Where to eat good frogs' legs?
Once obsolete, frogs' legs are back on the menu of traditional French restaurants. Here are five places to try them.
A popular dish in bourgeois cuisine, frogs' legs gradually disappeared from restaurant menus. But the good news is that they're back in the spotlight, thanks to the resurgence of bistro-style cooking and traditional restaurants. These little morsels, whose flavor is often described as similar to that of chicken, are both tender and delicate, and generally cooked in butter, garlic and fresh parsley. Here are a few addresses to (re)discover frog legs, from the most traditional to the most modern restaurants.
Les Parisiens by Thibault Sombardier, Paris
Nestled in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris, the Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain is home to Les Parisiens, a neo-brasserie with a menu designed by Thibault Sombardier. The specialist in bistro cuisine offers modernized French classics, such as vol-au-vent à la sauce normande, suprême de vol-au-vent à la sauce normande, suprême de volaille fermière aux girolles and, of course, frogs' legs revisited meunière-style, with chili, ginger and garlic.
- Where to eat? Les Parisiens by Thibault Sombardier, 1 rue du Pré aux Clercs, 75007 Paris
- www.pavillon-faubourg-saint-germain.com
Le Président, Lyon
Christophe Marguin, leader of the Toques blanches lyonnaises, is also a great connoisseur of French cuisine. In addition to the main dining room, a "chefs' lounge" decorated with kitchen jackets from the greatest French and international chefs has been created to welcome groups in total intimacy. Christophe Marguin's menu features classic dishes executed to perfection, such as chest-roasted half-pigeon, lamb sweetbread fricassee and frogs sautéed in butter and fine herbs.
- Where to eat? Le Président, 11 avenue de la Grande-Bretagne, 69006 Lyon
- www.restaurantlepresident.com
©FredDurantet
Le Bistrot d'Antoine, Strasbourg
Le Bistrot d'Antoine is a good neighborhood address run by chef Antoine Kuster, offering fine bistro-style cuisine. Alongside croustillant de pied de cochon, other classics include petit salé aux lentilles, baba au rhum and frogs' legs sautéed in garlic.
- Where to eat? Le Bistrot d'Antoine, 3 rue de la Courtine, 67000 Strasbourg
- www.lebistrotdantoine.com
La Table des Dombes, Miribel
Just outside Lyon, in Miribel, lies La Table des Dombes, a bistronomic restaurant that has made poultry with morel mushrooms, duck tournedos and frogs' legs in parsley its specialties. The latter are served with a gourmet gratin dauphinois and accompanied, why not, by a small glass of wine selected by the house.
- Where to eat? La Table des Dombes, 983 route de Strasbourg, 01700 Miribel
- www.latabledesdombes.com
HachetteCuisine, ©La Table des Dombes
La Poule au Pot, Paris
Jean-François and Elodie Piège took over La Poule au Pot, this Parisian institution, in 2018 with the firm intention of preserving this part of France's culinary heritage. On the menu: a typical 1930s decor and pretty bourgeois cuisine. The menu includes sea bass quenelle, sole goujonnettes, shepherd's pie, pâté en croûte and, of course, perfectly cooked frogs' legs with parsley.
- Where to eat? La Poule au Pot, 9 rue Vauvilliers, 75001 Paris
- www.jeanfrançoispiege.com/la-poule-au-pot
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