Hey,<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you hate it when you\u2019re not in on a secret?<\/p>\n
For quite some time now, I\u2019ve been on the lookout for a really good place in Bangkok for steak. But here\u2019s the problem: What I don\u2019t want is a \u2018steakhouse\u2019, or, heaven forbid, an American version thereof.<\/p>\n
What I mean is a place that does the French bistro staple \u2013 steak frites.<\/p>\n
Now I appreciate there should be less meat in my diet, but that only means that when I do have it, I want it to be good. Not big (refer to my disdain for American steakhouses). Not faddish (Wagyu, this means you). Just good.<\/p>\n
Flavourful. Well-cooked (as in rare to medium rare). And tender (though this is somewhat overrated when people write about steak).<\/p>\n
So it annoys me to discover that there is a French restaurant within walking distance from home that has apparently been there for years; that does pretty fabulous steak frites; and even has champagne by the glass for less than US$10, which is unheard-of in this town.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s so old school that it doesn\u2019t have an official web page or social media presence.<\/p>\n
Welcome to Indigo French Restaurant & Bar.<\/p>\n
The arrival is typically Bangkok, in that the place is along a messy side-soi, but what you find is a rather lovely old house with a courtyard set with tables out the front. I\u2019d have chosen the courtyard, but every table was set with an ashtray, so I knew that would be a mistake. And sure enough, a fat bald bloke was polluting the atmosphere with\u00a0a cigar as we departed. Cigars are just so glamorous, don’t you think?<\/p>\n
In any case, the interior is pleasant enough, despite the bar, which I suspect was shipped from France and reassembled on site in 1972.<\/p>\n
The service is old-school too, but that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. We were actually delivered our aperitifs before the meal, for instance. But old-school in the sense that your steak tartare is prepared tableside. (I didn\u2019t look, but I bet they do cr\u00eapes Suzette at the table too). It\u2019s that kind of place.<\/p>\n
The menu is big physically, which meant trying to avoid treating the place setting \u2013 replete with arguably too much stemware \u2013 like tenpins, and in the sense that there was just too many options from which to choose.<\/p>\n
Steak frites is an easy enough choice, however. And it was a choice we’d been hankering after, it being Good Friday and all. A decent enough wine list offered a Pomerol at a price that didn\u2019t make me wince, which is a surprise in Bangkok too.<\/p>\n
So, it was a good night all-round, and my new go-to place in Bangkok for steak has been found.<\/p>\n
Do I know the provenance of the steak? Actually no. I hope it was from somewhere like the image above: cows that have eaten grass while living\u00a0comfortably in the French countryside. American steakhouse fans should note that their \u2018grain fed\u2019 cows are penned in to disgusting enclosures and fed grains that they\u2019ve not evolved to eat in order to fatten them up quickly. It is as close as you can get to industrial steak production short of this<\/a> and I really don\u2019t want either.<\/p>\n And as for health. This<\/a> long, but well-considered piece hits most of today\u2019s food neuroses right in the nose with some well deserved blows. It does, at first, suggest that the secret is: \u201cEat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.\u201d So maybe a steak is not a great idea. But it does point out that the French survive on a diet of saturated fat and alcohol and are generally healthier than both nutrition-obsessed and nutrition-oblivious Americans. So an occasional steak frites and a bottle of red is something I\u2019m treating as a health tonic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey, Don\u2019t you hate it when you\u2019re not in on a secret? For quite some time now, I\u2019ve been on the lookout for a really good place in Bangkok for steak. But here\u2019s the problem: What I don\u2019t want is a \u2018steakhouse\u2019, or, heaven forbid, an American version thereof. What I mean is a place … Continue reading High Steaks<\/span>