The Weekly Entrée 10-11
Bordeaux Restaurant
Rating: 
Over the years, its business has been like a roller coaster for no apparent reason.
Owner Felix Leygerman has kept it open through its banquet business but is striving to revitalize it as a full-fledged Russian restaurant. While it is open by reservation only, he hopes to establish regular hours as business picks up.
The exterior of the restaurant is very simple with windows covered by large restaurant scenes. Once you walk inside, it is entirely different.
There are bright golds and reds portraying a festive feel. A satellite feed from a Russian station supplies some very pleasant music and video.
With restaurant experience in Russia, Leygerman left for the golden pot at the end of the American rainbow. His menu reflects authentic regional recipes from his homeland as well as international dishes with a Russian touch.
As the U.S.S.R, the country covered so much area, its regional recipes encompass all types of cuisine. Polish and Indian influences are only a couple of the apparent influences.
Chef Olga Birmann trained in the Ukraine, and has been in the United States for 15 years. She delicately seasons each dish, giving it the special Eastern European edge. Like the food, service is in the old world-style. Salad and soup bowls are served with a plate underneath. So many plates were used during our dinner, I could not help but feel sorry for the dishwasher.
We decided to skip appetizers, although many things we like, such as herring and latkes, were listed.
We selected a couple of the homemade soups, cabbage borscht for me and soup “Hirscho” for my spouse. The borscht, a traditional Ukrainian dish, was very flavorful with loads of beef, cabbage, beets and potatoes. It came with a side of sour cream that I liberally added. The “Hirscho” is a Georgian dish with an obvious influence of Asian spices as Georgia sits at the Europe-Asia crossroads.
While my spouse went with the international Caesar salad, I selected the house special salad, a Ukrainian favorite: tomatoes, cucumbers and onion dressed with oil and vinegar seasoned with fresh dill.
My entrée was sea bass grilled with a tangy sauce that brought out the delicate flavor of the fish. It was served with fried potatoes, marinated grape tomatoes and sliced pickles with a twig of dill. The potatoes caught me completely by surprise.
They looked like typical potato wedges, but did not taste anything like wedges. They were very light and flavored with garlic and other seasonings.
My spouse selected a Republic of Uzbekistan dish, lamb shish-kabob. Three skewers of tender, nicely marinated meat were served with the fried potatoes, grape tomatoes and pickles.
Desserts reflected the international cuisine as well. I selected the Ukrainian dumplings filled with a cherry paste and served in warm cherry sauce. The dumpling dough was very thin, allowing the bold cherry flavor to speak out. My spouse’s Italian Napoleon was a very flaky pastry complete with wonderful cream filling.
Bordeaux is currently catering to parties of Russian descent, but the food quality and Old-World charm may soon have people of all backgrounds clamoring for more.
The food is excellent, but with reservation-only hours, it rates an AHHHH (4) out of 5 AHs. E-mail Jim Clark at weeklyentree@verizon.net.
Location: 111 Buck Road, Holland Cuisine: Eastern European Ambience: Fine dining Hours: By reservation only Prices: Soups, salads: $5.50 to $14.90; Entrées: $5.95 to $35; Desserts: $4.95 to $5.95 Phone Number: 215-364-2200 Alcoholic Beverages: B.Y.O.B.
