Le Rugby’s food and drink correspondent, Pat du Jour, gets a rare outing and delivers a hearty well done to the masters of that classic French dish, steak-frites

No rugby trip to France is complete without sampling that classic French dish, steak-frites. Although you’re more likely to get a dodgy serving down at your local Berni Inn than in Bernay, you’ve still got to know what to look for when visiting the home of steak-frites. Le Rugby’s food and drink correspondent, Pat du Jour, never travels to games (or the accompanying pre and post match restaurant) without his trusty camera. As he shows us the fruits of his travels, Pat marks our card as to le bon, le mauvais et le laid.

Hall of Fame

Madames et monsieurs, voici la mère des steak frites! What a thing of beauty this is, served in a restaurant in Bayonne. Blimey, that slab of beef could feed a family of five for a fortnight. Witness the girth, the depth and the colour. And don’t be fooled into thinking the chips are covering up for a lack of meat. They’re sat atop it! Perfection on a plate.

Another fine example, needless dollop of garlic butter aside, of what your steak frites should look like when it arrives at the table. This beautiful, dark piece of prime steak bought in Toulouse is complemented, yet not usurped by perfectly cooked, crisp chips. Get your vitesse riant around this baby. Allez!

It’s very hard to find fault with this more-than-decent sized steak that came from Perpignan. It has, in the words of the late, great Steve Irwin, beeeeyoutiful colouration. Witness also the zig-zag grill marks that just add to its artistry. The stringy chips are ideal, and more than happy to take second billing. The only shame is the pointless, token bit of green salad.

Afficianados of steak frites can sometimes be unfairly labelled as dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists, who are unwilling to acknowledge gastronomic guile. Au contraire. Here we have a wonderful variation of the classic dish that was served up in Bourgoin. The steak is so thick it sits on its side. What a girth. The chips are refreshingly thin and wispy, enticing the eater in much like a cobweb does an unsuspecting insect. The pot of sauce is unnecessary but we’ll forgive chef on this occasion.