Trois Canards

Bon soir, cherie!  Today was a really long, torturous day for both of us.  After endless hours in class and in lab, we definitely needed something fancy and classy to unwind. French food!

Alex found this cute French bistro in Chelsea called Trois Canards which has a Restaurant.com coupon!  They have really cute framed pictures, wine bottles, and wooden sculptures all over the wall, particularly their namesake, three ducks in a row.  All around, very cute.  Very French.

We got spicy calamari, crispy duck, and veal scallopini (wrapped around goat cheese and spinach).  The calamari was breaded very lightly with a salty, spicy breading.  The accompanying tomato sauce was thin and spicy.  Overall, we really enjoyed the calamari.

Our plates of crispy duck and veal scallopini were beautifully plated and generously portioned.  I excitedly grabbed a little piece of crispy fried duck cracklings from Alex's plate and it practically melted on my tongue.  There was a really rich taste of pure fat, which would be overwhelming in large portions but was pleasantly crunchy and flavorful for a little bite.  Thickly sliced pieces of duck were hidden under an enormous thigh with all that crispy skin.  I also tried some of the duck meat, which was so tender, lean, and tasty.  Normally, I have duck Chinese style, though not Peking duck.  It's really greasy and there's an enormous layer of fat on top of very little meat, so I've never really enjoyed eating duck.  However, the duck at Trois Canard earns high marks in my book.  In fact, Alex kept remarking that this was the best duck he had ever had, and repeatedly had looks of amazement on his face throughout dinner...

Meanwhile, my veal scallopini was also delicious. Three little sausage-looking pieces of rolled up veal sat on a bed of mashed potatoes, and surrounded by a medley of vegetables and a light tomato sauce.  The veal itself was not very remarkable, but the stuffing inside each piece was super: tangy, creamy goat cheese offered a really interesting pairing to the otherwise lean piece of meat.  I was also a big fan of their mashed potatoes, velvety and very lightly buttery.

Dinner was a great experience.  I've had French food in other restaurants and even in France, but somehow no meal has quite matched this one.  I expect we will be frequent visitors of Trois Canards, so you should get your ducks in a row and head over there too!

Trois Canards

265 W 20th St
(between 7th Ave & 8th Ave)