Pour La France! — Restaurant in Denver

I frequent this airport establishment everytime I fly out, which is 2 to 3 times a month. Today, my wife and I are en route to South America on vacation and we stopped in here for a pre-flight cocktail. I ordered a Bloody Mary but my wife decided she needed to do some shopping and left. When she came back, she had a single-order of Avocado Toast that she wanted to eat and sat at the bar to have a quick snack. Some sort of manager who identified himself as a “sommelier”told my wife to put the food away. She quietly packed up and left with her humble 1 piece of Avocado Toast. I expressed my opinion, with all respect and in a calm voice that as a restaurant executive, for 35 years, I thought that was unnecessary. The “sommelier” repeated himself four times that “if” I was a restaurant professional, I should know better. Over and over again. Had he simply said, “thanks for your feedback” and move on, that would have been okay. But he didn’t. He wanted to insist I should know better. Not listening to feedback, even when you disagree, is unprofessional. With respect, I don’t understand his objections. This is an airport location, not a fine-dining establishment. This is a pit-stop, at best. Call yourself what you want, but your customers are passing through and you should hope they do so with frequency. This is a “no harm, no foul” situation that requires a bit of professional discretion and common courtesy as well as some degree of professional courtesy. Had they just said “we don’t allow outside food, but go ahead and finish you toast” it would have been different. But to be told to “put your food away” and “you should know better” smacks of unprofessionalism and disregard for discretion and common sense. I spend $25 to $50 for my pre-flight drinks and food usually, but now, they will lose my repeat business all because the inability of this “sommelier” to use professional discretion and common sense. We didn’t walk in there with 3 pizzas and a bucket of chicken wings. My wife had a single order of Avocado Toast. The Benjamin Franklin saying of “no harm, no foul” needs to be re-instituted with common sense. They have lost a customer and the business I was bringing 2-3 times a month. #CommonCourtesy Airport locations are not a stand alone fine dining...

I have been going to Pour La France every time I fly through Denver for about 20 years. It used to be pretty darn good airport food and I always looked forward to visiting. Over the years, I have seen quality decline, but tonight hit a new low.

I had a long layover due to a late United arrival, so I first had lunch from the to-go half. Crappy sugar-filled pastries no different than I found in other fast food joints in the airport … well wrapped in plastic, but dry. At least it was gooey and sugary. As I remember, Pour La France used to have croissant and better quality choices.

I went back for dinner just now and sat in the full-service section, where I bought the Salad Nicoise. I had a very nice waiter, but the salad plate had obviously been made 1-2 days earlier and was served at a very cold temperature. The salad greens were sloppy wet with dressing, there was tasteless chopped brown stuff on them (olive?), and the tuna was tough and tasteless. In fact, the two ‘end slices’ of tuna were almost unchewable – shoe leather would not be an overstatement.

I left most of the salad uneaten, paid the bill, and left. On the way out, I asked for a comment card and no one understood what I meant.

Saturated greens, tough visually unidentifiable meat, and freezing temperatures may well have finally cured me of my Pour La France habit. Which is a shame because I really thought Pour La France was different. The diet coke was by far the...

French Onion Soup and Croque Fromage.

Preamble. I come to the airport with low culinary expectations. However, with a three hour layover and no food served on either leg of the flight, I was forced to find sustenance. Don’t misinterpret the speed with which I ate their offering as contentment. My body and mind were in survival mode and I would have probably eaten your arm it was perfectly browned and smartly sauced. So, that’s the context in which this you should read this.

French Onion Soup. Soup was not warm enough to melt the slices of “cheese” on the top. The croutons had been soaking for so long they’ve lost all structural integrity and maybe as have blended it into the soup. Taste-wise, I could not say that the soup had onion in it.

“Croque Fromage”. I use quotation marks because it was more like a very sad grilled cheese. The bread was not toasted enough so that by the time you ate it, it was soaked through from the juices of an anemically thin slice of tomato. I am frankly amazed how they got five different types of cheeses to melt into one nasty ball, placed between two slices of wonder bread.

Pour La France should read Poor, La France. Oh, how your culinary reputation has been abused to such a point that you are no longer recognizable. Let your words be heard: go to...