Snail’s Pace at Bistrot

If you’re curious about Jacques Maximin’s food, but aren’t sure you can afford his prices--or keep a straight face through all that curtain-raising business--you might want to try his small, turn-of-the-century-look Bistrot de Nice, immediately next door to the main restaurant. On the other hand, if you like real bistro food--simple, hearty, flavorful--you might want to go somewhere else entirely--the nearby La Merenda, Le Chapon Fin or Nissa Socca, for instance, all of which are cheaper and substantially more satisfying than Maximin’s bistro establishment.

At Bistrot de Nice one autumn afternoon, the fish soup was bland (and the accompanying rouille , which ought to be hot with garlic and red chiles, was entirely too polite), the ratatouille salad with smoked salmon was unexceptional, the meat-stuffed vegetables ( farcis nicois ) resembled school-cafeteria fare (American school-cafeteria fare), and the tuna brochettes were overdone and cloaked in an anchovy sauce that was reminiscent of something you might make with cream of mushroom soup. There are some nice minor wines on the wine list, but the Chateau de Cremant Bellet, available in red, white and rose versions in heavy-bottom Jacques Maximin carafes, is entirely too expensive at about $25 for 500 ml (i.e., two-thirds of a regular bottle). And if the word “bistrot” really derives, as is often claimed, from the Russian word for “quick”, then it has no business being attached to this place; the languor with which food comes out of this kitchen is astonishing even by Provencal standards.

Le Bistrot de Nice, 2 et 4 rue Sacha-Guitry, Nice. Telephone 93.80.68.00. Dinner for two, food only, $40-$75.