Best Steak-Frites in Paris ... really Caroline ?

I swear I'm not writing this post for the purposes of Search Engine Optimization. In fact, I'm not even quite sure what the general touristic obsession with Steak-Frites is. In america, there is really good steak. Also, really good fries. I personally would direct you towards a good Confit de Canard, or some crazy awesome southern food when visiting Paris, but what do I know? End manifesto.

So my advice to finding a great great awesome wonderful worthy-of-plate-licking steak-frites is this. Wander around the area in between Chatelet & the Marais. Find a conspicuous group of goth or goth-leaning people standing outside of a bar smoking. Go into that bar & walk to the back. Walk up the stairs to the small restaurant space. Sit down out a table. Eat the best steak and potatos in Paris.

I first went to the Black Dog a couple of years ago at the invitation of friends. One of the friends in this group had gone through a Goth phase, and fortunately during said phase, discovered the secret restaurant hidden behind the heavy-metal-cheap-beer-bar-front. He since joined the military and got married to a very lovely, preppy girl from La Reunion, but they kept going back for the mouthwatering meat. My first trip to the Black Dog, still harboring vegetarian tendencies, I ordered a grilled chicken breast with basmati rice. My mistake ! I took one bite of my neighbor's 400 gram Noix d'Entrecôte and began salivating with jealousy. It turns out they import the meat from Argentina, world capital of holy-crap-I-don't-care-if-I-have-a-heart-attack steaks. Along with various sizes of different cuts of meat (including a 1kilo specimen aptly named the Tant pis si j'en creve- loosely translated as 'too bad if you keel over'), they have delicious south american inspired entrées and desserts.

My favorite, empanadas. I get the corn/cheese variety, but there are many different mix and match fillings:

 

My "petit jouer" 200 gram noix d'entrecote, complete with mountain of crispy potatos:

and the tombeau au chocolat, a delish chocolate cake cut and decorated to ressemble a coffin:

This is just a small sampling of very filling, very fab food on offer at the Black Dog. I recommend getting a sauce platter to soak your potatos in (usually roquefort, pepper, spicy tequila & chimichurri sauce on offer. sometimes they have a morel sauce that I could eat by the spoonful), and washing it down with a nice pisco sour, or a bottle of Chilean red wine:

 

Reserve a day or two ahead of time and be nice to the waitress. Often times a friendly smile, or conversation will result in some tasty shots to finish the evening right. 

The Black Dog

26 Rue des Lombards

01 42 71 16 47