Steak au poivre - Solo Dining at Les Halles - NYC Restaurant Reviews & Guide

The weather was so nice last Thursday I decided to take myself out to dinner. Mr T was out of town on business so I figured I deserved some good food and quality alone time with a big juicy steak :)

Les Halles happens to be right near my apartment so when I saw there were lots of open tables outside I had a seat. I came here once about 5 years ago, before Anthony Bourdain became so huge and the place wasn't overrun with tourists.

I remember thinking the fries were unbelievable so I was pretty excited to try those out again.

I sat down and waited for a little over 10 minutes for the waiter (kind of a long time when the place is empty).

I asked him about one of the glasses of wine and he proceeded to try and upsell me from a $7.50 glass to a $17.50 glass of wine! I politely refused his suggestion and ordered a very nice Côtes du Rhône.

As I was contemplating my dinner order the bread arrived. It was pretty average bread basket but the butter took it up a notch with its rich creamy texture.

My waiter came back a minute later and I asked him what cut of meat the Steak au poivre was. He proceeds to tell me "round steak...you know the butt".

Hmm..the butt. I thought this was half amusng and half odd. Not exactly a mouth watering description!

But hey- I ordered it anyway so who am I to say!

Since it was a round steak it was a little bit tougher than most but still delicious. The peppercorn sauce on top was good but almost a little too spicey for my tastes. About halfway through I had to take a little break because my mouth was on fire.

I'm beginning to realize that I can't handle spicy foods like I used to.

Ah...just one of the wonderful joys of getting older :)

As you can see the steak was cooked perfectly and how about those fries!

Well..they were very good- light, crispy almost like a McDonalds fry back in the day but not quite as good as I remember them being the first tme I came. Overall a solid dish though.

The place stayed pretty quiet the entire time I was there and it was very enjoyable to just sit and watch the crowds of people bustling down Park Avenue. I have definently had better steaks before and the service was a little strnge but it ended up fitting the bill nicely.

Les Halles