I am back at work for the next couple of Fridays to help the transition of officially being back to work a bit easier. Going in before I am due allows me to get work done, chat about Sun, and sort through 500+ emails without getting new work yet. It’s nice. It also affords me the opportunity to eat at restaurants where a baby may not be so welcome. Yesterday’s culinary foray was to John Besh’s new Franco-German brasserie, Lüke. It did not disappoint.

Walking in, you see the seafood bar that has fancy crab legs and oysters from everywhere. The restaurant has a really good look to it; it is very inviting and relaxing with a nice bustle to it. Our waitress was pleasant, too; she was conscientious without being overly zealous.

For starts, I had the house salad. This is a large salad that has bits of pickled cucumber, carrots and beets nestled under the butterhead lettuce and is garnished with dill. Yummers! My friends ordered a soup and beet salad and these were both enjoyable too.

For my main dish, I ordered the red fish court bouillon with shrimp, crab and oysters. I had never had a court bouillon before, and I LOVED this dish. It was savory and juicy and chuck full of seafood without being overly rich or “soupy.” I was also told by my companions that the sauce for a court bouillon can be a bit like a shrimp creole sauce and that this court bouillon seemed more brown. It did have a tomato-y taste, but not like a shrimp creole. And that is a good thing for me. I like shrimp and I love tomatoes but I loathe really dislike the two together in shrimp creole.

My two friends each got the same thing–the croque monsieur. Lüke also offers the croque madame–the famous ham and cheese sandwich with an fried egg added to the top. The three of us all love the croque monsieur at Rene Bistro, and by the looks alone, this one did not seem quite as good. It was large, but it looked a little dry. The presentation was nice–they serve the sandwich on a wooden cutting board; this is a sandwich to be eaten with a knife and fork, and this presentation certainly encourages that. My friends confirmed that they preferred Rene’s but felt this one was pretty darn good. The pomme frites were excellent.

Overall, I really liked this restaurant–from the decor to its downtown location to the wait staff to (most importantly) the food. It hit on all cylinders and left me most satisfied. It certainly made my (almost) return to work a pleasure.