Entrecote a la bordelaise is Bordeaux's beef-and-wine signature, a thick rib steak grilled over vine cuttings then served with a red-wine, shallot and bone-marrow sauce, with a single bone of marrow on top.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
The recipe was born in the Medoc vineyards in the 19th century, when winemakers grilled beef on the embers of the old barriques after wine season. Today most Bordeaux brasseries grill the steak over vine sarments rather than vine barrels, but the wine-and-shallot sauce with marrow has stayed canonical. The Bordelais bistros La Tupina, La Brasserie Bordelaise and Le Mably each keep their own version, and the sauce is sometimes called sauce bordelaise across French menus.
Common allergens: None
Tip from the editors. If you cannot find marrow bones, sub with a tablespoon of beef fat melted into the sauce at the end.
La Tupina in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre district is the southwestern French institution founded by Jean-Pierre Xiradakis in 1968, now led by chef Franck Audu.
Signature: Entrecote a la bordelaise, Tricandilles, Sanguette
Tip: Sit near the open fire for the tricandilles; the lunch formula is a serious value if you book ahead for noon on a weekday.
La Brasserie Bordelaise in Bordeaux's Saint-Pierre is the golden-triangle institution on Rue Saint-Remi with non-stop kitchen service from noon to midnight.
Try: Southwestern French plates, foie gras, cassoulet
Order: Beef cheek a la bordelaise with a glass of Saint-Estephe
Tip: Kitchen runs without a break so a 22:30 plat principal is no problem; book a window table for the after-theatre crowd.
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