale. I had purchased their fresh made bread from the Farmers Market in Fortuna several times last year, and once again this year. I always get the lemon rosemary French bread. Absolutely delicious! Of course fresh bread is always good, but the lemon and rosemary combination just took it over the top. Since I've tried the bread, I've been wanting to try the restaurant.

I ordered the grilled cheese. No ordinary grilled cheese. It was made with bread made fresh that day in their bakery, mozzarella and Cypress Grove Chevre goat cheese, tomato and basil leaves. Very basic and simple. The flavors were very subtle, but the melted mozzarella was comforting, and the chevre added a layer of texture and flavor. The basil took it over the top. The only thing I would have added to the sandwich would have been some prosciutto or crisp pancetta. The small house salad that came with the sandwich was incredible. The spring lettuce mix was so fresh it tasted like it had come straight out of the garden. There were small pieces of pear in the salad that added a nice mild sweetness that was a great contrast to their homemade blue cheese dressing. They don't use dressings out of bottles at La Petite.

John had the BBQ pork tenderloin and cilantro coleslaw sandwich. This sandwich is served on cheddar cheese bread made fresh that day. I didn't get a chance to try the cilantro coleslaw, but as much as I love cilantro, I'm sure I'd like it. I did get one small bite of the pork tenderloin. Very good. The BBQ sauce had a nice spiciness to it.

I was pleased enough with my lunch that I hope to go back and try dinner soon.
Here's a sample of their dinner menu:
La Petite Maison Bistro Dinner Menu

Bistro Dinners, Tuesday - Saturday, 5-9 pm.
Phone Orders Welcome! 707 786-4301

Soups

From the garden into the bowl, LPM’s soups are fresh and hardy. Accompanied with fresh bread, they can make a light meal all by themselves

Potato with cheddar cheese and Niman Ranch bacon… $7

Roasted pepper and tomato cream with cilantro oil and lime crème fraiche… $7

Soup by the cup… $5

Salads

All of our salads are served with LPM’s freshly baked breads. No bottles or mixes here, all of our dressings are made from scratch (bleu cheese, ranch, seasoned white balsamic vinaigrette)

House salad… $7
Organic Greens tossed with white balsamic vinaigrette and topped with pears and gorgonzola

Buffalo chicken salad… $14
Buffalo style chicken breast, romaine, bleu cheese crumbles, buffalo sauce and bleu cheese

BBQ chicken salad… $14
Organic chicken breast, fire roasted corn, tomato & cilantro with LPM’s BBQ sauce and ranch

USDA Choice New York steak and blue cheese salad… $16
New York strips, romaine, purple onions, blue cheese crumbles tossed in balsamic vinaigrette

Pastas

Chiopotle Chicken and Penne…$18
Grilled Petaluma Farms organic chicken breast, roasted corn, chipotle cream sauce, and asagio cheese

New York Strip with Balsamic and Penne… $20
USDA choice New York steak strips, penne pasta, wilted arugula tossed in a Dijon and balsamic sauce and asagio cheese

Gourmet Pizzas

12” Homemade Organic Flour Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Marguerite with tomato, basil, garlic, mozzarella and goat cheese… $15

Organic chicken, purple onion, cilantro, mozzarella and LPM’s homemade BBQ Sauce… $18

Roasted garlic with pepperoni, gorgonzola, basil, tomato and mozzarella… $14

Entrees

Niman Ranch pork tenderloin cooked to medium with mustard tarragon sauce And mashers… $24

USDA choice14 oz. New York steak with blue cheese and sweet potato sticks… $27

Crispy pan seared duck breasts with plum & port sauce atop soft Cypress Grove goat cheese polenta… $26

Creole style Petaluma Farms Organic half chicken with mashers… $20

Ferndale Farms sirloin burger topped with smoked cheddar, fried shallots, lettuce, tomato and aioli relish…$15

Ferndale Farms tri-tip sandwich tossed in fig and onion jam with sweet potato sticks…$17

USDA choice 10 oz. filet mignon with mashers and chardonnay cream sauce…$34

Ferndale Farms grass fed lamb chops cooked to medium rare served with mascarpone polenta…$24

You can find La Petite Maison and explore their wonderful lunch and dinner offerings at 619 Main St. Ferndale California.
Bon Appetite!