BTilke

I don't order steak in Paris as a rule, but have had good, thinly sliced steak served as tagliata at Lei in the 7th arrond.
Outside Paris, one of the best cuts of steak I've ever eaten was a "poire" of beef at d'Antan Sancerrois in Bourges. Delicious.
As for Le Temps Perdu, I only ate there once and was disappointed with the food, service and atmosphere. But perhaps it was an off night.

Travelnut

Hi, BTilke, I imagine your tastes and experience are more sophisticated than mine. For now, I'm looking at inexpensive bistros that don't look intimidating...'baby steps'.

Appreciate all the feedback - everyone loves to talk about food, don't they!

Underhill

Back to L'Entrecôte, where steak is the only item on the menu besides an excellent salad with walnuts.

Robespierre

Hmmm. I wonder why none of the American chains haven't figured this one out yet.

Wouldn't you love to see Omaha at the Opéra?

AnthonyGA

For what it's worth, <i>L'Entrec&ocirc;te</i> is an extremely common name for a restaurant that serves a lot of beef; it's not a specific place. You can find restaurants by this name in just about any town. There are perhaps a dozen or so restaurants with names incorporating the term in Paris alone.

mpprh

Author: AnthonyGA
Date: 04/15/2006, 03:17 am
For what it's worth, L'Entrec&ocirc;te is an extremely common name for a restaurant that serves a lot of beef; it's not a specific place. You can find restaurants by this name in just about any town. There are perhaps a dozen or so restaurants with names incorporating the term in Paris alone.


Worth reading about it here : http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....=l%27entrecote

Peter

ekscrunchy

Yes, we have a place called L'Entrecote right here midtown Manhattan, or at least we did last time I looked. I think you need to keep in mind that the French dissect a cow for meat a bit different than we do in the US so not every cut will have a corresponding English translation. Beef cheeks will certainly be tender!

robjame

Travelnut - I would agree with StCirq(the person not the place) and Huitre (the person not the oyster) that you might want to look for Boeuf Bourgignon on the menu. Calling it &quot;beef stew&quot; would be an insult as it is uually done superbly in most bistros and restaurants. It is beef, mushrooms, red wine and a few variations.
I think most will agree that the tendency towards toughness of French beef can be attributed to pasture grazing as opposed to grain feeding, lack of injected hormones, and short hang time. Arguably, the beef will be healthier for you but less tender. Interesting that a country that ages wine and cheese doesn't age beef (much). I will resist the urge to describe what aging beef really is.

Carlux

One other important point. French beef, while often not as tender as North American, is meant to be eaten rare (saignant), or very rare (bleu). You may get away with medium rare (a point) but even that starts getting tougher. So if you dont like rare steaks, even more reason to look for other ways to get your beef.

kerouac

Entrec&ocirc;te or even basses-c&ocirc;tes is my favorite cut, always extremely tender and eaten as rare as possible. The other cuts can be chewier than one would like, as the hormones and other chemicals used in North American beef are forbidden in Europe.

Robespierre

kerouac, the next time you're in Chicago, Kansas City, or Omaha, I will treat you to beef that is range-fed, chemical- and hormone-free, and doesn't require a steak knife to eat it.

The best-kept secret of the stockyard cities where the meat is produced is that the really <i>great</i> beef never leaves town.

Travelnut

Thanks for all the advice - you've given me a lot to chew on.

BTilke

There is little problem finding excellent grass-fed beef (no hormone treatments, etc.) in the U.S. Our friends order their beef from this site:
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/...beef-steak.asp

Cooked correctly, it's outstanding. When we visit them, we love to tuck into some of those meidum-rare grass-fed tenderloin filets!

robjame

BTilke - I think the point is that there is a problem finding beef at restaurants in the states that is grass fed, hormone free, chemical free. As Robespierre says it is somewhat of a secret. Hormone beef from Canada and the US has been banned in France since 1989. Although these tw countries won an unfair trade case involving France's refusal to import hormoned beef 1999, they decided to pay a penalty o $100 million a year rather than give in.
Some 27 years later we are just waking up to the potential health problems of eating this sort of thing.

Underhill

We can get grass-fed, hormone-free beef at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, often too at our local supermarket. Whole Foods also has dry-aged beef grass-fed beef.

Robespierre

The best beef I have ever tasted was cooked in the cities where it was dressed. On a scale of zero to Top of the Crown in Kansas City, the range-fed, hormone-free we get at Trader Joe's in Scottsdale is about a seven, to be generous.

degas

Are all European hamburgers made from grass-fed, hormone-free, chemical free, stress-free, insect-free, odor-free cattle who drink mineral water and were raised in pristine mountain pastures where the sound of music was alive?

robjame

Degas - I am disappointed in you. Your sarcasm makes it sound like you wouldn't want hormones in the beef you eat. This is totally opposed to the position of the FDA ...
&lt;&lt;The six hormones are approved and can be used safely for growth promotion. The use of hormones provides several benefits in beef production. A hormone-treated animal gains weight more rapidly, producing a more flavorful and tender product. By reaching market weight sooner, there is a reduction in the cost of beef production. Thus, consumers are provided with a higher quality of meat at lower prices.&gt;&gt;

So you can see that according to the FDA the EU is wrong in wanting hormone-free, tougher, lower quality beef.

&lt;&lt;The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been thoroughly researching the effects of growth hormones since the 1950s. FDA and other scientific experts have found that there is essentially no difference between beef from animals raised using hormones and those raised without their use. On all occasions of testing, the six hormones have always been found to pose no measurable or adverse health effects.&gt;&gt;
... and you do trust our government, don't you?

degas

robjame, I just want my burgers to taste good. Hormones are not high on the list of things that might kill me.

Rillifane

It is a matter of trusting the WTO which after lengthy hearings on the matter, on the basis of evidence adduced on the record, concluded in 1997 that the beef ban was NOT based on scientific evidence.