Cookbook Profile: Bistros of Paris

The Bistros, Brasseries,
and Wine Bars of Paris
Everyday Recipes from the Real Paris

by Daniel Young

You can spend years in Paris and never hear the same answer twice to the question: What is the difference among a bistro, a brasserie, and a wine bar?

You would, however, find little disagreement about the virtues the three have in common. Together they nourish the Paris of Parisians—the real and everyday Paris—with local food, sophistication, hospitality, and romance. If a routine Tuesday night dinner out in Paris is superior to a festive Saturday splurge nearly anywhere else, it is a happy consequence of the wonderful habit Paris's very best bistros, brasseries, and wine bars have of making the ordinary extraordinary and the extraordinary ordinary.

Follow Daniel Young, acclaimed author of The Paris Café Cookbook, as he leads a tour of this Paris of Parisians by way of its definitive eating spots. Young explores the distinctions among bistros, brasseries, and wine bars before leading you to thirty-eight of his favorites, from landmark brasseries like Lipp and La Coupole to little-known gems like the bistro Clémentine and the wine bar La Petite Syrah. He shares more than one hundred of their recipes, all house specialties adapted here for use by North American home cooks.

The selection encompasses such certifiable classics as the Onion Soup Gratinée from Au Pied du Cochon, the Sauerkraut with Fish from Bofinger, the Pan-Grilled Rib Steak with Béarnaise Sauce from Le Bistrot Paul Bert, and the Chocolate Profiteroles from Julien, as well as new variations on old and familiar themes—the Endive Tatin with Goat Cheese from L'Épi Dupin, the Veal Blanquette with Ginger and Lemongrass from Le Baratin, the Warm Almond Cake with Caramel Cream from Le Repaire de Cartouche. With evocative black-and-white photographs and colorful descriptions of the featured establishments, The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris brings home the French capital's most extraordinarily ordinary flavors.

About the Author

Daniel Young is a food critic by trade and a collector of kitchen, dining room, and café secrets in practice. He is the author of Made in Marseille, The Rough Guide to New York City Restaurants, and The Paris Café Cookbook and has written about French food and culture for many publications, including Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, the New York Times, and others. Formerly the restaurant critic for the New York Daily News, he now lives in Paris, London, and his hometown, New York.

Buy the Book!

The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris
Everyday Recipes from the Real Paris
by Daniel Young
William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers
Hardcover; 224pp; $24.95
ISBN: 0060590734
Information provided by the publisher.