Fine Dining in France

Ok so I forgot exactly what a Bouillon meant in conjunction with the specifics of French cuisine or restaraunting (yes I just made that word up) but this specific Bouillon (Bouillon Racine) is pretty famous and has some pretty amazing interior decor.  Their website has a lot more information about their history (since 1906) and the type of food style they're trying to achieve.  

You can say this was my first official French cuisine in Paris so I wanted to go all out.  They had a set lunch menu (see the the heading Menu-Daily Market-) that included a starter and small entree, or small entree and dessert for €15.  But since the set came with a "small" entree I decided that it wasn't for me because I wanted to do it BIG.  I also decided against the other set menus that were €30 and €41 and just went with ordering
a la carte off the other side of the menu. I ended up with this:

I wanted to experience authentic French cuisine so I went with a dish that was supposedly really popular in France, a.k.a. Steak Frites.  The steak and fries were both very good as was the sauce that came on the side, but at the end of the day...it was just steak and french fries and I was wishing I kind of tried something even more unique like Tartar Steak or even foie gras (which I had already tried once in America).  My rule of thumb with expensive beef back home is that I'll pay good money for hard to cook/rare items like Prime Rib or Tartar Steak but just regular steak is something I prefer to buy from costco and fire up on the grill outside (because it usually tastes just as good as a Ruth Chris $40 filet mignon).  So all this to say that the steak frites was good, but next time I would try something else on the menu because this particular item tastes exactly how you would think it tastes like (like good steak with french fries).  

But no meal is complete without a dessert.  I myself am a huge proponent of creme brulee so when I saw creme brulee with waffle on the dessert side of the menu, there was no question that that was what I was ordering.  I was expecting creme brulee with a waffle on the side.  One thing I've learned about ordering food in France though is to expect the unexpected because what I got with this dessert was a waffle fused with creme brulee ON TOP:

Ingenious in thought but the execution needed some work.  My favorite part of creme brulee is the hot, crispy shell protectively covering the custard beneath.  This particular waffle creme brulee was missing both the hot and the crispy.  That's not to say it wasn't bad.  The dessert was quite delicious, but again, it just wasn't what I expected, especially with creme brulee.  I think a side of vanilla ice cream would have gone extremely well with this by the way.

This meal along with an unexpected bottle of water (can't seem to get how to order just plain tap water at a restaurant yet) put me back €27, a modest price for a fine dining experience that included a giant steak .  (remember this was lunch). Overall I have to say the Bouillon Racine was a positive dining experience with good food. I would go back to order something different off the menu once I figure out how to order some regular tap water rather than €5 glass bottles of filtered water.

Bouillon Racine
http://www.bouillon-racine.com/en/home/index.html

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3 Rue Racine, 75006 Paris, France
Metro: Cluny - La Sorbonne