Bistro Moulin
867 Wave St., Monterey
(831) 333-1200, www.bistromoulin.com
If you are gearing up for a trip to Europe, more specifically the country home to the Eiffel Tower and the renowned Champs Elysees, and you want to get a taste of the food beforehand to avoid culture shock, then hit up Bistro Moulin. It’s an authentic bistro dishing up classic European fare in an intimate and well-decorated setting. Prepare yourself for escargot cooked with garlic and hazelnut butter, moules frites, steak Bordelaise or the coq au vin. But the mindblowers are chef and owner Didier Dutertre’s potato-free gnocchi aux epinards which have been dubbed “angel’s pillows” by a local food critic for their resemblance to fluffy white pillows. Not your average gnocchi by any means, these heavenly Parisian-style bites are made with a pate a choux (light pastry dough) and doused with Parmesan cream sauce before being thrown under a broiler au gratin style.