A glass of wine and many thoughts...: Au P'tit Zinc: a place for the good old meat eaters

Vegetarian please look away.

For a long time my local friend have been telling me about this magical place.

A place she described: "should you ever feel hungry for a big meaty steak at 1 AM, this is where you should go."

I suppose as a chef, I am always keeping an eye out for those "out-of-hours" establishments. Lyon made me feel that it is quite a civilised city; I suppose it means that people go to bed at the reasonable hours after big hearty meals with fabulous wines of nearby regions and raise early to go to the markets...

My special places in London includes those bagel shop/ bagel bake on Brick Lane after East end heavy clubbing, Vingt-Quatre Chelsea where you go to have pancakes and milkshakes after dancing to the 80's tunes at Maggie's next door and Duck and Waffle after non-stop drinking with your city-maties and you just need that little extra glass of champagne and night view to remind you how wonderful life still is plus some crispy pig's ears, duck leg confit and waffle to go down with it.

Now come to think about it: perhaps the Billingsgate fish market counts one of my special places too.

It opens at 4 AM, just about time after clubs shut and you can even buy some fresh fish in the market for the lady in your life (your mum, your better half) so they cannot tell you off for coming home late.

There is this, I should say, a very Fabulous Cafe where I imagine all the fishmongers go, for a cup of tea or coffee or a hearty breakfast. You cannot miss it- it is the Only One there.

(The whole) Smoked haddock with two (looks very small but actually the normal size) poached eggs.

I confess I was being greedy so I ordered sautéed scallops with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.

My own fault really. I forgot that seafood from the sea, contains lots of salt. So for me there weren't enough tea/ lemon wedges to balance the taste on my tongue. But I still love it. It is fresh and it looks so Much. What's not to love about it? I am a chef. One of the most memorable breakfast.

So after much hype we went there on a whim One Saturday evening.

The place looks hearty. The kind of place you know either the food is so basic and people only love it because they are drunk or it gives you the kind of food to all your heart's content.

Luckily for me, it's the better one.

The boss is a friend of our friend. So there were much the usual exchange of French greetings going on before settling down. We ordered the Essential Côte du beouf and souris d'agneau with a bottle of Saint-Joseph rouge. We were 3 adults and a child.

After more French banterings and introductions to almost everybody in the place. We received our Easter blessings.

I have said earlier: Vegetarians please look away. If you are otherwise, you would know what I am gonna show here:

Côte du Boeuf served on a wooden board with sea salts and Béarnaise kind of sauce. Separate plates of sautéed potatoes and green salad for each dinner.

I was curious, I went for the daily special: Souris d'agnau