Paris Without the Jet Lag: Restaurant La Bourgogne

By Fern Gavelek

If you think Restaurant La Bourgogne is Kona’s best-kept culinary secret—think again.

Booked way in advance for Valentine’s Day and other major holidays, the classic French restaurant is abuzz with new and loyal, satisfied patrons dining on the likes of escargot, soupe á l’oignon and filet mignon with Bernaise sauce. The word has long been out on the marvelous “cuisine française” served here five nights a week. A 2000 Zagat Survey plaque at the front door proclaims to all who enter: “Extraordinary-Rated as Hawai‘i’s Top French Restaurant and a Hidden Treasure.”

Inside, patrons are greeted by a blackboard naming the night’s specials—like ostrich—and a mini illuminated Eiffel Tower. The cozy, low-lit dining room has a French country look with brick walls, provencale wallpaper and floral-hued paintings. There are 10 tables, each covered in traditional French style with starched white and turquoise cloths and pink napkins. One patron best described it: “It’s like going to Paris without the jet lag.”

Restaurant La Bourgogne (lah-bor-goan-yuh) is named after the historic region of east central France known for good wine, good food and the good life (called Burgundy in English). The husband and wife team of Ron Gallaher and Colleen Moore bring a touch of France to Kailua-Kona for dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays. He oversees food preparation, which includes growing herbs like culinary lavender at home; she takes reservations and readies the dining room.

Together, they work the intimate dining room: greeting guests, suggesting wine and food pairings and waiting on tables.

“We personally serve about 30-35 people per night,” explains Moore. “We only take so many; we don’t push people through.”

Chef Gallaher, who sowed his culinary oats at French restaurants in San Francisco’s Bay area, says the menu hasn’t changed much in 13 years. “We’re kind of stuck with it as we have loyal customers who expect certain things like our veal sweetbreads,” he details. “We’ve experimented with different versions [of dishes] to create the menu.”

The couple has been at the helm of Restaurant La Bourgogne since 1993, when they took over the establishment from founders Guy and Jutta Chatelard. Gallaher says his philosophy is to try to offer guests the very best with the products he can get. The chef-owner adds, “If you start with really great products, you don’t have to do that much.”

While the restaurant’s Roti de Lapin (slow-roasted rabbit) and Cote de Chevreuil (rib chop of venison) don’t hail from Hawai‘i, other menu items do. “We try to use local ingredients as much as possible,” Gallaher shares. “We work with suppliers and individuals like Chez Marguis Farm and Ken Love.”

Priced at $38, the most expensive entrée is Fricassee De Homard á l’Americaine, which features fresh Maine lobster grown at Keahole’s Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA).

It’s prepared braised with shallots, tomato, brandy and cream. The fresh catch of the day can be ordered with a choice of French sauces—such as provencale with onion, tomatoes, white wine, garlic and herbs.

“Local fisherman call us with their catch and we use as much local fish as we can,” Chef Gallaher says. “I’m particularly fond of using onaga, sea bass and opakapaka; I like the meatier texture and flavors.” The restaurant also serves Kona Kampachi.

Local, grass-finished beef is used for the filet mignon and the Entrecote sauce au poivre, ou au Roquefort et’ Beurre de noix, which is ribeye-cut steak, with choice of peppercorn sauce or Roquefort and walnut butter.

The menu also points out the use of local products. The Salade d’Epinards features local spinach while the Salade au fromage de Chevre showcases local goat cheese with salad greens, pine nuts and a vinaigrette dressing. “I’m a regular at farmers markets,” Chef Gallaher adds.

The restaurant gets its free-range, organic eggs from long-time customers Norm and Ann Goody of Kona’s Three Ring Ranch Exotic Animal Sanctuary. “We deliver La Bourgogne six to nine dozen eggs a week,” says Norm Goody. “The money we make goes to feed the sanctuary’s animals.”

Other menu items, like the snails, must be ordered from Burgundy, because Chef Gallaher says they’re bigger and he likes them better.

All the restaurant’s luscious desserts are made in-house and paired on the menu with dessert wines and ports. There’s a Chocolate-Stuffed Poached Pear with Port Sauce, Lemon Tartlette and Profiterole—heavenly ice cream-stuffed cream puffs with a warm chocolate sauce. Topping the dessert menu is a light-as-a-feather Mousse au Chocolate. A selection of sorbets and ice creams created by the Big Isle’s own Tropical Dreams can be enjoyed along with 100-percent Kona coffee.

France is the world’s largest producer of wines and La Bourgogne has a wine cellar offering more than 100 selections—some by the glass. “If you go out and compare, you’ll find our wine is reasonably priced,” points out Moore. “But then, we think a bottle of fine wine should add enormously to your meal, not your bill.”

The restaurant’s menus contain quotes from a book given to the couple from legendary Napa Valley vintner Robert Mondavi. One quote is “Wine is sunlight held together by water” by Gallileo. Another is the French proverb: “In water one sees one’s own face, but in wine one beholds the heart of another.”

Restaurant La Bourgogne is located just south of the Lako Street junction on Hwy. 11 at Nalani Street. Open 6-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are recommended; to be safe, call a couple days in advance, 329.6711. Or, book now for Valentine’s Day, 2011. ❖