"best faculty dinner ever!"
Thanks again for a wonderful event! Many of the faculty said it was the "best faculty dinner ever!" and that they have a new favorite restaurant in Vail!

Congrats and merci!
Sharon

"actually improved the product"
HI:
First I want to thank you for a great meal.This was Cheryl's first trip out west and she was most impressed with everything ,especially her meal with you. I did not think it possible but you guys actually improved the product.Service and food and ambiance were all great. Its too bad that I won't get back until next year.I wish you guys well. I would have liked to meet your husband but he was quite busy.

Please see if you can get in touch with Luke or Liz and obtain for me a copy of their cookbook-in the event that this is not possible please see if you could send me any copies of recipes that I can work with-Cheryl and I love to cook ;our personal wine collection exceeds 1200 bottles. Once again thanks and good luck

Best Regards

Michael A.Simms

Executive Vice President/Legal Counsel

"chocolate soufflé was out of this world"
Greg Hebrank

12/8/2006

Zagats. My wife and I started the evening with the two of us taking a break from our family vacation as the kids were attended by a sitter. We went November 22 a bit in the off season for Vail, so when we arrived it was not busy. Kimberly Chelain the owner greeted us graciously and took time to explain the menu as well as took time to just talk to us. We had a wonderful dinner. The food and service were excellent. Kimberly even suggested I go get our children to have desert with us. We did and the chocolate soufflé was out of this world.

I wanted to thank you for your hospitality that evening. I know my family will remember that night for a very long time. Good Luck this season. I hope it will be a busy one for you.


Greg Hebrank

"The most authentic french food"
" The most authentic french food that I have had in years. The Pepper Steak and the Bouillabasse was amazing, oh and the Lobster Beignets as appetizers were sublime! We will go back again, hopefully soon because we want to try everyone of the handsome new owner/chef Jean-Michel's summer creations before they turn into the winter creations. The ambiance was just what we wanted, elegant but comfortable. The wine list has an incredible selection of wines, overwhelming at first but very well laid out, something for everyone with wine bottles at $39 all of the way up to....whew! $2500. It goes to show how much better the dining experience can be when the owners (Chef, Jean-Michel & his wife Kimberly) are there every day making sure each table feels like they are in their own private restaurant. The service is immpeccible. We liked it before, but with the new owners touches......We LOVE it now!!! "
Overall Experience: +++++


- P. Chamberlain

"It is a staple in my Vail dining repertoire."
" I purchased the Left Bank Cookbook last ski season while in Vail and have made the tomato soup en croute (??La Soupe de Tomates en Surprise) many times. I left the cookbook in my Florida condo kitchen at the end of the winter season and can't access the recipe. I would like very much to make the soup next week for a luncheon here in Pennsylvania and wondered if you would be so kind as to email me the recipe for this delicious soup. I'd be most grateful. I look forward to eating at the Left Bank next ski season. It is a staple in my Vail dining repertoire.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely yours,
"
- Susan Bloom

"La Bouillabaisse de Crustacés au Fenouil"

We had a great visit to "The Left Bank" during our recent trip to Vail...I was impressed with "La Bouillabaisse de Crustacés au Fenouil"...what are the chances of the chef revealing his recipe for the wonderful broth?
Thanks again for the experience!!
Greg "
- Greg Kronberg

"you can count on us to come by again"
Just a follow-up note to tell you how much we enjoyed our dinner with you on our recent trip to Vail. You were recommended to us by Kevin Foley, the proprietor at Lifthouse, a few years ago. After our experience with you, I regret we waited two years to make our way to The Left Bank. And what a wonderful story on your website of your meeting and eventual elopement with your husband.

I also wanted to mention a bit of misinformation we were told prior to visiting you. As you know, one of the favorite questions of the locals and topics of conversation between visitors to Vail is “where have you eaten?” When we told a waiter at another top restaurant we were visiting you next, we were informed to take cash because you did not accept credit cards. I did not take it as mean-spirited, but just a tip for an out-of-towner. Whether that is a carryover from an old policy or just misunderstanding, I thought you might want to know.

Best of luck. We hope to make our first summer visit this year, and you can count on us to come by again. If you have an e-mail newsletter, please add me to it. Thanks again, and have a wonderful Christmas.
John Dews
El Dorado, Arkansas "
- John Dews

"I was so inspired"


I am part of the guys group from several weeks ago, (As you were getting on the bar to take the photo, 'I didn't know it was that type of place' comment.)

I was so inspired by the food I made my first souffle. Not bad for a first, but not like the Left Bank's. I may need a job in your kitchen for a day or two to get the hang of it.

Hope I can make it by next week w/ my wife, while there on spring break.

John Miller

"excellent, classic, and expensive French"
wilson17
Montreal, Canada
Jan 27, 2008
1/1 found this review helpful

This restaurant was originally owned by one French chef, who brought in another French chef to share the menu design and cooking and also run the restaurant. We didn't meet either, and our waiter had difficulty pronouncing French words, but that didn't affect the quality of the meal or service. Half the menu has classic, rich French dishes created by the original owner, and the other half is more modern and changes with the season, but is also not light. To start, we had a classic bisque de homard, which was excellent, and a wild mushroom pasta dish that was very good. Our main courses were both from the seasonal menu, a stuffed quail and elk chops with wild mushroom sauce. The quail was very large, with an excellent stuffing that included foie gras and shavings of black truffle (for a price). Two amply sized elk chops had good flavor and a wonderful concentrated sauce, but were overcooked. I broke down and complained after eating the first one. The waiter agreed that it was overcooked and quickly offered to replace it with another, which was, of course, extremely rare (which was fine). Dessert was a classic hot chocolate souflee with a vanilla sauce, also excellent and rather large. We had excellent wines by the glass, after several tastes offered by our waiter and the bartender (when I couldn't decide). Overall, an excellent French restaurant if you like American-sized portions of a classic style that is not "nouveau" or "sante".

"French Food perfection at a price"
GoeieWitte
Neshanic Station,NJ
Jul 27, 2007
2/2 found this review helpful

We happen to like each one of the appetizers very much and have a hard time finding them, even in big cities.
Even on a Friday night we arrived early after 6 PM, and were seated quickly, despite no reservation.
The french food turned out excellent and the appetizers exceeded the entrees. Servings were sufficient and left no room for dessert, yet OK for a special Armagnac selection.
While seated at the large windows we had a nice view on the river while soft French music filled the background.
Service was attentive, not intrusive, not personal yet complete.
This is an expensive restaurant, easily averaging $100 per person. The price is high yet the value is good.

GoeieWitte

"time-traveled to old-world France"
" Whenever we step into The Left Bank, we feel as if we have time-traveled to old-world France. Deep banquettes, bentwood chairs and tables set with crisp napery and sparkling glasses are among the detailed touches. The restaurant comes by the look and the cuisine honestly. The bouillabaisse features the freshest lobster, shrimp, scallops and mussels, all steeped in a lobster broth with just enough fresh fennel to give it a pleasing anise flavor. Colorado elk chops and rack of lamb are properly cooked to order and exquisitely sauced. And the steak au poivre blanc is rolled in crushed white peppercorns and bathed in a sauce of brown stock, cream and Cognac. Starring on the modest but fine dessert list, the chocolate soufflé with vanilla sauce must be ordered for a minimum of four persons, but we find it's worth enlisting your friends. Predictably, The Left Bank's extensive wine cellar is stocked overwhelmingly with French wines. Some 20 are available by the glass, including seven or eight each of whites and reds, plus Champagne and a few late-harvest dessert wines. "
Overall Experience: +++++


- Anonymous

Editorial Review for The Left Bank – by Wendy Wall
In Short
Tiny details create a distinct European aura. Delicate flowers are painted on a glass-enclosed wine rack. An indoor "awning" covers a row of cozy booths, and antique wall sconces emit a warm glow. Imaginative presentation and fresh ingredients define the French fare here. Starters include puff pastry stuffed with asparagus, shrimp and lobster. The duck and beef entrees are typical of France and spiced with peppercorn. Ultrarich-but-worth-it desserts include chocolate souffle.

– by Wendy Wall

"an Asset to the Left Bank"
My husband, son, daughter-in-law and I all enjoyed so much visiting with you
Tuesday evening. And the food was wonderful, as always. We are extremely
pleased that you and your husband are continuing the culinary tradition
started by Liz and Luc. I dreaded telling our daughter and son-in-law where
we were going to dinner after they left Tuesday. She really wanted to eat
at the Left Bank while they were here, but we didn't have a baby-sitter for
our 5-month old granddaughter and didn't want to risk disturbing your other
customers in the event the baby started crying.

We wish you the best in your new endeavor and look forward to dining with
you many times in the future. You and your outgoing personality will be an
asset to the Left Bank.

Thanks for a lovely evening.