Best of EPP: Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: Roger La Grenouille

I am taking a much-needed vacation this week and posting The Best of EPP with Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats posts from the past. Enjoy and will fill you in next week about my vacation.

The same day I was strolling through Saint Germain when I shot the architectural details on rue Danton, I discovered the most charming restaurant, Roger La Grenouille. Decorated with frogs everywhere, the restaurant was closed in between lunch and dinner but I peered into the windows with great curiosity, wondering what the great frog had to offer. I saw there was a 20€, two course formule, so the deal was cinched and Lynn and I went for lunch last Thursday.

Confused by the front door of the restaurant that was closed, we realized the entrance was through the courtyard, where a pair of leaping iron frogs greeted us. The restaurant was dark and dim, one of the old classic bistros that are far and few between these days. Copper pots hung from the ceiling an authentic way, not just faux pots like you see in modern restaurants striving to create atmosphere. The walls were studded with an eccentric mix of world currencies, Parisian street signs, photos, memorabilia, certificates, and kitschy frogs in every form, from a cartoon poster to the toilet paper holder.

The restaurant was empty and we practically had the place to ourselves until a few other diners arrived thirty minutes later. Since the restaurant was empty, we were not only hungry for lunch but also but also for more insight in to what was on the walls. The kind waiter, who loved the restaurant and has worked there for 10 years, took us on tour, extolling its history  and colorful owner, Roger. Roger Spinhirny, the original owner, born in 1900 and died in 1985, took an old shoe repair shop and turned it into a restaurant in 1930. The restaurant shortly took on legendary status with the impresario Roger at the helm and Popes, Presidents, and Queens dined at the humble restaurant as well as Picasso, Francois Truffaut and poet/aviator Saint-Expuery. Balthus was a frequent patron and painted a portrait of Roger. Roger had an heroic side and during WW II, he worked with the Resistance in addition to having a philanthropic side, providing free lunches for poor schoolchildren and the homeless.

Fully captivated by the waiter’s tour, we finally sat and got down to the business of what to have for lunch. The fare for the formule was pretty standard, for entrees, they offered carrot soup, rabbit terrine, and foie gras crème brulee, and plat- Merlan fish, entrecote, or Osso Buco. There was a selection frog’s legs including Provencale and Normandy style (cooked with cider) but unfortunately they were not part of the formule.

The soup arrived in a Pyrex pot and had a nice full body to it, with not too much cream in it, if any at all. Lynn’s terrine was house made and my bite full was tasty and moist. We both ordered Osso Bucco and it came out in a Le Creuset style iron pot, with a glorious scent steaming from it. Lynn and I always have a bit of a disagreement about the tenderness of French meat. I found it tender and easy to chew, Lynn thought the veal was tough. The beer sauce was so tasty we longed for more, as the portion was a bit puny. Dessert was a Café Gourmand, a much more generous portion than the Osso Bucco.

If you’re looking for good bistro comfort food with not much surprise and great atmosphere and charm, Roger La Grenouille is pitch perfect.

Roger La Grenouille
26-28 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006
Metro: Odeon
Open Monday to Saturday
Lunch 12PM-2PM, dinner 7PM-11PM
Tel. +33 1 56 24 24 34

Picasso

I am so pleased to have Ann Mah as my guest this week at on A Bite of Paris. We went to Le Mistral, her favorite Paris bistro and had their signature dish, aligot, a rich, creamy mix of whipped potatoes and cheese from the Aveyron region.

Click here   or link below to watch Ann and I enjoy aligote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiRHIW7Oitw&t=4s 

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