Bistrot Paul Bert

I am a BIG fan of Steak-Frites and I had been told that Bistrot Paul Bert would satisfy my craving. We had talked about going for a long time and finally, with friends last October, we got there. Bistrot Paul Bert is at 18 Rue Paul Bert in the 11th arrondisement.

I called and, by some miracle, they had an opening for 6 of us at 9:00 PM. The place was packed, the tables close together, and the aromas assaulting us as we walked in the door were heavenly. The menu was written on a chalkboard (see above) though we knew what we wanted (the only question was going to be what to have for dessert). You may know that the French do NOT like to cook their meat for long, so your choices, in terms of how you want it cooked, are “bleu”- literally “blue” which means it’s basically raw, “saignant” which means red in the middle, and “a point” which means pink in the middle. You can ask for “bien cuit”- well done, but the looks of disdain you get will make you wish you’d never dared to say such a thing. The Steak Frites was everything we’d hoped it would be and an extra benefit was that we were able to get the chef to sign a copy of their cookbook for our son who has recently become a chef (or actually, officially, he is a “line cook” at a famous restaurant in NY).

I was reminded of that wonderful meal last Monday reading David Lebovitz’s blog post for the day (www.davidlebovitz.com) where he talked about a new restaurant that has opened at 6 Rue Paul Bert. It’s the same owner as Bistrot Paul Bert, Bertrand Auboyneau. It sounds like an INCREDIBLE eating experience, so that’s going to be my next stop……

If you don’t know David’s blog, but love great food and Paris, you need to check it out!