Le Coq Rico

Phone: +33 1 42 59 82 89
www.lecoqrico.com

Planning a visit to the famed Sacré-Couer in Montmartre?  There aren’t a lot of great dining options in this neck of the woods, aside from Le Coq Rico.  If you want to cross Roast Chicken, the French way, off your “to-do” list, this “bistrotisserie” (how great is that word?!) is the perfect spot to do just that.

It’s a beautiful spot with dark wood floors, creamy stone walls, glass wine walls, and white marble-topped tables that looks more like a Swiss chalet than a French bistro.  Toward the entrance, just by the bar, is the main attraction, the rotisserie with several chickens slowly spinning round and round.  Take one look at the menu and you’ll see that chicken is the name of the game here.  Chicken in all forms.  There’s several Chicken Eggs poached, scrambled, fried and battered.  We sampled a delicious Soft Boiled Egg, crowned with Salmon Roe and sided by Seaweed Butter Toast, which gave new meaning to breakfast for dinner, and a tasty Almond Dust-Coated Egg paired with Asparagus, Jamon, & shavings of Comte.

There’s Chicken Livers accented with Radish and Granny Smith Apples, a Chicken Terrine, Chicken Foie Gras, Chicken in a Pot, and a juicy Whole Roast Chicken with potatoes.  But my favorite dish by far is the Coq Au Vin, supremely moist and flavorful, which comes with Fries and Macaroni Gratin.  The chickens here are a slurry of pedigreed birds from all over France, and the kitchen makes fine use of every part — from gizzards to hearts.

The man with the poultry fetish is none other than Antoine Westermann, who also owns two other successful eateries, Mon Viel Ami and Drouant.  Interestingly, he just opened his first American outpost in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, so you can now get your chic chicken fix stateside, too.