The food at these spots goes head to head any day with the best restaurants in Paris. While there’s no substitute for being in France this summer, in lieu of traveling there, try the best French restaurants in the USA.
Portland, Oregon
Le Pigeon
Why We Like It: How is it that the French can make a piece of butter lettuce taste next level? They’ve mastered the art of dressing. Le Pigeon is fine dining, but true to that Portlandia vibe in a bistro setting.
What to Order: When life goes back to normal and we’re eating in restaurants again, you gotta go for the namesake dish, the grilled pigeon breast with creamed kale and hash browns. Also that Jamaican jerk foie gras borders on brilliance.
New York City
Daniel
Why We Like It: There is tough competition as there are so many great French restaurants in NYC. We’d venture to say that New York has, in large part, even better restaurants than Paris nowadays. We picked the classic Daniel because 1) we love us some Daniel Boulud, a true gentleman, and 2) the room is unbeatable — one of the most beautiful places to eat in Manhattan — and insiders know you can do a lighter bite at their bar as a walk-in.
What to Order: The Tasting Menu baby. Go big or go home. Until they reopen for dining in, Daniel is doing a Daniel at Home series, which changes each night and is around $70 for a three-course meal.
Honorable Mentions
Jean-Georges and Bar Bête, the latter of which is a newcomer and we are pulling for them to come back.
Los Angeles
Mélisse
Why We Like It: While LA dining is more casual, Mélisse shows it can dress up too. It’s elegant, fresh and highbrow, a go-to for a special occasion.
What to Order: Right now, it’s takeout only, but it might as well be a dine-in tasting menu. The theme is more Mediterranean Greek, with salads like octopus, scallop and squid and stone fruit, kalamata olives and feta cheese and a main dish of halibut with tzatziki.
Honorable Mention
Petit Trois, for when you’re feeling like getting your bistro on.
Napa
French Laundry
Why We Like It: This is a hall-of-fame, internationally renowned French experience, with a touch of California. Also, Napa is a getaway destination and just makes us happy.
What to Order: It’s the tasting menu, tasting menu and tasting menu. Get strapped in for four hours and enjoy the ride.
New Orleans
August
Why We Like It: We had to pick a restaurant in the most French city in the United States. In keeping with the true fancy theme, we landed at August. In a town where it’s all about food, August keeps it classic and classy.
What to Order: The gnocchi black and blue — where the black is the truffle and blue is the crab. Speaking of which, the soft shell crab in season is dreamy, as are the smoked foie gras and the French steak. The latter is as rich as it comes — Wagyu short ribs, smoked marrow, dauphinoise potatoes and bordelaise sauce.
Honorable Mention
Antoine’s is the oldest family-run restaurant in the United States. It may not be the best food, but it sure has some street cred to be around so long.
Chicago
Les Nomades
Why We Like It: Speaking of long-standing restaurants, in one of the best foodie cities in the U.S. no less, Les Nomades has staying power. The restaurant has been under the same ownership since 1993, and current Chef Roland Liccioni first helmed the kitchen in 2000. We like that in the changing Chicago restaurant scene, some things stay the same.
What to Order: The four- or five-course tasting menu — your choice. Just make sure you order the caviar surprise.
