Steak Frites
 

We are looking for the perfect steak frites dinner! I have come across reviews for Le Relais de l'Entrecote and La Rotonde. Do any others come to mind? Has anyone been to either of these two? We are staying in the 6e but would travel for a delicious meal. Thanks for your thoughts.

I often dream of Le Relais de L'Entrecote. Try as I may, I can't duplicate that meal in Los Angeles. I promise, you won't be disappointed. I usually go there twice while in Paris, and I seldom visit a restaurant twice. Enjoy!

I've been to Le Relais de L'Entrecote a couple of times and would recommend it. Get there by 7:30 as there is always a long line after that time.

4lobsters,
Mark Bittman writing for the NY Times had several recommendations for steak frites in Paris. I have posted the link below.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/29.../29Choice.html

We ate at Le Relais de l'Entrecote . It was fine. I can't say it was anything special.
Sorry.

Just be advised that "steak" served with frites in Paris is not NY Sirloin Strip or the like. The cuts of beef tend to be very "chewy" and get really tough if cooked beyond medium rare.

As dijkbooks has said, steak frites is a rather mediocre dish which is usually served in bistrots and not in proper restaurants. Kind of fast food.

I always prefered merguez frites.

My teenage son loved eating steak and fries constantly.
I rarely eat steak in France as frankly,,, their beef is nothing compared to ours,,
France does great pork, veal, lamb and fish,, but beef, well lets just say,, its not surprising one of their well known and loved beef dishes is basically beef STEW.

Also, I prefer med to barely med rare, on the med side more, and French love rare to super rare( or like my granny, BLUE) , and rarely( ha ha pun intended) will they go beyond a medium steak, even if you ask for well done.
I hate blood running around my plate and soaking my fries,<LOL

Oddly enough I do enjoy steak tartar ,, Lol, go figure some people,<<

WOW!! What great responses! Thanks. I guess we really do "live to eat" To be honest, I probably am more interested in the frites. I am not expecting the world's best steak in Paris but I am expecting fabulous frites. Maybe I should be searching for a great roasted chicken with frites? Any suggestions? Or a delicious beef bourguignon that would delight Ina Garten?? Can you help me with this? Thank you all.

Oops, forgot to ask traveller1959, "What are merguez frites?"

4lobsters, I agree they do fries really well in Paris, if you get the right place, they are stand alone delish, good luck on search,, you may have to may many return trips to try all the meals and find and report back to us the best,LOL< tough assignment eh?

Oh my....fries in Paris IMO can be just as "iffy" as the so-called "steak" but the atmosphere may help make up for any deficiencies.

Merguez are thin sausages from North Africa, made with ground lamb and/or beef and a lot of spices (cumin, paprika, pepper, etc...).
They are usually served with couscous or else barbecued.
I only buy them from a trusted butcher as you never really know what went into them and they are often full of fat.

Pvoyageuse,thanks for the explanation. I think I will stick to the potato type fries!

<i>I rarely eat steak in France as frankly,,, their beef is nothing compared to ours</i>

This is good advice. It is important to note that the &quot;stew&quot; you mention is flavored as much by the wine as by the beef. European beef is simply not up to American standards for flavor or tenderness. I like South American beef, as well, which I think wins on flavor, but can get tough if cooked much beyond medium rare.

And I think true American lamb is at least as good as the European stuff. The problem with lamb in the US is that most of what you see is from Australia or New Zealand, and is not as good.

Where I think the French really shine is with the birds. Chicken with flavor is kind of a revelation, if you are used to American chicken. They also really know how to cook duck.

European beef ? Too much of a generalization...I don't think South American beef is the same in every country or North American is the same in every country neither.
You cannot even say &quot;french beef&quot; or &quot;spanish beef&quot;.

That said, I don't doubt beef is quite an speciality in the States :)

OK. Any recommendations for the place to go for great duck/chicken?

Are you asking about La Rotonde, the cafe in Montparnasse at the corner of bds Raspail and Montparnasse? I eat there a lot, actually, as I usually stay around there, and they do serve decent food for a cafe, and I've always gotten good steak there. They have several types, of course, going up on price depending how much you are willing to pay (from the l'entrecote to maybe a faux fillet and another cut that is good which you can only order for two).

However, I don't think their frites are anything special, frankly. They cut them thick, and I don't like that. If you like that, I suppose they are okay, nothign wrong with them. I don't have that many distinctions between frites other than the thickness of the slicing.

We also did enjoy Relais l' Entrecote, but it does have a sauce on the steak.

Another place we had the steak frites on 2 nites was Au Bougnat at 26 Chanoinesse which is about 2 blocks from Notre Dame. This was a thin ribeye steak, so very tender with no sauce. It's a small, very reasonably price restaurant. It was so good, we returned again in a few nights.

Why not consider Moules Frites? Usually very good. most places.