Best moules frites in Paris?

[little ms foodie]

We will be in Paris on Tuesday and I love moules frites! Where is the best place to have these for lunch??

[tighe]

I considered going to Au Trappiste for lunch during my trip to Paris (mostly for the beer), but didn't make it. I've read several places that they serve good moules-frites, and their menu certainly looks promising.

[Bux]

I find it fascinating, that within my adult lifetime, a classic Belgian dish has been adopted by the French to the extent that it's so identified by others. Then again, I'm told that French fries are themselves of Belgian origin, not French. When I first traveled to France, one never saw frîtes served with mussels. Now moules frîtes is as common as steak frîtes. This is even the case in the reaches of Brittany, where every other crèperie is also a pizzeria today.

Unfortunately, I don't know a reliable source of the dish in Paris. There's a chain of (Belgian) restaurants in Paris that is know for their moules frîtes, but I can't really say how good it is. A Belgian friend has only told me that the mussels there are not as good as in Belgium. I have to say that the mussels I've had in Belgium were probably much better than the ones I've had in France.

[chezcherie]

I have had good mussels at Brasserie Au Pied de Cochon. 6, rue Coquillière. 75001 - Paris. Arrondissement

01. Phone: (+33) 01 40 13 77 00.

There is a place next door that's part of a small chain (Maitre de something?) that also has good ones--I think I liked the curried ones there. I seem to recall that both are open 24 hours. They are in the former Les Halles neighborhood, and across the street from the cookware mecca, Dehillerin (sadly, not open 24-7!) I've also eaten at the chain mentioned above, and also cannot recall the name, but it is instantly recognizable when you come upon one---looks like a "McMussels", with little lace curtains. Despite that, the mussels I had were perfectly acceptable.

(I looooove mussels, as evidenced by my visit to "McMussels"..I will eat them in a house, I will eat them with a mouse. Mussels are my signature dish, and last night I may have created my signature, signature mussel dish--Marvelous Mexi-Mussels. Corn, shallots and chipotle.....oh, my. If there were any left, I would snarf them cold for breakfast....mmmmm.)

[menton1]

Excellent moules frites are to be found at the chain Léon de Bruxelles. there are about 5 of these in Paris, and the mussels are pretty good. Do not get anything else at these places, though.

I think the French recognize this as a Belgian dish, though...

[fresh_a]

Leon de Bruxelles, the McDonalds of Moules Frites, has at least 12 locations in Paris, and probably hundreds more in the rest of France. They serve only moules frites (so you'd be hard pressed to get anything else on the menu), and are a chain restaurant in the mold of all the others. Moules Frites are a Belgian dish, first and formost, and although there are many excellent establishments in Paris selling fruits de mers, I don't know of any good Belgiun restaurants. Take the Thalys!

[Bux]

It is of course, the Leon de Bruxelles chain than my Belgian friend says offers moules frîtes in Paris that are inferior to those served in Belgium. I don't know what that says about French food, or Belgian food, that so many come to Paris yearning for a dish that can be had better elsewhere. I've hardly made a scientific study of mussels, but the plumpest I've had have been in Belgium.

From my early travels in France, I associate mussels with Brittany and Normandy, but not all that much with Paris. In fact, in Paris, I mostly remember having them in Breton crèperie/restaurants. They were never served with frîtes. Today, the French restaurants in New York that serve mussels, tend to serve them with French fries.

[menton1]

Leon de Bruxelles, the McDonalds of Moules Frites, has at least 12 locations in Paris, and probably hundreds more in the rest of France. They serve only moules frites (so you'd be hard pressed to get anything else on the menu), and are a chain restaurant in the mold of all the others. Moules Frites are a Belgian dish, first and formost, and although there are many excellent establishments in Paris selling fruits de mers, I don't know of any good Belgiun restaurants. Take the Thalys!

This is not correct! Although the signature dish of Léon is Moules Frites, they have many other items on the menu, Fish, steak, steack tartare, and salads. But let me also reiterate that the moules are the only thing to order here, even though there are many other choices.

Frankly, moules frites is a fairly simple dish, in a butter-garlic sauce, so I could not see going 2 1/2 hours to Brussels for just moules. We thought the moules we had here (for lunch) were quite acceptable, and the frites were above average. When someone says that the dish here is inferior, in what way? Was it the mussels, or the sauce? Both are so simple, it's hard to imagine a significant difference as the dish prepared in Léon is quite good.

[Bux]

Leon de Bruxelles, the McDonalds of Moules Frites, has at least 12 locations in Paris, and probably hundreds more in the rest of France. They serve only moules frites (so you'd be hard pressed to get anything else on the menu), and are a chain restaurant in the mold of all the others. Moules Frites are a Belgian dish, first and formost, and although there are many excellent establishments in Paris selling fruits de mers, I don't know of any good Belgiun restaurants. Take the Thalys!

This is not correct! Although the signature dish of Léon is Moules Frites, they have many other items on the menu, Fish, steak, steack tartare, and salads. But let me also reiterate that the moules are the only thing to order here, even though there are many other choices.

Frankly, moules frites is a fairly simple dish, in a butter-garlic sauce, so I could not see going 2 1/2 hours to Brussels for just moules. We thought the moules we had here (for lunch) were quite acceptable, and the frites were above average. When someone says that the dish here is inferior, in what way? Was it the mussels, or the sauce? Both are so simple, it's hard to imagine a significant difference as the dish prepared in Léon is quite good.

La carte de Léon de Bruxelles. Although one could be left with the impression that all they offer is moules frîtes it seems they have a broader carte.

I've not eaten at a Léon de Bruxelles in Paris, nor at Léon in Brussels, but in general I feel I've had plumper and more flavorful mussels in Belgium than in France. It's a gross generalization, of course. It's the simplest dishes which often separate the very good restaurants from the very mediocre, however. I've had overcooked and dried out reheated mussels on more than one continent. The fact that a dish is easy to prepare is no guarantee it will be well prepared anywhere. Chain restaurants have an advantage of economy and a means therefore to be a good value. Their system of distribution may afford the freshest product or the stalest product depending on how it's operated. I know this is a generalization that may be seen as unfair to chains, but rarely are chain restaurants operated by professional cooks of great ability, or with the same pride as a smaller individual chef operated restaurant. That said, they often have the advantage of keeping the bottom level higher than at independent greasy spoons.

I understand your reasoning however that if they are good in one place, how much better can they be elsewhere. As for going two and a half hours just for mussels, that's probably why I rarely think of ordering mussels in Paris. I can get very good moules frîtes less than two and a half blocks from where I live in Manhattan and have several other choices not much further away than that. I love mussels, but don't think of them as special to France.

[menton1]

My only point was, that I already feel that the mussels are good at Léon; so since it is a simple dish, it really can't be all that much better. I think your Belgian friend's opinion is being deeply prejudiced by his nationalistic pride. But after all, the French do have so many snickering remarks at the expense of the Belgians as well...

P.S. Probably the best mussels I've ever had were on Cape Cod!

[fresh_a]

I avoid chain restaurants normally at all costs, so I wasn't aware of the vast selection on the Leon menu. Many apologies!

[Bux]

I avoid chain restaurants normally at all costs, so I wasn't aware of the vast selection on the Leon menu. Many apologies!

I was once riding the train in France with a family and a couple of kids eating McDo salads. I innocently mentioned that McDonald's in the US didn't have salads like the ones the kids were eating. What the hell did I know about what McDonald's offers. When I got back to the states I noticed a big sign in a McDonald's window advertising just the sort of salad I didn't think they served.

[picaman]

I had moules frîtes at one of the Paris Leon De Bruxelles outposts several years ago, and remember them tasting fairly good, but the mussels were not plentiful and some were unopened. Probably just luck of the draw--the restaurant was busy to bursting, the hour was late, and I had been overserved.

Jamie

[menton1]

I avoid chain restaurants normally at all costs, so I wasn't aware of the vast selection on the Leon menu. Many apologies!

I was once riding the train in France with a family and a couple of kids eating McDo salads. I innocently mentioned that McDonald's in the US didn't have salads like the ones the kids were eating. What the hell did I know about what McDonald's offers. When I got back to the states I noticed a big sign in a McDonald's window advertising just the sort of salad I didn't think they served.

I don't think lumping Léon into the same category as McDonald's in quite right, I would call McDonalds a "must to avoid"!! (To quote an old Herman's Hermits song).

[fresh_a]

Of course they're not in the same category: McDonald's doesn't sell mussels, and Leon doesn't sell hamburgers. But they are the same type of chain restaurant. Leon is in the same cast as Buffalo Grill, etc etc

[pim]

It bogs my mind why anyone would waste an eating opportunity in Paris on a meal at a place like Léon. I was there once a few years ago, due to a momentary lapse in judgement. It was barely decent. Just barely.

I bet you can get just as good if not better Moules Frites at your local frechifized restaurant.

In San Francisco, Chez Papa and Chez Nous always have a dependable one.

Edited July 9, 2004 by pim (log)

[AlainV]

A Belgian friend has only told me that the mussels there are not as good as in Belgium. I have to say that the mussels I've had in Belgium were probably much better than the ones I've had in France.

I am a Belgian and I love "moules frites" with a good beer. Restaurant "Chez Léon" is an institution in Brussels. It opened as a simple café in 1883 in "rue des Bouchez", the historical center of Brussels, near the "Grand Place".

The funny thing is that the mussels in any belgian "moule frites" are not belgian but come from Zeeland, part of The Netherlands !

And to enjoy the great taste of these mussels (they just arrived in the market - in Belgium, it becomes a commercially evenement just like new beaujolais in France), no funny garlic sauce : just mussels, celeri, onions and carots to get "moules marinières".

[Bux]

Celery is to me, distinctly Belgian, although I am now starting to see celery in the preparations outside Belgium. I will also say that most of the places I saw in Belgium seem to offer many styles of cooking. This is true in France as well these days. I remember when they only came marinière" all over France and with cream in Normandy.

[fresh_a]

Pim, my sentiments exactly

adrian

[little ms foodie]

I'm back!

Well we stumbled upon the Leon chain while out and about one day so decided to give it a try. I am hugely against chains especially when in other countries but decided to give it a fair shake.

My husband and I both had the mussels and fries. He had a wine broth and I had the cream. Mine was much better. We had tons of mussels, almost all were opened and neither of us could finish our lunch. We both liked that the mussels came in their out Le Crueset crock.

The fries were not good though...limp and not much flavor.

All in all it was fine for lunch, missing the ambiance of a true cafe I wouldn't go again but I'm not sorry I tried it.

Thanks for all the info!!

[Schneier]

I see moules frites for sale everywhere in France. The tourist restaurants here in Azay-le-Rideau (in the Loire, near Tours) have them on the menu.

I don't think I would order them, though.

Bruce