Cafe L'Entrecote

Basically, the number one thing I spend money on here in Paris is food. I have an art history card, so lots of the museums are free, and if not, reduced price, wine is not too expensive, and I've been a pretty light traveler. So, since I'm dropping so many Euros on lunch/dinner, I've been trying to build up a little list of places I like to go.

For example, today, I stopped by Aygline's apartment to pick her up for a walk down to the place de Vosges (since, for some unexplainable reason, it is actually sunny in Paris). On the way back, we had lunch at one of my new favorite places, Cafe l'Entrecote. It's a pretty small and unassuming cafe about 2/3 of the way up Rue de la Roquette (right across the street from the clothing store Comptoir de Desert) from Bastille towards Place Voltaire (or Leon Blum, if you prefer). I'd been there last thursday for Meredith's birthday, and had really good food, so I figured it was worth another go.

The interior of the place is very charming without being overwrought. There's a few "french"posters and a cool little bar by the entrance that, given it's paris, there's more people drinking espressos than beer. The reason I stopped by is that they had a pretty amazing lunch deal, where you get a starter+main plate or plate + dessert plus a drink (including the option for a 1/4 of wine) for 12 Euros, which is not exactly highway robbery around these parts.

I chose the soupe a l'oignon and the magret de canard (essentially rare duck) with peppercorn sauce and, obviously, the 1/4 of red wine. It was all amazing. Not only that, but I had a real parisienne, Aygline, agree with me. We toasted to my recently departed grandmother, and had a very solid meal.

The place is about a 5-10 min walk up from Bastille and is worth the walk to get away from the overly touristy center of Bastille. If you go for dinner and order a steak frites with salad, you'll get it all on a big wooden cutting board, which I found to be a nice change from some of the overly stuffy and poorer quality french places around the city. Also, the seating is somewhat community-esque with long wooden tables, but it doesn't feel like a cafeteria at all.