Momo Is A No-No

Somehow, it seems impossible for proper French cuisine to inhabit the shell of an old McDonald's.

Café Momo, Durham's new home for cuisine a la Francais, is housed in a heavily renovated McDonald's near the Woodcroft Shopping Center off Highway 54. While the renovation is a laudable job well done, the rest of the restaurant's execution seems incomplete.

Momo's exterior belies none of its inauspicious beginnings. The golden arches have been replaced with wooden ones, set in a whimsically pleasant wooden fence that surrounds the entrance. Whitewashed wooden shutters frame deep windows that give Momo the appearance of being both cozy and inviting.

The café's interior is tastefully understated, cloaked in muted pumpkin tones and sufficient but soft lighting set off by old French movie posters. Though a generous number of tables are wedged in a relatively limited space, bustle is kept respectably low.

Unfortunately, the room is better experienced standing up. Peeling back the tablecloth reveals suspiciously McDonald's-like formica tables whose wide-splayed legs make seating tricky. And while they look pleasant enough, Momo's wicker-seated chairs are uncomfortable enough to send the weak-backed into surgery.

The menu presents an inviting and uncomplicated take on French cooking, with familiar first courses like lightly sautéed escargot en brioche (a bread pouch), an asparagus and mushroom salad and French onion soup. The entrees consist of an acceptable range of chicken, pork, shellfish, lamb, fish, duck and steak, though filet mignon is dropped in favor of a less-costly sirloin steak. There's also a stuffed cabbage dish for the vegetarians. Like Chapel Hill's La Residence, Momo's menu rightly aims at a general audience; even to the untutored eater, the English-heavy descriptions make sure that ordering doesn't seem too daunting.

The quality of the entrees is mixed at best. While the duck breast a l'orange boasted generous cuts of meat, a not-too-sweet citrus sauce and a smooth, creamy pumpkin risotto, the meat was so undercooked that several bites were too tough to chew. A well-executed rare preparation could have been an enjoyable delicacy; this dish left hopes that it wouldn't get up and start quacking. Momo's cider-brined pork chop showed similar ineptitude: While the cider provided a pleasant zest, the cut of meat came out too dry. And the accompanying macaroni gratin-a straightforward rendition of macaroni and cheese-had all the taste of the tablecloth itself. Momo does at least treat vegetarians right-at $12, the stuffed cabbage is not only a bargain, but might be one of the better things on the menu. Not so for the coq au vin (chicken with wine sauce), which although exceptionally moist and tender, showed little more inspiration than most airline food renditions of the popular dish.

Momo also scores mixed points on presentation. While small touches like post-appetizer sorbet (a super-sour grapefruit flavor) and coffee served in a French press lend a note of class, less could be said for the service. Though the actual table waiters seemed friendly and knowledgable, the majority of the wait staff may as well have been sitting in Sri Lanka, so unaware were they of which dish went to whom. That may not be a major gripe, but considering Momo's steep prices (right in line with its closest competitor, La Residence), a better effort could be expected.