Choucroute garnie and cassoulet

[Indy 67]

Now that cold weather is here...

This evening I developed an intense longing for a good choucroute garnie. I searched the online menus of the usual suspects -- Bistro Bis, Bistro d'Oc, and La Chaumiere -- with no success. Lots of cassoulet but no choucroute. As a result, I have two questions:

Which restaurants in N. Virginia or DC serve choucroute garnie?
Which restaurant in N. Virginia or DC has the best cassoulet?

Thanks.

[anni]

The cassoulet at Bistrot Lafayette in Alexandria has always been superb.

[nickdanger]

Excellent cassoulet at Bistro d' Oc on 10th St NW. In same vein, has anyone been to le Chat Noir in Tenley area lately?

[Cocinero Cubano]

Cote d'Or (sp?) in Arlington, on Lee Hwy has good cassoulet. If I recall, Bistro du Coin on Connecticut in NW also has it.

Cocinero Cubano

[Indy 67]

Thanks, but Cote d'Or is a sad shadow of its former self. We had dinner there no more than two weeks ago, and I was saddened by the decline in quality. I've had some lovely classic French cooking there over the years, but the food we ate recently tasted like the kitchen is just going through the motions.

[Cocinero Cubano]

Terrible to hear. I went about two years ago and found it quite good. How is the Celestine Bistro? As bad? Better? Not so much?

Cocinero Cubano

[Indy 67]

Okay, I've got to backtrack a bit. I knew about the creation of Bistro Celestins, but I had asssumed that that restaurant occupied the space fronting the side street and that Cote d'Or had retained its original space. Doing a bit of sleuthing on the internet, I've just learned that I was wrong. We actually ate in Bistro C and my criticisms apply to that restaurant.

If I were going to be totally objective I'd eat at Cote d'Or and compare the two restaurants, but I'm not inclined to so do. After all, my biggest disappointment was the French onion soup. The dish may have looked magazine-cover perfect, but the broth tasted weak and there were precious few onions. I can't believe the kitchen has two different recipes for onion soup for the two restaurants.

I now realize I had an earlier hint that I wasn't correct since our charge slip read Bistro Celestins. My husband, who didn't know about this new sibling, asked me about the name when he was dealing with bills. I just shrugged off the discrepancy since the charge was essentially correct.

Sorry for the confusion.

[Steve]

Brasserie Beck has choucroute on the menu, but I don't know if it's traditional, haven't tried it.

[foodsmarts]

Yep, Brasserie Les Halles, in DC, is the place to go. They have all sorts of Choucroute specials in February.

[alkapal]

les halles choucroute, imo, is mediocre. i wouldn't recommend it. i confess i am, sadly, off of les halles. service issues and declining food quality.

[Duker52]

Les Halles at 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. has a very good choucroute garnie. Also, L'Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls has a very authentic version.

[msr3017]

I wasn't crazy about the choucroute at L'Auberge last time I was there and at their prices, I was actually pretty downright unhappy about it. If I go back I will order something else.

[dpan]

I have to agree with that assessment. I've had it in France and the version at ACF bore little resemblence to a very simple but satisfying dish. I'd skip it there.

[curious4food]

cafe du parc's chef uses alsatian influences.