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BEST FRENCH RESTAURANTS

By LESLIE BRENNER/Restaurant Critic

When I came to Dallas one year ago, I was amazed at the number of French restaurants the city boasts. I couldn't wait to dive in and start exploring them.

Once I did, one thing became rapidly clear: Most of our French restaurants are old-fashioned French restaurants. Very old-fashioned.

For some reason I still have not understood, the kind of French cooking that continues to dominate the Dallas dining scene is the kind that was found all over America in the 1950s and '60s. Dishes such as escargots, Dover sole meunière, roasted duck à l'orange, dessert soufflés and crêpes suzette celebrate a period of French cooking before nouvelle cuisine revolutionized dining in France in the 1970s. Other American cities have moved on to more modern French cooking, but curiously, not Dallas.

Of course there are exceptions; there is some modern French cooking going on in Dallas. And those old-fashioned dishes can be wonderful, too; there's a reason they've stood the test of time.

Still, it's odd that there has been little attempt by most of these restaurants, given the city's fondness for old-fashioned French, to delve a bit more into rediscovering other French classics.

In the past 12 months, I'm pretty sure I've dined in every French restaurant in Dallas, as well as most of the French restaurants in the rest of the D-FW area. While I did taste duck confit and so-called "coq au vin," I don't think I've come across a real coq au vin – meaning a bird marinated in wine and aromatics overnight, then simmered in wine for hours. Nor have I seen a pissaladière, a boeuf bourguignon, a daube, petit salé aux lentilles, or a clafoutis. In other words, the kinds of dishes that people cook and eat in France.

And it's even more puzzling that we haven't seen much that feels like modern French in this city. Where are the brasseries and modern bistros?

Happily, there are a few fabulous French restaurants in and around Dallas. Some of them even serve escargots and soufflés. And a couple of them are very modern. I've listed the best of them, in no particular order.

Best in DFW: French restaurants

About the Best in DFW series

The Best in DFW series presents critics' and staff picks and asks readers to chime in with their favorites.

This feature started with a focus on the area's best restaurants and is expanding to include entertainment venues and other high-interest topics.

How we choose

The Best in DFW series presents critics' and staff picks and asks readers to chime in with their favorites.

Critics' picks are presented without ranking.

To view other dining features, check the Restaurants page at DallasNews.com.