If you’re heading to Paris on holiday, along with a list of must-see destinations – the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame… – you’ll want to make sure you indulge in one of France’s most famous attractions: the cuisine.
But in a city with thousands of restaurants, it’s easy to be overwhelmed, and instead of picking an authentic bistro where great food is served in a buzzing, lively atmosphere there is always a danger that you will end up choosing somewhere of dubious quality where the locals wouldn’t be seen lifting a fork.
Help is at hand, though, in the form of a free guide to 107 of Paris’s best bistros. Le Petit Pudlo des Bistrots is the work of French journalist and food critic Gilles Pudlowski, who favours “a no-frills cuisine, where you can find the flavour of old-fashioned dishes where the wind of youth, wine and friends blows”.
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The guide also picks out seven winners who embody excellence in the bistro world. These include Charleyne Valet, of Cyrano (17th arrondissement) who won Chef of the Year; Le Gavroche (2nd) which won the Art de Vivre trophy; Chez Georges (2nd) which won the Hospitality Trophy; and Au Moulin à Vent (5th) which won the Bistro of the Year.
Pudlowski credits Théophile Moles with the success of Au Moulin à Vent, having breathed new life into this former wine hall in Jussieu, with a dynamic young team, lower prices and authentic cuisine, turning it into a popular place for locals to meet and enjoy good food. “The register is subtle, typically French and tasty,” he writes. “As proof, the pig’s head carpaccio, the snails with parsley butter, the slightly revisited mayo egg, the (soft) 15-hour confit veal breast with morel sauce and gratin dauphinois or Chateaubriand Béarnaise with sautéed garlic apples… This is a house from which we emerge rejuvenated!”
The print run of 10,000 copies of Le Petit Pudlo des Bistrots was distributed at the start of October so be quick if you want to get your hands on one. But fear not if you miss out – you can download a digital copy here.
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