Favorite Restaurants - Les Halles

Les Halles
411 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
212-679-4111

The original Les Halles, uptown at Park Avenue South and 29th Street, was one of the first of the “modern” old-fashioned bistros in New York when it opened more than a decade ago, bringing an authenticity and no-kidding-around devotion to meat and potatoes that was missing elsewhere. Named after the old Paris food market, Les Halles also functioned as a butcher with French cuts of meat. Fueled by the publicity garnered from chef Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling book, Kitchen Confidential, it has kept a steady clientele that comes as much for the sizzle and the steak frites.


Coq au Vain
The chicken was very tender and they definitely don’t skimp on the portions (I felt like they gave me an entire chicken!)


Steak Frites
The steak was very tender and well cooked; juicy, slightly pink inside (the good kind of medium rare) and very flavorful.


One of the best dishes at Les Halles is the Choucroute Garnie. Choucroute Garnie is, essentially, a plate piled with good hot sauerkraut, potatoes, and several types of pork products. There is sausage! Three kinds, in fact. There is bacon! There are ham hocks! There is smoked or boiled ham! There are sometimes ribs! There can even be hot dogs, if you so fancy! We cannot use enough exclamation points to emphasize the true and intense awesomeness of the finished product, which is traditionally served with Riesling and a variety of mustards.

Anthony Bourdain's Recipe for Choucroute Garnie from Les Halles

2 tbsp rendered duck fat, or pork fat
1 onion, finely chopped
905g sauerkraut
10 juniper berries
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 cups dry white wine, preferably Riesling
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriander
4 boiled potatoes
salt and pepper to taste

For choucroute garnie

4 frankfurters
4 boudin blanc
4 slices of smoked pork loin
4 slices of salted pork belly

Heat duck fat in a large pot. Add the onion, and cookfor about 5 minutes. Add the sauerkraut, juniper berries, garlic, wine, spices and salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer.

Add the pork belly and smoked pork loin, cover and cook for 1 and a 1/2 hours. In a separate pot, bring water to a simmer. Then add the frankfurters, boudin blanc, and potatoes. Heat for 5 minutes.
To serve: place sauerkraut in the centre of a large serving platter. Arrange meats and boiled potatoes around the sauerkraut. Serve with a flavorful grainy mustard.