Near the corner of Connecticut and Florida avenues is a French restaurant called Bistrot du Coin. “Du coin” translated means “corner.” Since I live nearby, My mom and I had passed this restaurant numerous times. Being the French food fanatics we are, we could not pass up a chance to try it. We visited Bistrot du Coin for lunch on my 23rd birthday.
In France, there are several different types of restaurants – the café, the bistro, the restaurant and the brasserie – to name a few. A French bistro typically serves fresh, simple dishes, evoking a sense of home-cooking.
The interior of Bistrot du Coin is spacious with high ceilings and includes an upper level. French flags and paraphernalia decorate the walls. The dark wooden tables have red and white checked tablecloths and are set with blue and red napkins.
Bistrot du Coin’s large menu definitely has a home-cooking feel to it. A few items on the menu caught my eye – poulet roti au four with pommes frites, confit de canard, boeuf Bourguignon, and filet du beouf with sauce Bearnaise (Translated – oven roasted chicken with French fries, crispy duck leg slow-cooked in its own fat, beef Burgundy, and beef tenderloin topped with the most delicious, creamy and rich sauce on Earth).
There was one part of the menu that captivated us both – moules, or mussels. Moules frites is a French specialty, consisting of steamed mussels in a variety of sauces accompanied by pommes frites on the side.
I ordered moules Catalanes, mussels in white wine with onions, peas, peppers, tomatoes and chorizo. My mom ordered one of the most popular and classic preparations, moules mariniere, a white wine sauce with onions, shallots, garlic and parsley.
The spiced chorizo, the tomatoes and the mussels in my dish were so flavorful. I’d never had them prepared like this before. I found myself spooning the sauce onto French bread, and even dipping my pommes frites in it. My mom’s dish, Moules Mariniere, was not too rich, the onion and garlic were not at all overwhelming.
To accompany our mussels, we each ordered a glass of French wine, making this a perfect birthday lunch. I highly recommend Bistrot du Coin – the atmosphere is charming and inviting, the food is straightforward and the flavors are incredibly satisfying.
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