Complet is one of the very few French words I really don't care for, especially when trying to book a table at Frenchie.
The man behind Frenchie, a nickname given to him by Jamie Oliver, is Gregory Marchand, who has worked in New York, London, Spain, and Hong Kong. Having great reviews, and being able to seat fewer than 30 people, Frenchie is a difficult reservation to score. Marchand opened the restaurant in 2009, it was very well received, packed each evening, and really difficult to get into.
Frenchie Wine Bar, opened across the street, followed by Frenchie To Go. Rue du Nil is a very small street, so having three Frenchie establishments all in one place, makes it kind of neat. For their next venture, I would propose a Frenchie Milk Bar, Frenchie Cookie Corner, and maybe Frenchie Vegan?
Not being able to score a table at Frenchie, and not enjoying wine (Sacre Bleu!), I settled for Frenchie To Go. I used the word settle, but that is not what I ended up doing. This turned out to be a really delicious, flavor packed lunch. We snagged a table inside and ended up having a great conversation with a family visiting from Florida.
The menu at Frenchie To Go is fairly small
Additional list of specials is hanging near the register.
The decor is modern, homey, and comfortable, and the atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming.
The man at the register was very outgoing and pleasant.
So, now the food.
They really make a great effort in only using top quality products like:
Yorkshire meats, cheese from the iconic London dairy - Neal's Yard Dairy, fish and produce from Terroirs d'Avenir, breads from Du Pain et des Idees (my all time favorite boulangerie), and Gontram Cherrier.
The attention to the quality can really be tasted in the food, even in something as simple as carrots.
I got the pulled pork (made with house-smoked pork) and red coleslaw sandwich.
It was delicious, and much more pork than it seems like from the photo. I pulled out these two big chunks of the pork for my mom to taste.
The salad was very fresh and tasty.
Mom got the Reuben which consisted of Rye bread with caraway seeds, smoked beef brisket, English cheddar and red coleslaw. Yes, I know that a proper Reuben is to have sauerkraut in it, but this really worked so well. The beautiful side dish was something that I spotted on another table and could not resist ordering for us. It was a bowl of roasted carrots with tarragon and caraway. The carrots were perfectly roasted, and the mousse had a very surprising flavor, in a good way of course.
I really wanted to try their breakfast, and the hot dog from the lunch menu, but I guess that is a reason for a another visit.
Frenchie To Go
9, rue du Nil
Monday - Friday - 8:30 - 4:30
Saturday - Sunday - 9:30 - 5:30
Joanna
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