Bistro Soleil - Hightstown, NJ

Tonight we decided to try Bistro Soleil for the first time, after reading much about it on Chowhound. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. We were first greeted by a parking lot, and it is nice to know that parking here is not a problem at all. Many spaces, which is a bonus for restaurants in a little 'burg like Hightstown. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by warm colors, and a team at the host stand, who quickly seated us with no reservation. We sat on the right hand side of the restaurant if you were looking at it from the outside, and the back of the restaurant seemed like it was missing something, and there was just a lot of dead space in the restaurant. I guess this is great for the future though, so they can add tables when they start getting busier, and their clientel starts to increase. Kerri was our server, and came quickly to the table to greet us, and to open our 2006 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch. Shortly after, our water glasses were filled, and bread and oil was brought to the table. One of the first things we noticed yet again was the lack of salt and pepper shakers on the tables. This seems to be the thing lately, and quite honestly, I think that it shows a little arrogance in the kitchen that the chef doesn't feel the need to have it on the table. We'll see. We both started off with cups of the seafood chowder. The soup was good, but it was definitely lacking something. A little bit of salt and pepper would have gone a long way, and really "spiced" the soup up, no pun intended. Regardless, it was still "good," but not great. For dinner, Zelda ordered the Salmon Wellington, and it came out in a good size portion, cut in half, with a beautiful crust, and nice mushroom mix inside. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and this was a large portion. She ended up taking 1/2 home, so it could be consumed for lunch the following day. I went for the Bistro Strip and Fries, as it was said to be a bistro staple. It was a nice NY Strip, cooked to perfection with nice cross char marks on it. Upon first cut, it was very tough, and I wasn't expecting much from it at that point. Once it hit my mouth however, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this cut was, and it wasn't tough to say the least. No, you couldn't cut it with a fork, but how many NY strips can you really do that with anyway?

More to come when I get some more time!