Author: paris-bistro

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.

In this salad, herrings are served with boiled potatoes and white onion rings. It should be prepared in advance so that the taste of the potatoes and herrings mix together perfectly. That’s why this dish is often served in a terrine. According to bistro owners, herring filets is a dish preferred more by men than women.

It’s a savoury tart. On a shortcrust pastry, cheese, eggs, milk, butter and fresh cream is added and baked in the oven for 20 minutes. It’s a specialty of the east of France (Lorraine) but can be found all over France, in bistros and also in baker’s in the form of an individual tart.

Raw vegetables are often presented on Parisian bistro menus. Either served alone (raw grated carrot, celery coleslaw, cucumber and beetroot) or served all together. That’s called “assiette de crudités”.

Croque-Monsieur or Croque-Madame were at the top of all the menus in the bistros, cafés and brasseries of Paris and often best-sellers before the invasion of burgers.  He appears the first time in 1910 in a café of boulevard des Capucines. Croque Monsieur consists of a ham sandwich with toasted cheese on top (emmental or comté). Croque Madame is the same but with an egg on top. More and more often you can see Croq Poilâne named after the bread of baker Lionel Poilâne. It’s a large slice of black bread on which is placed ham, cheese (emmental or mozzarella),…

Brain paté is made with pork brains. The meat is minced with a knife including the tongue and the ears. Then it’s put into a terrine dish with jelly for several hours. The bistro owners often have their own suppliers. It’s rarely bought in supermarkets because it has to be good. You can buy it at the local butcher’s, or directly from a producer in the regions of France (Brittany, Auvergne…)