Bofinger

5-7 rue de la Bastille

Paris , France http://www.bofingerparis.com

33 1 42 72 87 82

Paris's temples of fine dining at reasonable prices are its brasseries, a cross between a café and a restaurant where simple dishes start around $20. Traditionally brasserie menus lean heavily on German-influenced Alsatian cuisine, hence the signature dish, choucroutes (tangy sauerkraut, usually served with sausages and pork) and the preponderance of beer over wine (brasserie means "brewery"). Which brasserie is best is hotly disputed, but two favorites remain the 144-year-old Bofinger, all Belle Epoque elegance and chaotic activity, and the more intimate and relaxed Left Bank bastion Balzar .