Bernard Vard, the chef-owner of Bougnat Restaurant, is no stranger to the bistro business. The son of a butcher, Vard has worked in Paris, New York and Bergen County, N.J., where he operated two restaurants.
In 2011, he moved to Charleston, taught at the Art Institute and opened Bougnat in May of this year. His restaurant is named for the “bougnats” or coal men who labored in the timber and coal industries during the Second French Empire. These residents of the Massif Central in the region of Auvergne traveled to Paris to peddle their fuel and some remained on as owners of bistros and brasseries. To this day, Au Bougnat in Paris continues to serve bistro classics.
Belle Station in Mount Pleasant has little in common with the 4th arrondissement in Paris, but Vard has managed to channel old-school charms into an address that has seen Seel’s Fish Camp and Bistro 536 come and go.
The cozy embrace of Bougnat begins with a reservation: A friendly voice sounds genuinely pleased that you will be dining with them. It continues with a cherry red bicycle sculpture whose baskets are planted with herbs and short of sprouting a French baguette, it reminded me of Elliott Erwitt’s iconic black and white photograph of a grandfather and grandson tooling down the “rue” with berets and baguettes.
Walls are painted a pale caramel color and beadboard wainscoting is the perfect accent to define the dining room, where tables are topped with crisp white butcher paper and booths are illuminated with the butterfly light of wall sconces.
There is simplicity in the bistro format, and Vard has tailored his latest endeavor free of exotic detours. He is fluent in the practice of culinary arts and his regional idiom remains true.
Menu success at his previous restaurants can be found at Bougnat. Classic escargots de Bourgogne are flush with garlic and riveted with butter. Mussels washed in a sauce of cream and herbs and a tart of potatoes and goat cheese under the translucent veil of smoked salmon slices demonstrate the enduring longevity of dishes we call classics.
He clearly dials up the old-school traditions with onion soup au gratin blanketed in the telescoping fringe of cheese. Braised short ribs, Flemish style, are cooked to collapse in malty beer and caramelized onions. Le Puy lentils are the peppery partner to golden sea bass coddled in bacon, keeping the dish both moist and hot. Tender rounds of beef tenderloin were crusted “au poivre” and finished in cream and brandy. Pommes frites, oui, oui.
Caesar salad, not so Francais, misses the mark with frail use of garlic and no discernible anchovy taste. Its eggplant croutons, however, add a particular umami note to this New World salad.
The country style terrine is a loose forcemeat laced with parsley and pork bits, perfumed with offal – liver in this case. It was served with a tender salad of mixed greens, cornichons (tart gherkin-size pickles) and seeded Nicoise olives. I missed sweet butter and pungent Dijon to layer on the wonderful Tribeca bread Vard serves at his restaurant. If “etcetera” (now closed) on Daniel Island was one of your food haunts, Tribeca was their daily bread, as well.
Vard draws on the customs of his birthplace and prepares coq au vin in the style of Auvergne. It’s a dish whose history goes back to Gaul and the time of Julius Caesar when he was presented with the “coq” as a way of respect and the rooster was cooked in local wine now called Chanturgue. (Recipes for this dish, however, appear much later.)
The kitchen uses vinegar to balance the fat in a seared duck breast and prunes and balsamic do the same for roasted tenderloin of pork.
Shrimp and scallops are cooked with garlic, tomatoes and herbs in the style of Provence. A warm white bean salad provided a welcome harbor for the flavors of this dish, but the beans were cooked al dente.
Vard finds the comfort of the familiar in his menu as many of the dishes served in Mount Pleasant were part of his New Jersey repertoire. Surprisingly, salt was used with temerity and herbal accents and pastes coalesced rather than basted fish and vegetables with their vegetal qualities.
These shortcomings are minor and correctable. Bougnat brings French sensibilities, refined generosity and authentic charm to its shopping center location.
Desserts are balanced: crackle-crusted creme brulee, tender bisquit with strawberries, classic profiteroles and unctuous Marquise au chocolat – a little cocoa nirvana for chocolate cake fans.
The wine and beer list could be strengthened, but what is available is priced fairly. And possibly chef Vard could import eau gazeuse (sparkling water) called Chateledon from his native Auvergne. It is said to be the water of the Sun King, Louis XIV – that effervescence might be worth an upcharge.
Service is friendly, kind and solicitous. Vard has opened a restaurant where accessibility is more important than enterprise. Where bon appetit is not lip service.
Dining and Cooking