Les Halles.

For our last dinner with MY and S on their visit, Roomie and I took them to the pleasant little French restaurant Les Halles.  It was an ideal restaurant for us to dine at because MY was craving steak and Les Halles' motto is "American Beef, French Style."

Our complementary bread basket.  It had a wheat type of baguette and a regular French baguette.  The regular baguette was very fresh, light, and fine just by itself.  I tasted it both with and without butter and noticed that the butter is not necessary.  Without the butter, you can taste how fresh the bread is.  I did not taste the wheat bread, but MY said that the bread was a little dense and dry.  The baguette definitely was sexier here.

I got the Onglet à l'Échalote, hanger (or skirt) steak with a shallot dipping sauce, ordered medium.  My meal, along with everyone else's, came with pommes frites, or french fries, and a wild greens salad with a very light vinaigrette.  The hanger steak was very tender and perfectly cooked, each bite of the steak melting in my mouth.  The dipping sauce had an interesting sour taste that complemented the cut of the meat.  The fries were nice and crispy, perfect with a dash of salt.  There was no need for any ketchup.  The vinaigrette didn't overpower the veggies and was very refreshing.  Overall, it was just the right portion and was very well executed.

MY got the Steak au poivre, Frites, or steak coated with cracked black peppercorn, cooked medium.  Despite being disappointed by the meager size of the cut of meat, he seemed to have enjoyed it.  I had a taste of it and though I agree that it was cooked well, I also feel that the black peppercorn overpowers the meat, masking the taste of the quality beef.

Roomie got the Poulet Rôti, Frites, or oven roasted Amish chicken.  Roomie was quiet about this one, but judging from the continued speed of his scarfing, I can only assume that it was good.

S got the Faux-filet Bercy, New York sirloin with red wine butter, ordered medium-well.  Unfortunately, it was a little dry and should have been ordered at simply medium instead of medium-well.  However, she said the butter was a nice match to the steak.

Overall, the restaurant presented some nice steaks.  Despite feeling that the portions were just perfect, I don't think I would mind if they were a tiny bit larger, but I think that I also shouldn't be too greedy.  The ambiance was pleasant and trendy and the staff was friendly.

Price: <3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<3<

Opinion: Highly Recommended