Bon Appetit in Scottsdale

If you want to experience the French answer to pizza, you should order the flammekueche at La Petite France in Scottsdale, an Alsatian dish that seems to express everything that the region in northeastern France (not to mention this restaurant) is all about. Also called tarte flambee in the rest of France, La Petite's version arrives on a wooden paddle the same shape and size as your placemat, its ultra-thin crust crispy and tinged with brown around the edges. There are five varieties, but I enjoy the classic version the best — its toppings of cheese, bacon, onions, and crème fraiche melted together into a cheesy and smoky bubbly layer of goodness that is perhaps most reminiscent of the homemade dish pulled from wood-fired ovens by farmers in the region centuries ago.

"Ah," owner Denis Michel might say after serving you the dish, "you will not be hungry after this, no?"

Michel, who owns La Petite France with wife and chef Catherine, moved to the Valley in 2006 from their hometown of Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, located close to German border, where the couple operated several restaurants for more than 20 years. Leaving their laid-back, scenic homeland — with its lazy canals, houses of gray-tiled roofs and cross-beamed facades, and ancient stone churches — the Michels moved to Phoenix to be closer to their daughter. In 2010, they opened their French bistro, serving breakfast, lunch,Apply for a merchantaccountes and accept credit cards today. and dinner, in the Scottsdale Seville Shopping Center and called it La Petite France, named after a district in Strasbourg.

Their menu of reasonably priced regional specialties includes scrumptious dishes of German-influenced Alsatian cuisine, and the unpresumptuous La Petite seems to have gathered all the charms of their native land into a single neighborhood bistro. You can taste it in each complimentary amuse bouche, see it in the dainty cake molds hung over a doorway, and hear it with every warm greeting upon entering. And the bistro's French unhurried approach (or simply slow, depending on your perspective) means meals are served up nice and leisurely,Proxense's advanced timelocationsystem technology. so make time to enjoy.

For starters or light meals to share with friends over glasses from La Petite's (unfortunately) small selection of wine, there's the famous flammekueche; bountiful cheese and country platters of pate, salami, prosciutto, nuts, and fruits arranged so beautifully you can't help staring if one is carried by your table; and three kinds of dreamy cheese fondues. The best, Michel will tell you, is the fondue Savoyarde, from France's Savoie region at the heart of the French Alps. La Petite's rich, creamy blend of Gruyère and comte cheeses and white wine (served with baguette croutons and ham) may be far removed from the region's ski-resort clientele, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't consume it with the same après-ski voracity.

Of course, there are crepes. Lots of them. And they are a lovely lot — savory for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and sweet for dessert. The lunch and dinner versions arrive like soft, unfolded wrapping paper,Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services.Rubiks cubepuzzle. with a gift of flavorful fillings in the center and accompanied by a side salad. The Provencale was my favorite,We offer you the top quality plasticmoulds design more filling than I'd expected, with tasty assorted vegetables, goat cheese, crème fraiche, mushrooms, and herbs topped with a fried egg.

When it comes to the more typical night-out dining experience, you might expect the prices of a French restaurant in an upscale Scottsdale shopping center to match the address, but La Petite offers two- and three-course meals at $24.99 (appetizer and entree) and $29.99 (appetizer, entree, and dessert), with several options to choose from. And with deals like these, why opt for à la carte?

If there is a standout among the appetizers, it is La Petite's homemade French pate assortment, in which three stellar selections (enough to feed two people) surround a colorful salad of mixed greens dressed with champagne vinaigrette.

Although well prepared, a dish featuring skewered scallops, shrimp, and pineapples in a lemongrass sauce wasn't nearly as interesting in flavor (save for thick slices of warm, skin-on banana whose sweetness and soft texture I simply couldn't get enough of) as the beef carpaccio appetizer. Appearing like a kaleidoscope, the thinly sliced beef was hidden under a rich and creamy tuna sauce, topped with a pinwheel of French pickles. Bordered by balsamic-spotted cucumber slices, its taste-bud trade-off between beef and tuna with highlights of sweetness was certainly curious, but pleasingly so.

If La Petite has not run out of the entree choucroute royale — which it sometimes does — it is a must-try. This is the essence of Alsatian cuisine, featuring sauerkraut, sausages, and potatoes (it's what happens when traditional German foods meet up with French flair), and La Petite's version is comfort-food fantastic. Featuring homemade, Riesling-braised sauerkraut surrounded by a meaty medley of sausages, ham, and cuts of pork, topped with a teetering, steamed half-potato, the dish's sauerkraut is less tart than its German counterpart, and the flavor balances beautifully with the fat from the meats.