A French-inspired restaurant with a Southern touch
While your best laid plans may go asunder, sometimes the detour will send you down an even more interesting path.
Taking a quick lunch break from a safety workshop, I was driving down Line Avenue intent on introducing a fellow attendee to a favorite Greek lunch spot, only to arrive and find that the restaurant had unexpectedly relocated. The choice of what to do next was easy. I have wanted to try the lunch menu at Bistro Byronz, and as luck would have it, they were just one street away on Line Avenue.
Arriving, it’s easy to admire the crisp elegant style that is consistent among all of their locations in Baton Rouge, Mandeville and Shreveport. The white brick and tile juxtaposed against the rich dark wood bar, decor and furniture evokes a refreshing elegant quality without being pretentious. Through the play of light in mirrors mounted on white tiled columns and walls, they have created a naturally bright feeling atmosphere without losing the sense of intimacy. For those days when you have been working inside too much and would prefer to dine alfresco, they also offer secluded patio seating.
The menu is French-inspired with a touch of Southern soul shining through for brunch, lunch and dinner. While the names of the dishes range between basic, fanciful and traditionally French, they seem to reflect that little something extra that Bistro Byronz puts into their recipes. Telling you that they offer a large variety of soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees to please most anyone’s taste doesn’t really convey their interesting scope of choices.
For the health conscious, there are options like the roasted chicken lunch plate served with mashed sweet potatoes and harti verts (French green beans), the Bistro veggie sandwich with mozzarella and balsamic drizzle served on original or seven-grain Bistro bread, the avocado supreme sandwich and veggie burgers. I am particularly pleased with the choice of salads available including wasabi chicken, Mediterranean shrimp, seafood salad and sesame crusted tuna, which all allow me to enjoy a fairly hearty variety of proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits without the added breads and potatoes that are so tempting. Stopping in for a nice salad or ordering to-go is a great option when my busy schedule makes keeping all of these fresh ingredients at the house impractical.
They also have several lunch plates that piqued my interest moving them to the top of my must-try list. The sassoulet is a classic French dish of white beans, tasso ham, chicken and duck sausage. Poisson (fish) Acadiana is thin-cut fried fish over rice topped with crawfish etouffee that comes well recommended. Then there is chicken paillard, which is a flattened chicken breast cooked with onion roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables. Even in the side dishes, bleu mac ‘n’ cheese, carrot soufflé, succotash, au gratin potatoes, creamed spinach and zydeco pasta salad, it is evident that the owners put consideration into elevating your dining experience. Bistro Byronz offers that little something extra in a menu for quite a reasonable price.
For today’s visit, I could not resist ordering the steak frite salad, romaine lettuce tossed in cane dressing served topped with a combination of flank iron steak, fresh tomato and a pile of creamy rich blue cheese crumbles. All of that is crowned with pile of crispy thin cut French fries (frites). Some may waiver at the choice of flank steak, however, they truly serve the most tender, juicy, wellseasoned, flavorful medium rare steak that I have ordered anywhere in a salad. The light cane dressing with a touch of sweetness is the perfect counterbalance to the savory steak and blue cheese combination.
My guest opted for a lunch plate choosing the pot roast Creole – a plate of fork tender pot roast in a savory sauce accented with sides of mashed potatoes in Creole gravy and home-style green beans. I also noticed that this tender delicious pot roast is featured on the debris sandwich served on a bun with a side of mashed potatoes. The first clue that the lunch plate is really good was how fast it all disappeared from his plate. A picture may be worth a thousand words because the taste will leave you speechless.
We haven’t even touched on the brunch menu that earned Bistro Byronz a place on the list of Mother’s Day Top 10 brunch spots in Shreveport for 2014. We’ll have to save the pain perdu, eggs benedict, bistro ardou and shrimp-pomme paillard for another edition. Or maybe, you can try them out and let me know what you think? With brunch beverages like frozen mimosas, chocolate praline coffee, bloody mari and coquetier sazerac, I just may see you there this weekend!
