Cafe Fundamental Offers Prix Fixe Weekday Menu, Bakery to Come

It was a late night at the office Tuesday, so my girlfriend Wendy and I decided to skip cooking and head to

for

, in particular because we were craving some of the fabulous boeuf bourguignon we had there several Tuesdays ago. At first we were disappointed to learn chef Jamie Watson had dropped the hearty dish from the menu for the warm season — that is, until we saw Fundamental's new weekday three-course $27 prix fixe menu. (The Bonne Nuit Tuesdays menu, featuring entrées in the $12-$17 range, is still available ... on Tuesdays, natch.)

The prix fixe menu is subject to change. Last night's edition featured a choice of two starter salads, three entrées and two desserts. We tried one of each salad — mixed greens and frisée aux lardons. The greens were good, but the frisée was wonderful, with a sous vide poached egg and divine lardons of house-cured bacon.

For her entrée, Wendy had poisson en papillote, aka fish in parchment paper. This rendition featured wild-caught Atlantic cod with tomato fondue, white wine and mushroom duxelle. As our server cut open the parchment, a lovely aromatic cloud puffed out. The fish was light and flaky, the accompanying vegetables simple but tasty.