Plouf on 05FEB05

Plouf: The sound a stone makes when it drops into a French stream.

Plouf: The trendy French seafood bistro on lively Belden Alley in the Financial District. Specializing in mussels, unique appetizers, salads, seafood dishes, and grilled meats, we invite you to join us for a truly Parisian dining experience.

After the poetry reading, we were hungry. Though we had some food at Polopo's, it was just appetizer. In fact, while sitting at Polopo's, I noticed the lights strung up on the top of an alleyway across the street from Polopo. It was like a decoration for a Pilipino town fiesta. It drew me in slowly. I nibbled at the flat bread, look around and inevitably, I was drawn back to the alleyway. I told the SO that we had to check out the alleyway.

So, we enter the place at something like 10 o'clock. It was how I imagined a European city would look like. A row of restaurants with outside seating highlighted by twinkling stars. Well, you know the thing about shiny stuff and monkeys. I was amused. I wanted to eat at all of them. I wanted to plop myself down at the very first table where a cute greeter was waiting. In fact, I believe that's how the first restaurant grabbed diners. The cute greeter would greet the man and the man would be awed by the shiny teeth and the smile and the twinkling eyes. Next thing you know, you are eating pasta next to five smokers.

Thank God the SO knows my aversion of smokers. She led me down past three other restaurants to the middle step-child of the alleyway. Not too many people dined here. But unlike the other restaurants, it was a FRENCH restaurant called Plouf. We sat down in the middle of the alley where the bumps crescendoed to a stop. Nice comfortable chairs. Steady table though a bit light. I could imagine my food spilling with a slight mistake.

We obtain the menus and there is a column of appetizers with just condiments. The SO is confused. These are appetizers? It turns out that they were all clam dishes served in different ways. I believe the SO chooses butter and garlic. I was after a more substantial fair. Give me the mackerel.

And folks, let me tell you. The secret to French cooking is butter, garlic and salt. The food was fantastic. Great Maker, it was good. However, the mackerel was was salty! The clams were just basking happily in some soup liquored up with butter. I think rubber marinated with salt and butter would taste good. After the meal, I decided that France was just another province of the Philippines because they ate clams and snails! Great. I am finding all the lost provinces of the Philippines.

Oh, I almost forgot about the dessert. The So picked the sampler. SIX types of dessert in one tray. The people next to us thought that we were barbarians because we ate so much for two people. There were four in their group and they got half the food we had. There was flan, some type of cake, and some more flan. Yup, the stuff was delicious but I did not have my camera. That's one thing about European dishes. They have presentation. Pin@ys just drop the food on the plates.