French Revolution

Margaux
486 N. Robert St., St. Paul
651.407.6438

Obviously, the world could stand some improving. Like most people, I have many good ideas on this topic. For one thing, Americans, and even more egregiously, the Chinese and people from the Indian subcontinent, are notorious wasters of energy. Furthermore, no energy is wasted more than solar, as sunlight can be seen almost any day falling willy-nilly on drug addicts, predatory sex offenders, and even unattractive, elderly sheepdogs. Obviously, if solar energy were distributed by market forces, this waste would come to an end. Which is why I propose that Halliburton encase the world in a durable vinyl shell, and that a bipartisan subcommittee conduct an auction selling private companies rights to distribute our heretofore shamefully abused and wasted solar energy. (Just think of that classic Coppertone bikini child, flaunting her solar guzzling!) Not only will the proceeds from this auction pay for our war for a bit, it will assure a future that is as smoothly merit-based as it is free of skin cancer, unsightly sun visors offering free moustache rides, and mankind's most notorious enemy, dandelions.

If this is all too realpolitik for you, here's another way to improve the world: Put a restaurant like St. Paul's newest, Margaux, every few blocks. Oh, it's a lovely thing to have in your neighborhood. It's a neighborhood brasserie—which in this case is kinda French for "serves beer," "is a place for drinks, coffee or alcoholic, as well as a restaurant," and "ain't expensive." It's open all day long, from 11:00 a.m. till midnight most days, and till 1:00 in the morning on Fridays and Saturdays, making it ideal for late lunches, pre- or post-theater light meals, after-work happy hours, blind dates at which you don't know if you'll be ordering wine or coffee, and the other such non-mealtime bits of life that make urban life fun. (However, never on a Sunday: Margaux is closed then; the kitchen also closes nightly at 10:00.)

The food at Margaux is good in an elevated, mostly French, but never too fussy sort of way. The appetizers and snacks, for instance, are mainly of the two-napkin dig-in and gusto variety: Escargot ($8.95) are the standard sort, served in ladles of garlic butter designed to turn your bread basket into a feast. The duck liver mousse ($4.95) is sweet and light, and sized to serve two or three people. Salads are a strong suit at Margaux, and the servers always offer to split the generous portions for two people. I particularly recommend the salad of mixed rough greens and chicories, which is served with crumbles of gorgonzola, candied walnuts, and a whole braised endive, which offers a rich, caramelized, slightly bitter counterpoint to the sweeter elements of the dish ($7.95).

The moules frites ($10.95) consist of a delicious bowl of fresh cold-water mussels (not those frozen green-lip ones that show up depressingly often lately) in a white-wine broth touched with garlic and herbs, served alongside a tall cone of fat French fries with skins so crisp they looked almost frothy. It's the perfect dish to split with a friend over chilled beers while you deconstruct office politics, dissect imploding romances, or discuss whether Arnold Schwarzenegger would best repopulate a sunless world when mated in black-op government petrie dishes with cheery, cheery cheerleader Katie Couric or get-it-done plowhorse Madeline Albright.

Speaking of beers, Margaux offers two dozen, as befits a brasserie. The lion's share are Belgian, including Hoegaarden witbiere on tap for $5, served in the official Hoegaarden glass, just like it should be. The place has a full liquor license, and makes some smashing cocktails; the Manhattan ($7), made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, is particularly pleasant. The French-leaning wine list is a good balance of big, but not too big, offering two dozen varieties offered by the glass (from $6.50), and about six dozen by the bottle or half-bottle, including a number of bottles priced in the low $20s. During happy hour, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to midnight every day, Margaux sells tap beers for $3.50, and takes $1 off the price of all the cocktails.