L'Entrecôte
Encyclopedia
Entrecôte
In French, the word entrecôte denotes a premium cut of beef used for steaks.A traditional entrecôte comes from the rib area of the carcass, corresponding to the steaks known in different parts of the English-speaking world as rib, rib-eye, club, Scotch fillet, or Delmonico.The term may also be used...
cut of sirloin and serve it in the typical French bistrot style of steak-frites, or steak-and-chips:
- L'Entrecôte is the popular nickname of the restaurant Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte, founded by Paul Gineste de Saurs in Paris's 17th arrondissement near Porte Maillot. Now run by one of his daughters, the restaurant is widely known as L'Entrecôte Porte-Maillot. It has a second location in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, as well as four additional locations operating under licence, two in London, one in BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, and one in New York.
- L'Entrecôte is the official name of a group of restaurants established by a son of Paul Gineste de Saurs, with locations in ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, NantesNantesNantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, MontpellierMontpellier-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, and LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
- L'Entrecôte is used as an informal name for the Le Relais de l'Entrecôte restaurants operated by another daughter of Paul Gineste de Saurs, with three locations in Paris and one in GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. The oldest of these, in Paris's 6th arrondissement, is widely known as L'Entrecôte Saint-Germain. This group has six additional locations operating under licence, three in BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, one in Kuwait CityKuwait City-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
, one in DohaDohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, and one in DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
.
History
In 1959 Paul Gineste de SaursGineste de Saurs
The Gineste de Saurs family of wine producers has lived in southern France since the fourteenth century. The family château, situated in Lisle-sur-Tarn 50 kilometres northeast of Toulouse, was built from 1848 to 1852 by Eliezer Gineste de Saurs and serves as the headquarters for the family's...
purchased an Italian restaurant called Le Relais de Venise (the Venice Inn) in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, near Porte Maillot. A descendant of the Gineste de Saurs family in southern France, he was seeking to establish an assured market for the wines produced by the family's Château de Saurs
Château de Saurs
The Château de Saurs vineyards are situated in the heart of the Gaillac wine-growing region of southern France, in Lisle-sur-Tarn, 50 kilometres northeast of Toulouse...
winery in Lisle-sur-Tarn, 50 kilometres northeast of Toulouse.
In place of the previous Italian menu, he decided that the restaurant would offer the traditional French bistrot meal of steak-frites as its only main dish, with no other option. Where most restaurants served steak-frites with herbed butter, Le Relais de Venise instead served the dish with a complex butter-based sauce. A simple salad of lettuce topped with walnuts and a mustard vinaigrette was offered as a starter, and not until the end of the meal did the menu offer some choice, from a dessert list of fruit pastries, profiteroles, and other confections consisting mainly of ice cream, chocolate sauce, meringue, and whipped cream.
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In serving steak-frites as the sole main dish, he was modelling his restaurant after the Café de Paris
Café de Paris sauce
Café de Paris sauce is a complex butter-based sauce served with grilled meats. When it is served with a beef rib or sirloin steak, the resulting dish is known as "entrecôte Café de Paris".-History:...
in Geneva, which had been serving steak-frites in this way since the early 1940s. The butter sauce itself is often referred to as Café de Paris sauce
Café de Paris sauce
Café de Paris sauce is a complex butter-based sauce served with grilled meats. When it is served with a beef rib or sirloin steak, the resulting dish is known as "entrecôte Café de Paris".-History:...
.
Despite serving only one main dish and offering a very limited selection of wines, the restaurant flourished. It became a Paris institution, whose patrons ignored the sign and typically referred to it as "L'Entrecôte", or "L'Entrecôte Porte-Maillot". Eventually, the restaurant's name was formalized as Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte.
Successors
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Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte
Following the death of Paul Gineste de Saurs in 1966, his daughter Hélène Godillot took control of the original restaurant at Porte Maillot. Her branch of the family has a second location in Barcelona, as well as four additional locations operating under licence, two in London, one in Bahrain, and one in New York. The licence-holders for the London, Bahrain, and New York locations are Steven and Michael Elghanayan.L'Entrecôte
In 1962, his son Henri Gineste de Saurs opened a restaurant similar to his father's in Toulouse, 50 kilometres from the family vineyard at Lisle-sur-Tarn. He subsequently opened additional locations in BordeauxBordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5246301799_5904f101f2_o.jpg, Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, and Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
_2009-06-13.jpg)
Le Relais de l'Entrecôte
Another daughter, Marie-Paule Burrus, adopted the name Le Relais de l'Entrecôte for her group of restaurants. Her branch of the family has four locations of its own, three in Paris and one in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, as well as six others operating under licence, three in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
run by Premier Leisure, one in Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
, one in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, and one in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
.
The Geneva location occupies premises that once housed the Bavaria, a brasserie established in 1912 which became a favourite haunt of international officials during the early years of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. The Bavaria was used by Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
as the venue for a brief episode in his 1959 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Goldfinger.
Since 1981, Marie-Paule Burrus has also headed the family's Château de Saurs
Château de Saurs
The Château de Saurs vineyards are situated in the heart of the Gaillac wine-growing region of southern France, in Lisle-sur-Tarn, 50 kilometres northeast of Toulouse...
winery with her husband, Yves Burrus, a scion of Switzerland's Burrus family of industrialists.
The third generation
The founder's grandchildren are taking an increasingly active role in the business, in particular Patrick-Alain Godillot in the Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte group, Valérie Lagarde and Corinne de Roaldès in the L'Entrecôte group, and Paul-Christian Burrus and Géraldine Burrus in the Relais de l'Entrecôte group.The formula
Although the descendants of Paul Gineste de Saurs operate their groups of restaurants under slightly different names, they all adhere precisely to his formula: the same lettuce-and-walnut salad as a starter; the same steak-frites with the same butter sauce as the main course, presented in two services; the same assortment of desserts; and at the Paris and Geneva locations a wine list featuring wines from the family's own vineyards.The key to the main dish is the butter sauce. The Paris newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
reports that it is made from chicken livers, fresh thyme
Thyme
Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...
and thyme flowers, full cream, white Dijon mustard
White Mustard
White mustard is an annual plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is sometimes also referred to as Brassica alba or B. hirta...
, butter, and water, plus salt and pepper. According to Le Monde, the chicken livers are blanched in one pan with the thyme until they start to turn colour. In a second pan, the cream is reduced on low heat with the mustard and infused with the flavour of the thyme flowers. The chicken livers are then finely minced and pressed through a strainer into the reduced cream. As the sauce thickens, the butter is incorporated into it with a little water, it is beaten smooth, and fresh-ground salt and pepper are added. The London newspaper The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, however, reports that Hélène Godillot has dismissed the Le Monde report as inaccurate.
The restaurants' atmosphere is a key part of the formula, and is as important to their success as their cuisine. Each group has some decorative touch to distinguish it from its siblings: the Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte group has mural paintings of Venice and sconces whose lampshades depict Venetian gondoliers; the Relais de l'Entrecôte group features early-twentieth-century posters advertising spirits such as Amer Picon
Sirop de Picon
Picon is a caramel-coloured, flavoured bitters drunk as an apéritif, which traditionally accompanies beer in the east and north of France....
http://affiche.de.pub.free.fr/picon.jpg, Wincarnis
Wincarnis
Wincarnis is a brand name of a British tonic wine, popular in Jamaica and some other former British colonies. It is a fortified wine now made to a secret recipe of grape juice, malt extracts, herbs and spices, but it no longer contains meat...
http://content.barewalls.com/closeup/0587013605c.jpg, and Cherry Chevalier http://www.trocadero.com/galaplus/items/127613/en1store.html; and the L'Entrecôte group has a colour scheme of yellow-and-black stripes and plaids. In all three groups, though, every restaurant has the typical look of a French brasserie with wood panelling and wall mirrors, closely spaced tables, and bench seating in red upholstery. All the servers are women, dressed in black uniforms with white (or yellow) aprons, and no male staff are visible. And the restaurants do not take advance bookings, thereby ensuring that all tables can be fully in use at all times. At most of the European locations, this typically means that patrons must queue on the pavement outside for half an hour or more before they can be seated.
External links
- Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte: main website for the London location
- Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte: New York Midtown Manhattan location
- L'Entrecôte: main website (in French)
- Le Relais de l'Entrecôte: main website (in French)
- Château de Saurs winery: main website (in French)
- Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte: review of the Paris location in The Independent
- Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte: review of the Paris location in Le Monde
- Le Relais de Venise – L'Entrecôte: photos from the Paris location
- Map showing locations of the restaurants and winery