Bistrot du Coin

[sweetfreak]

I can't find a thread specifically on Bistro du Coin, so sorry for making this a new topic.

But I am going to dinner tommorrow night at BDC, and am wondering if there is anything I can eat there that is not fried, covered in cheese and cream, or pate-d.

I know, I know, I am not usually concerned with fat content, but I am trying to pace myself during the holiday season, and my friend picked BDC for dinner.

So, any suggestions? I should add, I am not crazy about mussels and realize this would be the obvious choice.

[Busboy]

You can find food like that at BdC -- roast chicken, hold the sauce; grilled fish -- but you're swimming against the tide. BdC is at its best when you're eating something hot, gooey and French on a December night, preferable accompanied by a burly red wine. Maybe you can be good at another Christmas celebration, where all you have to give up is baby egg rolls and cheese balls with Ritz, and get a little extra Bernaise with your steak tomorrow night -- you'll need it for the frites.

[morela]

Mesclun Salad, veggie soup (or check on the soup special)

steamed mussels (just don't be dipping in that broth)...

or just have a small plate of something fatty and stop there. Duck confit (the little $13 plate) is a yummy treat. At least it's sort of Atkins friendly.

Drink Ricard, it breaks down fat ....

[JennyUptown]

I can't imagine going to Bistrot du Coin and NOT having tartiflette!

It just wouldn't be as good for me.

Edited December 8, 2004 by JennyUptown (log)

[DCMark]

Richard breaks down fat???? Thanks for the info, I will have another.

Mesclun Salad, veggie soup (or check on the soup special)

steamed mussels (just don't be dipping in that broth)...

or just have a small plate of something fatty and stop there.  Duck confit (the little $13 plate) is a yummy treat.  At least it's sort of Atkins friendly.

Drink Ricard, it breaks down fat  ....

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[ecreson]

Depending on your appetite, the BDC charcuterie plate is more substantial than some. Given the choice, it feels healthier than rabbit stew!

[fero style]

you know what ? I swear to god I was about to finish my very long review about that shitty restaurant , all of a sudden I decided to delete everything I wrote and this place doesnt even deserve such a complain.it is not worthed at all . In my opinion and only one experience , this place sucks very very bad. there is that incredible discrimination and unbelievable inexperienced very rude staff. you will have more fun and better taste if you go and try those pretzel carts by the white house for tourists. If you ask me do not even bother trying this place , do not even walk by this place.

But again , this is my opinion.

[LittleWing]

you know what ? I swear to god I was about to finish my very long review about that shitty restaurant , all of a sudden I decided to delete everything I wrote and this place doesnt even deserve such a complain.it is not worthed at all . In my opinion and only one experience , this place sucks very very bad. there is that incredible discrimination and unbelievable inexperienced very rude staff. you will have more fun and better taste if you go and try those pretzel carts by the white house for tourists. If you ask me do not even bother trying this place , do not even walk by this place.

But again , this is my opinion.

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ditto.

sucks.

I've never understood why so many of my restaurant co-workers, past and present, go there after work. And unlike fero style, I've been more than enough times.

Ditto on everything, except for fero's remarks re: service. Even as a server, BdC is the one place that I don't mind rude waiters - it reminds me of a true french bistro

[DCMark]

Come on tell us more. I have seen more people there treated like complete SHIT. Being that I usually go with french people we don't have that problem but some stuff I have seen is pretty bad/funny.

End of meal, not too busy: check comes to table...."No dessert for you! Leave now!"

you know what ? I swear to god I was about to finish my very long review about that shitty restaurant , all of a sudden I decided to delete everything I wrote and this place doesnt even deserve such a complain.it is not worthed at all . In my opinion and only one experience , this place sucks very very bad. there is that incredible discrimination and unbelievable inexperienced very rude staff. you will have more fun and better taste if you go and try those pretzel carts by the white house for tourists. If you ask me do not even bother trying this place , do not even walk by this place.

But again , this is my opinion.

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[Roger Troutman]

While I love the food there, the service is pretty crappy. But don't encourage it; bring a handful of pennies and tip accordingly

Edit: I've been told by more than one person that this type of service is "a French thing." Has this been anyone else's experience?

Edited December 9, 2004 by Roger Troutman (log)

[DCMark]

Roger, that comment by more than one person, is, in my opinion bullsh*t and generally misinformed. French service is generally excellent. I would guess that those receiving poor service in France are shorts-wearing tourists eating at the closest place to Notre Dame with 'English Menus'. My $.02 having eating 300+ meals in France with no sign of poor service (compare to 1 in 3 bad service experiences here in DC).

While I love the food there, the service is pretty crappy. But don't encourage it; bring a handful of pennies and tip accordingly 

Edit: I've been told by more than one person that this type of service is "a French thing." Has this been anyone else's experience?

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[eunny jang]

Edit: I've been told by more than one person that this type of service is "a French thing." Has this been anyone else's experience?

Well, that's silly, and a function of the hate-to-admit-it-but-never-been-able-to-shake-that-slight-widening-of-the-eyes-and-sudden-timidity-to-judge-when-told-its-European feeling lingering in our collective memory. I mean, come on, we're not Auntie Mildred from Omaha out for a night on the town. "This service is awful. And my fries are soggy." "But it's so French, dear." "Ohhhhhhh, well, then." Aren't we a little past that?

I have seen the service be inexcusably rude - not "not coddling enough", not "a little inattentive", but shamelessly rude. I've never eaten in France, but don't think that outright, undisguised maliciousness and mean-spiritedness are part of a hallowed tradition there. Then again, I've always gotten lucky with the service, so maybe I don't really know.

It is what it is - greasy food, rather erratic, really pretty middling unless you dig the late hours or live around the corner or have otherwise formed attachments.

Edited December 9, 2004 by eunny jang (log)

[mnebergall]

Is this thread about a particular restaurant or french service (which some seem to think is an oxymoron)?

[DonRocks]

Is this thread about a particular restaurant or french service (which some seem to think is an oxymoron)?

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[This thread is about Bistrot du Coin, which has been both applauded and criticized in the past for having "French service." Any discussion of the merits, typicity or pitfalls of French service on this thread should be tied in somehow with the specifics of Bistrot du Coin.]

[JennyUptown]

Then again, I've always gotten lucky with the service, so maybe I don't really know.

Same here. I think they're nicer to girls.

[Roger Troutman]

To clarify, I haven't been to France, nor have I been to a lot of French restaurants here. While I wouldn't characterize the service I have experienced at Bistrot du Coin as rude, I felt that our party was treated with slower, more indifferent and unattentive service than I would expect at such an establishment, on more than one occasion. The food is good enough that it won't stop me from returning, but the waitstaff certainly shouldn't expect an automatic 20% gratuity, either.

They aren't exactly going out of their way to counter the tired stereotype of French service being rude or snobbish.

Edited December 9, 2004 by Roger Troutman (log)

[DCMark]

Most of the servers at BdC (and at Les Halles for that matter) are not native French but born in Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, etc. I have spoken to them about it and many did not train extensively in France anyway.

I think we all know that service starts at the top and at BdC that is Michele. Either he likes you or hates you. Michele seems to be quite tight with the restauranter/critic/VIP crowd in DC and treats them accordingly. But he does not go out of his way to provide great service to the regular joe. He did that at Les Halles but there he was working for a coporation.

Bluntly put, he can be a total prick to people and the staff reflects that.

To clarify, I haven't been to France, nor have I been to a lot of French restaurants here. While I wouldn't characterize the service I have experienced at Bistrot du Coin as rude, I felt that our party was treated with slower, more indifferent and unattentive service than I would expect at such an establishment, on more than one occasion. The food is good enough that it won't stop me from returning, but the waitstaff certainly shouldn't expect an automatic 20% gratuity, either.

They aren't exactly going out of their way to counter the tired stereotype of French service being rude or snobbish.

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[Mark Sommelier]

If all of the above is true, please explain why the place is packed all the time.

[eunny jang]

Because it's cheap and reasonably tasty and high-energy.

Buca di Beppo is always packed too

[John W.]

Must be packed with pricks. I know for a fact it is every time I go.

[Al_Dente]

It can be quite "clubby" and I have had my share of rudeness. But I enjoy the food, the value, the Hoegarten on tap, and the chicks who tend bar can be nice if you put a little effort into it. It's not the kind of place I'd take my family, or go on a date, but it's fine for getting your drink on and filling up on delicious and fattening French comfort food.

[sweetfreak]

God, I wasn't that excited to go tonite, and now I am even less so.

That said, I have always just accepted the rudeness as part of the schtick. I never thought it was a "French thing" because I lived in France for a summer, and never experienced the brusque service of BDC, even in bistros.

The service and attitude at BDC reminds me of Coyote Ugly, sans the half-naked girls dancing on the bar. The attitude is supposed to be part of the fun, right?

Agree that the bustling atmosphere is a draw. The food is not. The only thing I have ever liked there are fries dipped in Bernaise, so maybe I will scrap my original post and just eat that.

[DCMark]

Cheesecake factory is packed too....

No offense, but Mark and John, you two are restaurant VIPs and would never see this at your table. For that matter, I get treated very well there. But I have seen some horrible stuff there.

Its backed because it has decent food, great hours and its trendy to be doin' it Parisian-style with the kids these days.

If all of the above is true, please explain why the place is packed all the time.

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[morela]

God, I wasn't that excited to go tonite, and now I am even less so.

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Well, there's the easy answer to eating light. Why do something on your own time and dime that you don't wanna do?!

[John W.]

Cheesecake factory is packed too....

No offense, but Mark and John, you two are restaurant VIPs and would never see this at your table.  For that matter, I get treated very well there.  But I have seen some horrible stuff there.

Its backed because it has decent food, great hours and its trendy to be doin' it Parisian-style with the kids these days.

If all of the above is true, please explain why the place is packed all the time.

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I've seen some horrible stuff in a lot of places. I just don't go back.

I've also seen Michel pull off the most gracious things I've ever seen anywhere to people he didn't know.

One man's poison is another man's Le Bureau.