Petaluma's French secret. Elle of Feeding my Enthusiasms and I met again for fun and blogging at Le Bistro, a charming French place on Petaluma Blvd. South. She's blogged the same meal, getting the word out slightly ahead of my post. (I stopped at Jo-Ann's to check out a door which was in color-dispute on the way home).

Elle was too tempted by the red pepper tomato soup with a swirl of basil pesto, even though it was a hot evening. She affirmed making the right choice, and talked about the sublte texture in the soup.

I was taken by the perfection of my mixed green salad with pecans and gorgonzola dressed in a light cassis dressing. The salad was well tossed, and the perfect amount of dressing to highlight the greens without obsuring them was employed.

It took me awhile to choose between several equally delicious-sounding entrees, but I finally settled on the pork medallions. These were tender and a apple cider tinged sauce deftly applied to bring out the natural flavors of the pork. The plate was arranged artfully, and the vegetables tender and distinctive.

Elle was served lamb tenderloins that looked moist and brimming with natural juices. Elle reported that the sauce was perfectly matched and the lamb tender.

The portions were perfect, and left us with room to be tempted by the dessert selections. Elle chose a Kahlua Gelato Torte with Chocolate Sauce, which she said was delightful.

I was taken with the Brandied Black Cherry Parfait, a bouquet of tastes and textures to complete the meal. Not only did it have tender brandied sweet black cherries in its syrup over vanilla ice cream, but fresh strawberries, kiwis and crisp pirouette cookies. All this was topped off by the most lucsious whipped cream. I usually don't like whipped cream, and often ask for the chef to hold the whipped cream, but I enjoyed every last micro-drop of this. I'm buzzing with the rich coffee we drank to accompany our desserts, but I guess that's good since I have a lot of coursework reading to get through!

As we parted, I couldn't resist taking a snap of the little Frenchman who greets you with cards at the entrance. Elle and I left already planning our next joint blogging adventure next month.