VIVE LE BISTRO

I have a well-thumbed and stained copy of Patricia Wells’ classic cookbook, Bistro Cooking, which is packed with recipes the American writer collected over many years from France’s most famous bistros.

The recipes Wells gleaned from legendary Paris establishments include mussel soup from Benoit, smoked haddock with cabbage from Chez La Vieille, roast chicken from L’Ami Louis and an almond tarte from Le Petit Marguery.

The book was published in the 1980s, but those bistros still exist, as do countless small traditional restaurants tucked away in almost every block of the French capital and its regional cities, a testament to the enduring popularity of hearty, home-style cooking, despite serious challenges from culinary movements such as nouvelle cuisine.

“Bistro cuisine is French home cooking at its best, a style of cooking that demands a minimal of technical skills,” writes Wells. “Ingredients aren’t exotic; they