Dining Out

By Suzanne Parker

France and Thailand were not always bosom buddies, diplomatically speaking. One might even call them bitter enemies when they fought for dominance over Indochina. Still, their respective palates didn't hold a grudge, and have long had mutual appreciation for each other's cuisines. Bonne Saison on Bell Boulevard in Bayside is exemplar of this fortuitous state of affairs, serving Thai and French food companionably side by side.

Bonne Saison has held its own for about two years now in the fiercely competitive restaurant environment of Bell Boulevard. Their space is a small but inviting mélange of decorating styles, including a wall of traditional Thai paintings flanking an oil painting of a Parisian street scene (equally traditional in a kitschy way).

The menu is divided into a Thai section and a French section, but mixing and matching is encouraged. Even the Thai section of the menu is a study in mixing and matching, as all the entrees are described only by their preparation style and ingredients, and the diner chooses between “beef, chicken or pork; squid or shrimp; or seafood.” There is also a sufficient range of vegetarian options to please non-meat-eaters.

We chose an appetizer special that was so seamlessly fused, we don't know whether it belonged to the Thai or French camp. Described only as a “duck roll,” it came sectioned, upended and perched on a mini Jackson Pollock of duck, tamarind and wasabi sauce squiggles. Luxurious hunks of slightly smoky duck meat and slivered green onions and other veggies came wrapped in a tortilla. The delicious result was something like a great big summer roll, but do the tortillas come from Thailand or France?

The Thai salad was a palate-cleanser with a bit of a kick in the peanut sauce, nicely done.

We moved to the French section of the menu for beignet de crabe (crab cakes). They were small with crisp exteriors, and generously crabby on the inside. The accompanying braised leeks and creamy corn sauce was decadently delicious.

Trying to balance our samplings between the two hemispheres, we chose a Thai curry and a French special for our entrees. Panang curry is made with string beans, kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, and your preferred protein, as mentioned earlier. We chose chicken, but even though the sauce was pleasingly piquant without being incendiary, the chicken was tough, probably from overcooking. Although all the Thai entrees come with jasmine rice, we added some vegetarian basil fried rice for good measure. It, like the other Thai specialties, includes your choice of meats or seafood, but made a tasty, shareable side dish skipping the protein.

Zigging back to France for our other entrée, we relished shrimp and scallops in saffron sauce. The sauce, rich as Warren Buffet, was primarily cream and butter flavored with saffron. The seafood was plump and juicy. This was a heavenly taste of classic French cuisine.

We returned to Thailand for dessert with a portion of pumpkin Thai custard. Not bad, but we regretted not having opted for the profiteroles, pastry puffs with ice cream and chocolate sauce. What were we thinking?

The Bottom Line

In a community that seems to run the gamut of Eastern and Western cuisines, Bonne Saison has come up with a way to be different — a twofer. You'll find great food, excellent service and reasonable prices here. If variety is the spice of life, dinner at Bonne Saison makes life spicy indeed.

Suzanne Parker is the TimesLedger's restaurant critic and author of “Eating Like Queens: A Guide to Ethnic Dining in America's Melting Pot, Queens, N.Y.” She can be reached by e-mail at qnsfoodie@aol.com.

Bonne Saison

40-04 Bell Blvd.

Bayside, NY 11361

718-224-6188

Cuisine: Thai & French

Setting: Small, pleasant

Service: Friendly & solicitious

Hours: Lunch & dinner daily

Reservations: Optional

Alcohol: Wine & beer

Parking: Street

Dress: Casual