A reader sents us this picture he took of a new sign put up over the week-end at the previous Enotria Restaurant space.
The sign says:
Chloe
A French Bistrot
Opening June 2010
The reader said he is very excited to get a bisto in our neighborhood and hopes it has bistro prices such as Voila in Madison Park and Cafe Campagne do he said. We'll have to see.
We did some googling to see if we could dig up anything and only could find a restaurant with a similar name in France.
The reader is also curious why this restaurant is called a bistrot (with a t) rather than a bistro.
Here is what we could find:
On Wikipedia: A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting.
Jim Scott, writing in North County Times said:
"Our rub today is the French bistro, or bistrot ---- both are correct, with bistro first appearing in 1884, followed by bistrot in 1892. The origin of the word is uncertain, but the most popular and romantic hypothesis is that it came from the Russian bystro (meaning quickly), introduced by Cossacks during the 1814 occupation of Paris as they shouted for faster service in cafes.
However, this picturesque interpretation is discounted by most lexicographers. They say that the word bistro probably came from Parisian argot meaning "proprietor of a tavern." Another less dreamy version is that bistro comes from the root bistre, meaning a somber and smokey place. I like the Russian version the best.
Whatever its origins, by 1901 the meaning had evolved into that of a local small cafe, pouring local wines ---- usually from carafes into water glasses ---- and serving modest foodstuffs made from local produce. Typical offerings were pates, cheeses and soups, along with daily specialties. Never expensive."
And there is a big discussion of this on the eGullet Society of Culiary Arts website.
Let us know if you know more about this new bistrot.
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