What To Eat During Center City Restaurant Week, Part 3: Chez Georges at Le Bec Fin
It’s that time again. Center City Restaurant Week is nearly upon us, and in order to help you, the loyal Foobooz readers, get the most bang for your buck, we’ve combed through all the menus being offered by the 100-plus restaurants participating this year and come up with a few ideal meals for you to consider. And today, we’ve got…
Chez Georges at Le Bec Fin: Back To The Future
$35 a head.
$35 a head to eat at Le Bec Fin.
Okay, so you’re not up on the main floor (Chez Georges is downstairs), but you still go in through the same door. You still stand in the same lobby. You’ll still be being fed by the same kitchen crew that’s serving the swells upstairs for 4 times the price. And the menu that’s being offered for Restaurant Week at Chez Georges is really a kind of throwback to the French classics that once made Le Bec one of the greatest restaurants in America.
Not bad for thirty-five bucks. Even if you do have to eat in the basement. So let’s see how to get the best out of this menu, shall we?
Restaurant Week 2013: Chez Georges at Le Bec Fin
First course: There’s no messing around here with share plates or amuse bouches from the kitchen. Chez Georges gets started immediately with three first course options: Soupe à l’Onion Gratinée, Escargots de Bourgogne or Salade Lyonnaise. If you’re a serious French classicist, go for the snails. If you want to ease into things, the soup. Both are excellent options and neither one will leave you feeling let down.
Second course: Again, there are just three options and no tawdry attempts to sway you with flowery descriptions. You have to choose between Cassoulet de Canard (duck cassoulet), Pôt au Feu (beef stew) and Quenelles de Brochet (little footballs of pike mousse, straight out of Escoffier). You may think that this is a tough choice, but if you think about it, it’s really simple. Go with the quenelles, because Chez Georges has got to be the only house in town serving them, so where else are you going to have the chance? If you have some deep-seated issues with pike chunks, I guess you could go with the duck cassoulet, but doesn’t that seem almost pedestrian by comparison?
Third course: It’s creme brulee or tiramisu for dessert. Neither are inspired options, but I say go with the creme brulee. Your entire night has been French up to this point and there’s just no sense in throwing that all away and going Italian now.
Our Guide To Center City Restaurant Week [Foobooz]
What To Eat During Restaurant Week, Part 1: Barbuzzo
What To Eat During Restaurant Week, Part 2: Zahav
