French Bistro Recipes You Can Cook at Home (2024)

Standing outside the small restaurant one evening in a French town you hear laughter coming from inside. A peek through the lace curtain that covers the bottom half of the window shows the glow of sconces on deeply hued walls. Open the door and the convivial atmosphere envelops you. You are a visitor to this place, but you want to belong. Take it all in: There's a zinc bar, house wine in carafes, and specials scribbled on a chalkboard. It all seems so sophisticated in its simplicity; the plain, paper-covered tables, the salad of greens with bacon lardons and poached eggs, the gratin of winter vegetables. There will usually be warm, no-nonsense service, and you imagine you could enjoy being a regular at this place. If you were, the owner would give you a knowing nod when you stopped in for a glass of red wine on your way home from work, and you'd sit at the bar, enjoying a chilled plate of steak tartare or slices of baguette spread with paté.

Even if they haven't traveled to France, most Americans have tasted the influence of the French bistro, whether in the form of French Onion Soup draped in gooey ribbons of cheese, sweet crème brulée, or the skinny, crisp French fries we sometimes think of as our own. Actually, French fries aren't really French either; they're widely recognized to be a Belgian invention. The Belgian dish of moules frites has become a French bistro staple though, as much as the North African dish of couscous has become part of the French gastronomic landscape.

In a bistro, things are done in a straightforward way: The meat, often a butcher's cut, which is flavorful yet inexpensive, is served with minimal fuss, either frites or a few sprigs of watercress on the plate. Bistros are much loved by Americans for their romantic yet unpretentious influence. And although it doesn't take the place of a trip to France, a home-cooked meal of a few of these favorite bistro recipes might bring you just a little bit closer.