[Tweaked]

JLK, on Mar 13 2006, 05:46 PM, said:

Any news yet re: what will fill Johnny's present space?

I swung by Montsouris today (former Johnny's Half Shell space) for a looksie. Tables are there, deliveries being accepted around back, and from what I could see a more modern looking space then Montemartre's neighborhood bistro decor. Hopefully an open will occur soon!

[crackers]

hmmm... Interesting name. I realize it's named after a park in Paris, but tsouris in Yiddish (roughly translated) means difficulties - as in grief, trouble or travails. Montsouris = "my troubles" or "mountain of difficulties?" I hope not!

[Waitman]

crackers, on Sep 14 2006, 03:21 PM, said:

hmmm... Interesting name. I realize it's named after a park in Paris, but tsouris in Yiddish (roughly translated) means difficulties - as in grief, trouble or travails. Montsouris = "my troubles" or "mountain of difficulties?" I hope not!

Souris = mouse en francais.

Don't tell the health department!

[bilrus]

Waitman, on Sep 14 2006, 03:33 PM, said:

Souris = mouse en francais.

Don't tell the health department!

From a Google:

Quote

Park Montsouris - Originally called Moquesouris (mouse mockery) not without cause as the abandoned windmills of the barren plain were devoid of grain - even for the mice. "

[Mark Slater]

Waitman, on Sep 14 2006, 03:33 PM, said:

Souris = mouse en francais.

Don't tell the health department!

On the other hand, the verb sourire means "to smile".

[Miami Danny]

crackers, on Sep 14 2006, 03:21 PM, said:

hmmm... Interesting name. I realize it's named after a park in Paris, but tsouris in Yiddish (roughly translated) means difficulties - as in grief, trouble or travails. Montsouris = "my troubles" or "mountain of difficulties?" I hope not!

The 't' is silent, so there is no 'tsuris'

[Tweaked]

The word at Montmartre is they are planning a Wed. Sept. 20 opening for Montsouris

[The Hersch]

Tweaked, on Sep 15 2006, 09:59 AM, said:

The word at Montmartre is they are planning a Wed. Sept. 20 opening for Montsouris

Anybody know if this happened?

[DonRocks]

The Hersch, on Sep 21 2006, 11:46 AM, said:

Anybody know if this happened?

Yes, they opened last night (I should know - I was next door!)

[Mark Slater]

DonRocks, on Sep 21 2006, 12:19 PM, said:

Yes, they opened last night (I should know - I was next door!)

At Alberto's?

[Tweaked]

I'm heading there Tuesday night for dinner.

They got a write up in Daily Candy earlier this week:

Montsouris, the new French bistro named for the Parisian park, where the ingredients are fresh, the preparations are healthy, and the meal is full of flavor, not guilt.
There’s an extensive choice of by-the-glass French, Italian, and American wines to go with French classics like steamed mussels, paté, and frisee salad with quail eggs. Try butcher steak with golden mashed potatoes, bacon, chive, and creme fraiche — it’s the chef’s signature dish.


I like that steak, mashed potatoes, bacon and creme fraiche is being considered healthy

[Tweaked]

The first impression when walking into Montsouris is, hmmm, they haven't changed it much from Johnny's Half Shell, fresh paint, some modern accents, but the lay out is pretty much the same...but given the narrowness of the space, really is there much you can do with it?

While Montemartre goes for cozy neighborhood bistro, Montsouris is much more reflective of its Dupont address, hipper, more modern style. Food is plated much more minimal, most on long narrow rectangular white plates, little pots are filled with sauces, and mini cooking vessels contain sides dishes.

The menu is significantly larger than Montemartre's. There are some duplicated dishes, such as the beet tartar, some borrowed dishes like the hanger steak (in Montsouris case presented with mashed potatoes rather than fingerlings) and the menu skews heavily to beef. Entrees included Hanger steak, kobe beef, steak tartar, and rib eye is presented 3 different ways. Entrees also included lamb, duck confit and pork. What seems almost as an after thought, 4 fish dishes are buried at the bottom of the menu.

Now to the food. Yum! The most stunning dish is the bone marrow appetizer, a 8 inch veal bone sawed in half length wise and roasted, served with grilled bread and sea salt. The best tasting, the steak tartar, wow, I need to try it again, but quite possibly going down as one of the better things I've eaten this year. Other winners included the shrimp appetizer, the chicory salad with bacon and gizzards...and the rib eyes, juicy, flavorful pieces of meat...The Kobe beef wasn't much too write home about and I wasn't that crazy about the pomme frites which were limp.

The only disappointments, the desserts were pretty weak (then again, dessert isn't the strongest course at Montemartre either), the red wine was served too warm (although they do have one of those refrigerated cases like Sonoma for wine by the glass, looked like about a dozen choices), and the place is LOUD...Tuesday night restaurant is half full and still hard to hear your neighbor LOUD.

All in all a tasty introduction to Montsouris which certainly helps to elevate the dining scene in Dupont Circle.

[Jacques Gastreaux]

Tweaked, on Sep 27 2006, 10:10 AM, said:

the pomme frites which were limp.

Is it OK to send limp frites back to the kitchen?

[DonRocks]

Jacques Gastreaux, on Sep 27 2006, 10:42 AM, said:

Is it OK to send limp frites back to the kitchen?

Ask anyone you've ever dated.

[Jacques Gastreaux]

DonRocks, on Sep 27 2006, 10:45 AM, said:

Ask anyone you've ever dated.

Somehow I just knew I was going to get a smarty-assed response from you on this.

[plunk]

Website? Menu?

[The Hersch]

On Saturday, after visiting the terrific "Société Anonyme" show at the Phillips (click), my sister and I had lunch at Montsouris. We both had a jones for raw oysters, so we knew what we were going to start with. Then, as we perused the menu and I was thinking of one hunk of meat or another, the waiter arrived to tell us the specials. I forget what they were except for the soupe de poisson, a dish I love and just savored last month in Nice. We both decided to have the soup as our main course. Well, it turned out to be better than any I had had in Nice, as good as it gets, really. Presented a little differently from the usual croutons and little pots of rouille and shredded cheese, this came with a long toasted section of baguette already liberally smeared with a saffron-tinted rouille and sprinkled with shredded cheese. But the soup itself was glorious perfection, to borrow from the Posh menu-writer. With the oysters to start, it was plenty for a light lunch. We were amazed when we got the bill that the soup was only $6.50. If you go and they don't have the fish soup, tell them you've heard about it and think they ought to add it to the regular menu.

They don't seem to have a website, but menupages has their menu HERE.

[Barbara]

Because RTC still isn't serving lunch, My Dear Brother agreed to jump on the Metro and come into town so that I could treat him to his annual Birthday Lunch. It seemed like a perfect time to try Montsouris. We were not disappointed. On the "Salads" part of the menu is a duck confit with mixed greens and grilled apple slices and slices of fingerling potatoes. This was terrific!

MDB had the Cornish Game Hen, also over mixed greens. Judging from the way he scarfed that up and then sucked on the bones, I believe he liked that, too.

The bread was very good and we didn't have room for dessert. Plus, MDB had to get back to SS for a meeting.
There is a pretty good selection of wines by the glass. We were both happy with our selections. Service was very good, but the place was mostly empty--surprising for a Friday.

There is quite a bit on that menu I would like to explore. The prices lend themselves to frequent visits and much exploration.

All in all, this is a great addition to the neighborhood.

[mdt]

I stopped in for dinner a week or so ago and had a wonderful meal. I was eating on the early side and noticed that the place filled up as we were finishing our meal. I enjoyed my meal of Frisee aux Lardons, Gesier et Ouef de Caille (curly chicory salad with sauteed bacon, gizzards, and quail egg) and the Le Steak du Boucher, Pomme de terre Vero (the butcher steak with golden mashed potato, bacon, chive, & creme fraiche).

Then menu is heavy on the red meat, like I am going to complain, but they had two fish specials that day. As others have stated, good food at good prices, so drop in if you get the chance.

[mdt]

Heather, on Nov 21 2006, 09:19 AM, said:

For about four people, unless they have magically expanded the bar area? This is the former Johnny's space.

Too bad they don't take reservations.

The bar seats 6-8, not many more (if that) have been regularly showing up for HH lately.

[cucas87]

I had a nice and relaxing dinner last night with a good friend who has been looking forward to going to Montsouris as a stop-gap until she's able to go to France this summer. She vowed to try as much of the menu as possible in one sitting. I don't think I'll try that approach again. For apps, we shared the veal marrow and the spicy shrimp. The marrow is luscious and beautiful but the portion was very large and I would not order it on my own as it was too rich for me (that is the first time I've ever said that about any food). We also shared mains: a lamb stew (daily special) and the pork chop. The stew was tasty and warm and the pork chop was very good but just a little dry -- it benefited from the sauce that was on the side. My friend the dessert fiend "forced" us to order desserts so we tried the pistacchio pudding/cream (can't recall the exact name) and the chocolate sorbet. I really enjoyed both and would be happy to have them again. The service was very nice but a bit slow. Also, as others have mentioned, it does get loud in the restaurant. We had reservations at 6:30 and by 7 it was jumping.

[qwertyy]

The pork sausage with lentils du puy is a dish well worth coming in from the cold for; it's a hearty and simple, yet complex-tasting, dish. The green beans in the green bean salad were somewhat overcooked, but the dressing is a winner. And while I'm not a fan of places that serve butter still wrapped in foil, Montsouris's butter is Plugra, and their bread is very, very good, so I'll forgive them.

Service was weird, but in a friendly way we were in the mood for. We decided to ignore the waiter who sat down at the next table to take our neighbor's order.

[Heather]

Large groups of people can be exasperating. In a previous life I assigned subscription seats for the National Symphony Orchestra, and there was nothing hated more than getting 15 orders clipped together with instructions that every one needed to be close to every other one. Lots of swearing, eye-rolling, etc., done in the privacy of my office.

Waiting on a large group at a restaurant must be equally exasperating, but I would advise the servers at Montsouris to do their eye rolling, and gossiping about the tables where the customer cannot see you.

Similarly, when a customer tells you her order, the best response is "Thank you, madame," or "How would you like that cooked," not "Are you sure you don't want the special?"

And rolling your eyes and flouncing off when the first person asked doesn't understand your method of taking orders is guaranteed to make them resent your automatic 18% gratuity.

The food? The food was fine. Very good bread and butter. Asparagus soup had too much pepper, but good flavor. Filet, sauce bearnaise had good flavor (for filet) but was a shade over à point, the bearnaise had congealed into a lump, and my frites were forgotten until I was halfway through my steak. I had tastes of the marrow, the frisee salad, and the lentils with sausage, and all were good, but we agreed that the marrow was overwhelmed by the bread. We drank a Gigondas from the odd little wine list.

A good meal, with even better company , but the service will not have me rushing to go back.

Oh, and it's LOUD. I swear my ears are ringing this morning.

[jparrott]

The wine list is fun, with an abundance of offerings from Charlottesville-based wunderkind Didier Simonin of Simon "N" Cellars. I could definitely see crushing out a few things and a few bottles at the bar.

[JPW]

I actually found the service to be very typical of what you find in a Paris bistro. If that's what you go in expecting, then you're fine. If you expect American style obsequiousness then you're in trouble. But Heather is right, the eye rolling could use a hint more discretion. However, on the flip side, we weren't exactly an easy group.
Overall, I thought the food was solid enough to merit a return. The marrow could perhaps use something a little less overwhelming as an accompaniment than the grilled Italian bread. The sausage itself was very good, but needed one more note in addition to the (somewhat bland) lentils. The asparagus soup was probably the best item I tasted last night. The Gigondas was pretty well made even.
I'm with Jake in thinking that Montsouris could be best experienced with a couple of small things and a bottle or two at the bar.
Even if we wouldn't be able to agree on what to get.

[jparrott]

And the red wine could be cooler. Though that poked out more on the Gigondas than the St.-Nicolas de Bourgueil .

[Heather]

JPW, on Dec 16 2006, 09:44 AM, said:

I actually found the service to be very typical of what you find in a Paris bistro. If that's what you go in expecting, then you're fine. If you expect American style obsequiousness then you're in trouble.

I am not buying that crap. I don't expect to have my ass kissed but it would be nice not to be mocked openly.

And I had enough issues that the warm wine didn't rate a mention.

[hillvalley]

JPW, on Dec 16 2006, 09:44 AM, said:

I'm with Jake in thinking that Montsouris could be best experienced with a couple of small things and a bottle or two at the bar.
Even if we wouldn't be able to agree on what to get.

You're absolutely right. The two of us at the bar had a wonderful night, and a great meal. The steak tartar (sans the cheese) was much better than expected. It was a chunky rendition full of flavor. We also had the mussels which were great, although I found the sauce somewhat bland. The side of green beans were fine, nothing special but I would order them again to add a veggies to the meal.

My only complaint is that by accident we ordered a side of fries not paying attention to the fact that they came with the steak tartar. I'm told it was unreasonable to expect the bartender to point out the fact that we were getting two orders of fries, especially since we made it clear we were sharing both all the dishes, but I don't think so.

The bread was a bit disappointing. It was freezer burnt, and although warmth radiated from the basket when it was delivered, the inside of the bread was still cold.

Service at the bar was attentive but not overwhelming, and we got in and out much faster than that rowdy group of 16 people who came in in the middle of our meal I will be back soon for that tartar.

[xcanuck]

The tartar was alright - the cheese on top has to go!! I know it had been mentioned in Sietsema's review but forgot about it when I ordered. Ugh. Ick. Sorry, but the best steak tartar in the area is still at Les Halles. I forgive them for so many things just so I can have their tartar. Spicy with mustard, anchovies and cornichons....lovely!! I found the tartar at Montsouris a little lacking in flavour.

Agreement on the marrow being overwhelmed by the bread. Best on it's own with a sprinkle of salt. Possibly the best fries I've ever had. The chocolate sorbet was rich rich rich rich. No way that was a real sorbet.

I've can now say I've been there and really feel no compulsion to go back, though I wouldn't say no if someone else suggested it.

Best thing about the evening was the company. I had a blast!! Thanks y'all.

[treznor]

I rather liked the hanger, lots of good hanger flavor (though not quite as much as other's I've had) and the sauce with it had an earthy quality and thought it went very well. I don't remember the specifics about what exactly the sauce was though. The mashed potatoes that come with it, with chive and bacon, were good but a tad bland. The comment was also made that the potatoes and the steak tartare came out of the same molding rounds :-) Not that there's really a problem with that, just funny.

The rice pudding with caramel for dessert was a bit odd. I liked it quite well, but PJASchultz pointed out that it was much more rice than pudding than what either one of us was used to, though we're used to eating it at Thai places rather than French places so that could do it.

I did think it was funny when Jake tried to order the wine and asked the waiter to take away the bottle of the night's special wine on the table. Waiter was like "You're sure?" I thought to myself that Jake was more than likely quite able to make a wine choice without the waiter trying to push the special of the night.

[Barbara]

Maybe it was because we crashed the party later, but I didn't notice any service problems. Having drunk WAAAY too much wine at FF, we didn't order anymore and that didn't seem to be an issue, either. I think this is one of those places where you can do just fine by ordering carefully. The duck confit salad I had for lunch last month wasn't on the menu (maybe it's just for lunch), but I found it very satisfying. I also enjoyed the bite of duck confit w/fingerling potatoes that Dame Edna let me have. The frisee salad with lardons and a quail egg would have been improved if the egg had been POACHED, not fried hard. Aren't you supposed to break the yolk over the salad?

I'd go back for those mussels any time. And, at $6.50 they can't be beat.

[RaisaB]

Honestly, they were the best fries I have ever had. I ate all the leftover fries at our table and left my hanger steak! (oink, oink) But the service was a bit arrogant and I would not expect that even in France! The company was fabulous though! Thank you all for a wonderful eveining!

[jparrott]

jparrott, on Dec 16 2006, 09:27 AM, said:

The wine list is fun, with an abundance of offerings from Charlottesville-based wunderkind Didier Simonin of Simon "N" Cellars.

treznor, on Dec 16 2006, 10:50 AM, said:

I did think it was funny when Jake tried to order the wine and asked the waiter to take away the bottle of the night's special wine on the table. Waiter was like "You're sure?"

And what a yummy wine it was. Frederic Mabileau St.-Nicolas de Bourgueil 2005 (it had a designation, which I do not remember). Not sure what retail would be ($40 on the list, so probably just under $20), but it's a good one. And Didier deserves the support.

Yes, it's cab franc. Yes, it has acidity and minerality. No, it's not barriqued up. Praise be!

[Jacques Gastreaux]

Hanger steak special-Excellent
Frites--Excellent
Service-Sucked ventworm nut. Just bad attitude all around. If anyone wants specifics, I'll be happy to elaborate.

[clayrae]

How much do I love the tartare at Montsouris?
Very, very much.

And the chestnut cream dessert isn't bad either.
Back on the diet tomorrow...

[Miami Danny]

Eat the bone!
Favorite new drink-The Communard (Pinot Noir and Creme de Cassis-tastes better than it sounds)
Service-Outstanding, informative, dignified and friendly. (And attractive.)
(the 'bone' is a veal bone sliced in half to reveal a good portion of marrow-perfect.)

[Heather]

I looked up the menu online to post in the "Steak tartare thread" and found this: Click. From a review there:

Quote

It's all very reminiscent of a parisian bistrot, without being overdone like some other nearby bistrot I won't name (parisian bistrots don't have 800 posters of Ricard and Perrier and other pieces of junk covering every inch of their walls like a TGI Friday).

Meow. Whoever wrote that goes on to say that "I suspect this place will become a staple of summer associate lunches with the Dupont law firms this summer" like that's a good thing.

BTW, I gave them another try for lunch, and not as part of a large group - the service was even worse than when a bunch of us went back in December. Attitude, wrong items, things asked for and forgotten, etc.

[giant shrimp]

Emerging famished from almost three hours fidgeting before a hushed german documentary on the monastic life, trying to squeeze into the bar at central, only one block away, would have been the logical choice, but instead we headed for dupont circle, passing at least two other French bistros along the way. Outside of reasonably good baguette slices, I’m not sure what a carthusian monk would be able to eat at montsouris. You can read that bread and water is the second meal of the day and the balance of the daily menu is limited to rice, beans, eggs, fish and wine, but I know this is not entirely true because I saw a monk at the grande chartreuse in the swiss alps chopping up a mound of celery and there were bowls of pears and apples, with supermarket stickers, in the luminous windows of their cells. In any event, the profane company at this crowded oblong eatery and its roar of conversation, to say nothing of the richness of its fare, would be highly inappropriate for even the least of the spiritualists up on the big screen who, if met at this juncture, should be mercifully directed to the c+o towpath and a long trudge to west Virginia.

I had come for marrow, but ordered a special clam appetizer instead. The steamed clams ($8.95), served in their shells, one a bit gritty, were larger than puny, fresh, tender yet chewy, well prepared in a spicy, cayenne-flecked, sharp and salty broth with a cooked wedge of lemon and what I believe were slices of fennel stewed in marinade, but might just as well have been onion. The mussels ($6.50), sprinkled with what was fennel for sure, were more for the money, and my wife said they were good, but abandoned most of the filling, milky pool of sauce left behind. The good french fries accompanying a juicy Beef tenderloin ($23.50) were more than enough for two to share, as were the nicely grilled salmon’s ($18) elaborately sauced and delicious lentils du puy. The servers were on their toes, maybe a bit too pressed, and definitely not rude, surly, contemptuous or condescending, attitudes, by the way, I have rarely encountered in a good bistro or restaurant in france, where waiting on tables is taken seriously.

While it was not in the movie, the charterhouse on the gorges du guiers mort, set in a transcendently beautiful landscape of shifting light and cloud, is the source of chartreuse, which is distilled remotely, down the mountain, in voirow. I have done some checking, and men over 45 are not accepted by the carthusians. Too bad, because there goes the appeal of renouncing the d.c. dining scene to spend the rest of your life getting close to god while napping, chanting, gardening and listening to birdsong in the alps. Judging from slides, the order’s sole u.s. location in vermont’s green mountains is enough to discourage all but the truest vocation. The compound’s architecture, with its chapel’s concrete block walls, resembles a penitentiary.

[Ambrose]

Before I had dinner at Montsouris last night I checked this thread for reviews. The butcher steak with golden mashed potatoes was enjoyed by so many posters it stuck in my mind and narrowly beat out the duck to become my entree order. I am glad it did. The steak was excellent. It arrived on my plate a lovely medium rare with a delicious brown crust encasing the rosy interior. I would also recommend the pate I had to start. By the time I was finished with both orders I was too full to try dessert. I wish it had been otherwise because I very much wanted to sample the chestnut cream.

Though very good food was my expectation, I was pleasantly surprised about the atmosphere. After reading some reviews I was prepared for a dining room as loud as a college bar. Not only was the decibel level reasonable to subdued, but our server exhibited none of the haughty or rude behavior that so many other posters endured. I was seated at 6:30 on a Wednesday night so the crowd was likely not at its zenith, but I stayed until around 8:30. Whatever the explanation the staff was professional and courteous, the atmosphere was pleasant and I look forward to returning.

[JLK]

Welcome, Ambrose

[DonRocks]

Between Todd Kliman's recent plug (cannot find the link), and Synaesthesia's Plea for P, I decided it was time to return to Montsouris.

First of all, please DO support southside P street - there's construction going on right now, but the valet parking at Pesce, Montsouris, etc. remains ridiculously cheap at $5.00, and all you need to do is simply turn onto Hopkins Street (easily done from either direction), pull over, and the valets will come right over to your car. It's as easy as it's ever been. All of these restaurants were empty at 7 PM on a Friday night, and yes, they do need your support right now.

Le Steak du Boucher ($19) translates to "Le Steak of the Boucher," and is a fibrous little square served alongside mashed potatoes made with bacon, chives, and creme fraiche. An Entrecote Bearnaise ($22) is more buttery and polished, and the little cast-iron pan of irresistible potato gratin makes it worth the extra money. Both steaks were ordered medium-rare, and served medium-rare - this is rare.

Desserts are made in-house and worth ordering. A Creme de pistache is a small bowl of not-too-sweet, thankfully non-granular cream that shouldn't be dismissed just because of the "pot au creme" semi-fad going on in this town. A Poire Belle Helene is bowling-alley-bistro food in France, but it's often good even at bowling-alley-bistros, and so it is here. A whole pear, bathing in chocolate sauce, and funneled up with whipped cream on top.

Service was friendly, the atmosphere is everything you should want in a French steak-bistro, the wines were well-chosen and served at the proper temperature (even the reds), the steaks were very good, the sides of potatoes were great, and other than the Bearnaise sauce which remains too full of tarragon (yeah, I know, it's "supposed" to be) and the maddeningly mediocre bread, Montsouris should remain on your short list of places to revisit.

Cheers,
Rocks.

[Tweaked]

Dined at Montsouris last night...not sure if it was because it was a Tuesday night or the Plea for P syndrome, but the place was quiet with only a handful of tables occupied.

we went with the salmon gravlox which were very good, 4 large slices with a dollop of creme fraise and some grilled bread. Spinach salad with pears, blue cheese and walnuts which was fine, nothing wrong with it per se but I guess a spinach salad can only be so exciting. I had the butcher steak (discussed multiple time aboves) and it was very nice, the mashed potatoes might actually be the star of the dish! and sampled the Toulouse sausage with lentils, the sausage was great and the lentils were nicely cooked, but it is a big heaping plate of lentils and sausage and nothing else which got a little repetitive after a while. All in all a pleasent dinner was had.

[Bug]

We had a terribly disappointing meal here last Saturday night and I don't recommend Montsouris. DC offers many better ways to spend your food-money.

Most appalling was my husband's main course, the bacon-wrapped monkfish with sauerkraut, which was essentially a giant heap of sauerkraut with a razor-thin sliver of bacon-encrusted fish on top. It looked as though the line cook had dropped the actual fish filet while transfering it to the plate, and tried to hide his mistake by mounding the sauerkraut as high as he could. Apparently this was not the case; the dish was as it was by design. According to the hostess (owner?), the chef is trying to incorporate Alsatian flavors, and the monkfish "comes in thin filets." I applaud the effort to take the diner to Alsace, but the chef needs a decent sized filet of fish in order to do this successfully.

I had the much-lauded marrow and the frissee aux lardons, which were passable (barely). I'm glad to see marrow on the menu, but Montsouris' version is lazy -- no parsley salad, just straight up roasted marrow and a scant bit of gray salt on the side. Plus, my toast arrived cold. The frissee was overdressed, the dressing over-salted, the lardon/gizzard mix soggy and overwhelmed by salt and mustard from the dressing.

We were with a group of 6 other friends and not one of us was happy with our meal, from the steak frites to the sausage and lentils to the salads to the unimpressive cheese plate. And the Ricard, which was advertised as coming with roasted peanuts, came (unapologetically) without the nuts -- they had "just run out."

To their credit, they removed the offending monkfish entree from the check, and the service was fine. Not great -- a bit odd, actually, as our waiter seemed slightly embarassed (and rightfully so, given how lousy the food was) -- but fine.

Steer clear. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'd take Bistrot du Coin over Montsouris any day.

[chickenlover]

We dined at Montsouris last night, and although it wasn't bad I can't see myself rushing back. We started with bone marrow and salmon tartare. The bone marrow is presented simply with sel gris. It was rich and gelatinous and could have used something besides salt to cut the fat. The salmon was fine and generously portioned. Our entrees were bavette and onglet. The entrecote that Rocks liked wasn't on the menu last night. The onglet was a nice enough steak but it arrived bathing in an assertive pepper corn sauce. I like pepper, but I would have definitely preferred this sauce on the side. The "kobe" bavette was much better, thin and tender and buttery and cooked medium rare as requested. Both steaks were accompanied by good frites. Dessert, chocolate mousse, didn't do anything for me. Service left a little bit to be desired. It's worth noting that we dined on the early side and it was empty when we arrived, but nearly full by the time we left. So, they don't seem to be hurting for business.