J'aime Cette Nourriture*

Hmmmm.... Every once in a while, life actually seems to imitate fiction. Case in point: a new acquaintance of mine -- one Isabelle, who, along with her husband Awad own Chez Pierre restaurant in Novato -- has come to me asking for my marketing help. In short, they need more diners.

Isabelle and Awad are authentically French. Their menu alone makes my mouth water: tartine au jambon, smoked duck salad, magret de canard au poivre vert, and, of course, crème brulèe. Their prices are, in my opinion, very reasonably priced. And they are very centrally located, just a short jaunt from Highway 101 and only minutes from Novato's Old Town.

Oh, yes (as they say) there is one TINY little challenge: being authentically French, and hence not fully understanding American culture, the lease I&A secured for Chez Pierre happens to be a building which formally housed a... Denny's. Hmmmm.... Now there is a saying that if something LOOKS like a duck and QUACKS like a duck, it's probably a duck. Despite the fantastic job I&A have done remodeling the INSIDE of the restaurant, the outside still sort of -- O.K., does -- look like a Denny's.

My mind is racing. Candles have been lit. I'm about to do a Tarot reading, for guidance and inspiration. Pray tell, do any of you FROTB have any ideas on how I&A can attract more customers? (I can only eat so much boeuf bourguignon.) Please let me know your thoughts. This is "Big Night" all over again -- strangers to America, trying to make a restaurant a success, struggling and on the verge of... well, on the verge. In "Big Night", the brothers' struggles continued. But they didn't have me. Or you.

*I love this food.