So I had planned to eat at the place not far from Montparnasse but when I showed up there was a handwritten sign in the window saying they were closed “exceptionnellement.” As always, I had a backup, the Big Fernand, which gets mentioned in every list of hamburger/meat places, so what did I have to lose?
6.5 The Big Fernand, l’Atelier du Hamburge, 86, blvd du Montparnasse, open 7/7, has a small front out of which spilled a line of young folks and 2 Deliveroo guys. I entered like it was a real restaurant, asking a waitguy if I could sit at a table and he helped with my coat and cane. He asked if I knew how it worked and I quickly saw that folks lined up at the 5-Chef counter, ordered, paid, got their burgers and sat down or took out.
Both the main Chef and the waitguy equally quickly realized I was over my head and took my order and credit card acting like it was Le Cinq not Burger King. I thought I’d pick a beef hamburger with a raclette of mountain cheese, no, it came with everything, including their own (quite delicious) sauce thus not necessitating catsup or Tabasco on the table. In fact the burger was quite good and the fries, which I’m easy to criticize in France, were terrific.
My bill, with a half-bottle of Crozes-Hermitage and no other liquids, was 26€. The dB level wasn’t bad, 84.6, despite the hustle-bustle madhouse atmosphere.
Go? You know, if caught in a similar fix again, I would, but I’d do it the “right way” rather than act as a grandee.
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