Our spring trips to Walla Walla Valley are slowly becoming a tradition, just as dining at Brasserie Four.
This restaurant is one of the gems of the vibrant Walla Walla restaurant scene, and we were happy to see that it survived the pandemic.
We like this restaurant so much because it reminds us of cafes in Paris and bistros of Lion. It’s unpretentious, yet the depth of the flavors capable of challenging upscale French restaurants of Manhattan and San Francisco.
Brasserie Four Menu
The menu is not long, but it’s not short either. In our opinion, the best restaurants should have an appetizer menu that is diverse and enough to replace the main course. Sometimes we just like to get a bottle of wine and a few appetizers instead of a full-blown dinner. Brasserie Four provides precisely that.
They offer classics like pâté, escargot, cheese, or charcuterie platters, as well as something that we don’t come across often – Rillettes Porc et de Canard.
We ordered Pâté de Campagne (country pork style) and Pâte de Foie de Poulet (chicken liver). Both were hardly average pâtés that pared great with wine that we picked. We were so intrigued by creamy chicken liver pate that we walked to the kitchen and asked the chef what was in it. To our delight, Cognac was part of the recipe.
The main course is equally impressive, and everyone can find something they like. We ordered Poulet Frites (roasted chicken) and Boeuf en daube a la Provençal (braised beef).
The chicken was coated in Herbes de Provence and accompanied by mushroom jus and fries. On the paper, it sounds like an average dish. In reality, the chicken was magical with perfectly executed preparation: crispy on the outside, moist inside, and perfectly seasoned. It’s hard to relay why it was great. You got to taste it to understand why we savored it during dinner and leftovers the next day. It’s all in execution.
The beef was braised in white wine and tomato broth with herbs. It was tender and flaky. To braise the beef takes patience and time. But to take it to the next level, seasoning is the key. While the tomatoes were part of the sauce, they didn’t overtake the dish. It didn’t come across as beef in tomato sauce. It was hard to discern the flavors, and we simply enjoyed it.
While the roasted chicken cooking technique was the key to success, the balanced seasoning was for beef. Both again complimented our wine.
Wine by the Glass and Wine List
Wine by the glass is a combination of international and local wines of Walla Walla with an understandably heavy tilt toward the latter. Still, the most exciting part of dining at Brasserie Four is to go on the wine hunt.
They don’t have a wine list per se. To pick a bottle, you need to walk over to the wine shelf by the kitchen and browse the selection. And we love that. Hands-on experience beats paper wine list any day of the week.
The best part, forget the double or triple mark-up on wine. It’s just slightly more expensive than at the store.
Wine + Food: Pairing Game
Pairing wine with our dinner was like solving a jigsaw puzzle because pork pate and roasted chicken have an affinity to white wine, chicken liver pate called for Provence Rosé or light red and braised beef for a full-bodied red.
We didn’t really want white wine, and we had enough local reds after the day of wine swinging at the wineries. So we went for a wine hunt.
We considered a few options. Burgundy or Gamay was an obvious choice that could unite those dishes. Still, we wanted something to push the envelope.
We grabed Barolo, but then we saw 2018 Jacky Blot Domaine de la Butte “Pied de la Butte” Bourgueil. It’s a 100% Cabernet Franc made with organic grapes that came from Bourgel Appellation of Loire Valley of France.
This cool climate Cab Franc has lots of things going on at the same time. It starts with savory olive and bay leaf, then opens up with red currant and sour cherry, and continues with graphite and cedar.
In the end, while edgy, 2018 “Pied de la Butte” has proven to be an exciting pick. Aside from being an excellent Cab Franc, it paired well with our dinner.
The refreshing acidity helped balance the pork pate’s fattiness, red fruit complemented bloody notes in chicken liver pate, bay leaf “danced” with Herbs the Provence in roasted chicken, and tannins balanced the braised beef.
We could have had an excellent dinner if we went with Pinot Noir or Gamay from Burgundy. Instead, we had a fantastic dinner, and “Pied de la Butte” helped us to create a hedonistic puzzle to remember.
Brasserie Four: Eat or Not to Eat
Many things make Brasserie Four a must dine if you wine swinging in Walla Walla. If you like us – a fan of French cuisine and the depth of flavor is your top priority, you’d enjoy dining here. Add to that an option to browse their reasonably priced wine collection makes it a rare experience for food and wine lovers.
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