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’aimons, du Coin.