French restaurants in USA
-
A
Artisanal
For those who live, love and dream fromage, Artisanal is a must-eat. More than 250 varieties of cheese, from stinky to sweet, are on the menu. Along with classic French mains like steak au poivre, you can sample four types of fondue (including chocolate) and gougères (little servings) of everything from Brie to Ossau-Iraty.
reviewed
-
B
Campanile
Occupying a spot in the city’s culinary pantheon for over 15 years, chef-owner Mark Peel knows how to turn market-fresh ingredients into beautiful dishes. For more casual dining, stop by for Thursday’s popular Grilled Cheese Night and sample one of 12 traditional and not-so-traditional sandwiches created with LA flair and Campanile care. Reservations recommended.
reviewed
-
C
Daniel
This chichi French palace features floral arrangements and wide-eyed foodies who gawk over plates of peekytoe crab and celery-root salad, foie gras terrine with gala apples and black truffle-crusted lobster - and that's just the first course. There's an all-veggie menu, too.
reviewed
-
D
Bistro Bis
Jeff Buben is the chef behind the nouveau Southern fare at Vidalia, and he takes a Southern approach – big portions and rich flavors – to the menu at Bis. The combination works; there’s a rustic affability between classical Southern American and French cuisine, and the two seemingly disparate cultures find delicious common ground in this warm dining room. Concrete examples? Try the crisp frisee salad accompanied by big, sweet sides of applewood bacon, or a smoky duck confit offset by tarty sweet kisses from big cherries. Bistro Bis opens for breakfast, one of the few restaurants in its class to do so, making it the perfect spot to squeeze in a gourmet omelet and glass of …
reviewed
-
E
Jo Jo
Part of the ever-thriving Jean-Georges empire, here is a place where you really can’t go wrong. French standards get the Midas touch with the addition of a little something special. Foie gras is fashioned into crème brûlée, venison cubes are tossed with pomegranate seeds, striped bass gets simply pan roasted with fennel and lemon. The warm and gooey chocolate Valrhona cake is widely praised as the best in the city – if not the world. And it’s all turned out into a dining room that, following a recent renovation, feels so hushed, lush and intimate, you feel as if you’ve been invited into an old-school, squeaky-clean bordello.
reviewed
-
F
Café Degas
A full-grown pecan tree thrusts through the floor and ceiling of the enclosed deck that serves as Café Degas’ congenial dining room. This is a rustic and romantic little spot that warms the heart with first-rate, very reasonably priced French fare. The casual atmosphere is accentuated by eccentric, exceedingly polite waiters. Meals that sound familiar on the menu – steak frites au poivre, parmesan-crusted veal medallions, seared duck breast with mushroom spaetzle – are arranged with extraordinary beauty on their plates. You might feel guilty for disturbing art like this, but it’s a crime for which you will be amply rewarded.
reviewed
-
G
Café Amelie
We’ve waxed rhapsodic over the Quarter’s beautiful backyard gardens, but Amelie’s takes the cake. This may be the most romantic dining spot in the city, an alfresco restaurant that’s practically as cute as the movie of the same name, tucked behind an old carriage house and surrounded by high brick walls and lush shade trees. Fresh seafood and local produce are the basis of a modest, ever-changing menu. Lunch is lovely, when you can nibble sandwiches amid the green, but an evening dinner under starlight while feasting on shrimp and mushroom linguine is just as magic.
reviewed
-
H
Fleur de Lys
Long before celebrity chef Hubert Keller took his show on the road to Vegas and Top Chef Masters, this was the ultimate over-the-top SF destination. There’s nothing subtle about the swanky sultan’s tent interiors, but it’s oddly suited to princely repasts involving gnocchi graced with chanterelles and hazelnut-encrusted scallops and halibut crowned with rhubarb coulis and truffle, and a king’s ransom of foie gras on every other dish. Prix-fixe options for omnivores begin at $70 for three courses, while vegetarians are entitled to a five-course feast for a surprisingly reasonable $68.
reviewed
-
I
Montmartre
One of the better pure French spots in town, Montmartre is ensconced in a warm, neighborly location cluttered in a mamman’s dining room kinda way, complimented by great wines and some very fine steak, served bloody and yummy. This is more of a neighborhood spot than a political dinner date, which adds to the feeling of cozy authenticity. The homemade pâté is silky and rich, deserts are delightful, and all in all this is a place French expats take their friends to give them a taste of home – the praise doesn’t come much higher than that.
reviewed
-
J
Le Pichet
This tiny French café, bistro and wine bar is elegant and tasteful, and yet it’s casual enough to quickly become a favorite haunt. The menu features traditional French cuisine without the aorta-clogging heaviness that this often implies. Breakfast is simple and delicious, and small snack plates of olives, almonds or various rillettes (potted meats) are available all day. For a treat, order the roasted chicken with celery and potatoes ($34); it’s made only on request and takes an hour, but is worth the wait.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Brasserie Jo
This huge, open place serves wonderful food from Alsace, where owner Jean Joho was born. From the signature beer specially brewed by a local microbrewery to the hot, fresh baguettes, all the details are right. Try the great choucroute (smoked meats and sausages on sauerkraut) or the shrimp in a bag. Wear a fancy hat on Thursday and get a free chapeau au chocolat (chocolate hat) dessert.
reviewed
-
L
Gregoire
The best takeaway by the bay offers classic French. The weekly menu features what's in season locally, maybe grilled artichoke with aioli, impeccably fresh salad, steak in a wine reduction and always, the ethereal potato puffs. Just a few blocks from the park-like UC campus or the Berkeley Rose Garden (on Euclid at Rose), this is a perfect place to outfit a picnic.
reviewed
-
M
Veranda
A cornerstone of downtown Fort Myers, the Veranda combines two historic homes with delicious French-inspired cuisine – love awaits.
reviewed
-
N
Adour
Alain Ducasse is one of those celebrity chef names whispered in hushed tones of reverence (or screamed through a gold bullhorn of marketing exuberance, if you do PR for Adour). People talk about Adour, Ducasse’s first Washington, DC outpost, based in the St Regis Washington hotel, in more down-to-earth terms: good. Very good. Really good. Great? That’s getting there. Admittedly, this restaurant has a big name to live up to, and our experience is limited by its newness – but we expect great things. The menu changes with the season, but in general it pays homage to the richest traditions of French cuisine and the universal palette of a discerning foodie (a summer dish of …
reviewed
-
O
Westend Bistro
There’s some intimidating talent behind Westend’s kitchen: the restaurant was founded by Eric Ripert, who has a small constellation of Michelin stars under his belt, and the chef de cuisine is Joe Palma, who has come up through some of the best kitchens in DC and New York, including Citronelle and Le Bernardin. Those sort of names attract some gushing hype, attention which is pretty justified in this gem of wood and warm tones. The French-American menu is a mix of rich haute cuisine and a playful wink; you can snack on truffled popcorn at the bar, then enjoy a fish burger dressed with a delicate saffron aioli that hits like a delicious whisper – and at $16, that burger is…
reviewed
-
P
Bistrot du Coin
How do you know if a French bistro is the real thing? The decor? Du Coin does up its dining rooms with a lovely tricolour spread come Bastille Day. Resistance to smoking bans? Du Coin held the line longer than any DC restaurant we know of. But really, it’s the food, and this is still our favorite spot for roll-up-your-sleeves, working-class French fare: steak frites, moules, cassoulet and the like. Not because it’s necessarily the best (although it’s quite good), but because the atmosphere feels plucked out of Orwell’s Down and Out descriptions of Paris, the clientele is a fun mix of Dupont yuppies and nostalgic Euros and the prices are very reasonable. Nous t’aim…
reviewed
-
Q
Citronelle
Citronelle regularly lurks near the very top of every Washington best restaurant list ever compiled. Big name Michel Richard started this show, a split-level study in the most creative twists tweakable on the American palate, yet grounded in French classicism. Part of what makes dining here so special is the emphasis on fun over formality. The cooks seem to laugh through their creations, such as salmon in a chicken (?!) jus, or the famous short ribs, braised for three days, then pan-seared (?!?) into something…well, medium-rare and amazing. This is the silly envelope’s edge of what can be done in DC cuisine; if you’re a visiting foodie, this should go on your ‘can’t-miss’…
reviewed
-
R
Marcel’s
The trick with French cuisine is keeping true to the classics while adding the right edge of modern embellishment. Marcel’s has this tricky formula down. Old school, fill-you-up-by-a-fire fare like pork belly and turbot with peas is hearty and thick, inducing pleasant drowsiness and a satisfied sense of stuffed. But the sprucing on the side – quail egg and cornichons, or the miso that accompanies the Alaskan cod – is just understated enough to ratchet the dining experience into a level approaching, and even dipping into, greatness. A classy touch: Marcel’s offers a complimentary limousine service to the Kennedy Center, so this is an ideal spot for pre-theater dining.…
reviewed
-
S
Café du Parc
Du Parc is one of the best bistros in town, a place for French fare devoid of embellishment but ripping in honest, strong flavors and deceptively simple preparation. The mussels and beef tartar may be the best in the city, which would be reason enough to visit, but the calf liver, kissed perfectly by the pan and a drizzle of shallots, olive-crusted local rockfish and crisp shavings of pork belly make us want to pitch a tent on the terrace. Which is a good spot for outdoor dining, by the way. Breakfast here is lovely – a nice blend of American and Continental dishes – and presents the opportunity for politico spotting.
reviewed
-
T
Café Presse
This dreamy new cafe, opened by the owners of the cute French bistro Le Pichet, specializes in unfussy dishes the likes of which you’d find once upon a time in a terrace cafe around Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The croque monsieur and madame are huge slabs of creamy goodness, steak frites are perfectly cooked and filling, and the vegetables are fresh and crispy. There’s a handful of outdoor tables outside the beautiful cafe-bar; a long list of aperitifs and digestifs adds to the classy Euro feel. The cafe’s adorable servers seem to have been hired based on their resemblance to Jean Seberg in Breathless.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
U
La Chaumiere
There’s artists and there’s craftsmen, and La Chaumiere’s kitchen seems to fall into the second category. This isn’t a bad thing; there’s no fooling around with funny envelope pushing here, just very good classical French food prepared in an intimate dining room that screams ‘expensive date.’ This is hearty, stick-to-your-bones stuff straight from the terroir – duck breast, saddle of rabbit, calf brains – things that are long- and slow-braised with love. Screw art. We’ll take the loving work of these craftsmen any day.
reviewed
-
V
Circle Bistro
When it comes to intimate French dining, the Circle ups the romance level, brings the price point down a notch and presents a menu that’s solid if not particularly inspiring. This is fine dining with American ingredients, and while you may not be surprised by dishes such as trout with artichoke hearts or a squid-ink pasta (such things seem de rigeur of late), that doesn’t mean you won’t be delighted by them – the food is, simply, quite good. The service is generally even better, which adds to the appeal of using this spot for a date night.
reviewed
-
W
Café Jacqueline
The secret terror of top chefs is the classic French soufflé: only when the ingredients are in golden-mean proportions, whipped into perfect peaks, baked at the right temperature and removed from the oven not a second too early or late will a soufflé rise to the occasion. Chef Jacqueline’s soufflés float across the tongue like the fog over the Golden Gate Bridge, and with the right person across the tiny wooden table to share that seafood soufflé, dinner could hardly get more romantic – until you order the chocolate for dessert.
reviewed
-
X
Lilette
Lilette is a lively little bistro with a very traditional European vibe, although tradition is not an obsession, as chef John Harris works wonders with familiar dishes, making them subtly new. Lunch here is a nice way to pass a Magazine St afternoon; the pulled pork sandwich in its own gravy is gorgeous. Dinner’s nice, too; start your meal with the white-truffle parmigiana toast with wild mushrooms, then pick from a solid lineup of mains, such as grilled hanger steak, which comes with fries and marrowed bordelaise sauce.
reviewed
-
Y
L’Espalier
Fans were forlorn when this elegant French affair moved out of its intimate Back Bay town house and into a fancy new locale in the Mandarin Oriental. But L’Espalier has managed the transition with much aplomb. The tried and true favorite remains the crème de la crème of Boston’s culinary scene, thanks to impeccable service and a variety of prix-fixe and tasting menus. The menus change daily, but usually include a degustation of caviar, a degustation of seasonal vegetables and recommended wine pairings.
reviewed
