Chez Nanou tries to bring the essence of a parisian bistro to Madison. As soon as we stepped into the restaurant we were greeted in french by Nanou herself and were taken in by the very french setting of curtains and chequered tablecloth. The table had a simplistic  bouquet with fresh flowers and we were immediately enjoying the harmony and ready for our brunch.

We were helped that day by our gracious host named Hajiba and we started with some bread and butter and i decided to order the soup du jour which was based on leeks.

As the bread came in we were totally in love with the tiny buttering knife. But we have missed that in our subsequent visits when butter came in packets.

My wife ordered some scrambled eggs and i decided to go for the omelet with a side of potato persillade. As we were enjoying the bread i heard a faint hissss of something hitting a buttered pan and then we could smell lovely aroma of leeks getting sauteed on butter. I knew the soup would be really good today at that moment and it turned out to be a wonderful bowl indeed.

The eggs were also  nicely done and came with a side salad dressed with a simple vinaigrette. What i absolutely fell in love with were the potatoes persillade. In recent visits i have ordered them as their own side and the chefs have kindly obliged.

The next visits i have combined a full side of those delicious mustardy potatos with their delicious buckwheat crepes. I was a bit hesitant in ordering them not sure if i would like the buckwheat but have since then taken a liking to them and thoroughly enjoyed my savory crepes with some good espresso on the side.

For dessert we have tried some chocolate mousse and strawberry gateau.

The chef hails from Alsace but so far we have never managed to visit them for dinner or try the Alsatian focused lunches. We will have to try it make our way that way as the holiday season approaches.