Paris – Le Bouledogue

After spending our first full day in Paris, we had reservations for dinner at a place recommended by an acquaintance of mine. They often stay in the Marais and enjoy a brasserie named Le Bouledogue. We were staying just a few blocks away so the nice walk down to Rue Rambuteau was quite easy for us.

The interior of the restaurant is quite charming and the brasserie's namesake is "Elliot" who was owned by the previous owner of this establishment. Service was interesting, the gentleman running things seemed almost irritated and angry at something. The woman who was our Server was very nice and friendly.

I'm sure this place is quite popular. It was 7pm on a Tuesday night and every table was reserved!

The menu is full of "classics" which made us quite happy. We placed our order and soon enough dishes started arriving.

Of course we had to get the Bone Marrow (11,5€). We were quite astounded at the portion size!

The bread provided was wonderful. The nice Server told us it was from the famous boulangerie Poilâne. So, another place to add to our list to check out. We found the bone marrow to be under roasted. In fact, the last of it was on the bloody side and metallic in flavor.

Another standard for me; Beef Tartare (27€), I was a bit concerned about the price, but like the bone marrow, the portion size was quite large.

Goodness, this was indeed a "plat principal"! The frites were on the soggy side, but as with potatoes outside the states, the interior was creamy and yielded a nice, almost sweet flavor. The greens were bitter, yet quite refreshing. The tartare was quite mild in flavor, I like a bit more Dijon, capers, and cornichons in mine, to add pungency and contrast. The cut was also more coarse than I prefer, thus making this a bit more chewy than I prefer.

The Missus is a fan of Andouillette, having enjoyed the versions we've had in Lyon and other places in France. So She ordered that (25€) as Her main.

Again the greens and frites were quite good. That Andouillette was quite, well, rotund, literally bursting at the seams. This was quite funky, shades of lampredotto! The tripe was quite thick and chewy, but this was not bad overall.

As we were dining, the tables filled up; about a 50-50 non-French to French speakers. Folks were being turned away at the doors. Seems like Le Bouledogue is quite a popular place indeed! For us, well, it seemed more about the portion sizes here.

Still, who wouldn't love Elliot?