Author: paris-bistro

A knob of butter is melted in a frying pan, and pieces of veal kidney are fried on each side for 5 minutes with salt and pepper. The frying pan is then warmed with port or sherry vinegar. Certain bistros serve it so; others add mustard or fresh cream. They are then covered with this sauce. But specialists will tell you that kidneys should be eaten nature, without sauce.

Hachis parmentier is a dish made from potatoes and minced beef. It’s an economic dish because it can be made from pieces of meat left from pot-au-feu or a roast. The meat is mixed with mashed potatoes. This “gratin” gets its name from Antoine Parmentier who convinced Louis XVI that the potato had a good taste and could be proposed to the French people during the famine.

Duck confit (or goose confit) is a culinary specialty in the southwest of France. Duck preserve is covered with salt and put in a terracotta dish for 24 hours. It is then cooked in fat for several hours. It is a dish much appreciated by bistro owners because it can be prepared in advance. It is simply put into a sealed jar which conserves it. Already prepared, it just needs to be heated for a few minutes before serving. Confit de canard is often served with sautéed potatoes with garlic and parsley. Duck confit is perfect with a strong southwest…

Bœuf bourguignon is a dish from the Bourgogne (Burgundy) area. It gets its name from the two Burgundy products that it contains; beef and red wine. Burgundy is in fact a region well known for its high quality of cattle farms, in particular the “Charolais” and the high quality of its vineyards such as “Côtes de Beaune” and “Nuit St Georges”. The dish is cooked very slowly. The pieces of beef are cooked in the pot for at least 3 hours with carrots, small onions, diced bacon, and whole cloves of garlic, thyme and laurel. The longer the Beef Bourguignon is…

Cassoulet is one of the great specialty of the Languedoc. Its exact origin is the subject of debates.  Is it native of Castelnaudary created during the Hundred Years War or from Carcassonne or Toulouse. Its name comes from the terracotta dish in which the ingredients are cooked before being served. It consists of a stew of butter beans cooked until they melt in the mouth, then added duck legs, lard, ham, sausages and a few vegetables (carrots, leaks). A lid is sometimes put on before putting in the oven and served in a special dish.

L’Européen has stood across from the Lyon station in Paris for over a century, long before Europe was a hot topic. It has earned its reputation as a magnificent brasserie, specialized in seafood, in the true Parisian style. Now with the help of the decorator Slavik, L’Européen has its own personal style, A sort of flamboyant Art Nouveau style. The place is warm and inviting – wooden swirls and mirrors, glass chandeliers, English Chesterfield style armchairs on casters and benches. The unique, old-style décor guarantees that you will spend a pleasant moment dining here. L’Européen is renowned for its sea choucroute (above)…

It is the emblematic dish of the brasseries. Alsacian choucroute is formed with fermented (during 3 weeks) shredded white cabbage. It is served with sausages of Stasbourg and smoked meat (pork chops or belly). At the origin, he was served in Paris after 1870 after the defeat of Napoelon III against Bismark and its prussians soldiers by Alsacians people who didn’t want to live in a Reich. So they founded renowned brasseries as Lipp, Zimmer, Wepler. It’s very appreciated in winter. In certain brasseries the meat is replaced with fish like Wepler. The sea choucroute is served with salmon and…

In most of Paris bistros you’ll find onion soup on the menu, and especially in the touristic areas. Onion soup is made by browning sliced onions, adding water, then leaving to simmer before adding cheese and croutons. The soup is then poured into bowls and heated in the oven for a few minutes. It is served hot as a starter. In Paris, onion soup in the time of Balzac was served for dinner in the cafés and brasseries after the theatre show or opera.

The Eggs with mayonnaise could be found on almost all bistro menus; it’s a cheap starter; hard boiled eggs cut in two with mayonnaise on top. It’s best when the mayonnaise is home made but it’s not always the case…

Lentils are dried vegetables much appreciated by the French. That’s why they are often found either in salads or as an accompaniment in bistro dishes. In salads, cooked lentils are served cold with a vinaigrette sauce, parsley and shallots. Often, smoked duck breasts or smoked ham cubes are added because they go very well together. Beside the generic lentilles, there are two types of lentilles renowned, the lentilles du Puy and the lentilles of Saint-Flour, both from Auvergne region.