I heard about Madame Claude Bis, a French restaurant located under the White Eagle Theater in Jersey City for some time and decided to try it. Opened by wife and husband, Alice Troïetto and Mattias Gustafsson who are both from France, I admit that the name makes me smile: Madame Claude, whose real name was Fernande Grudet, headed a network of call girls in France in the 60s. When she got arrested, she threatened to expose political and famous personalities that she claimed were her clients (she claimed that JFK was a client for instance). No, Madame Claude Bis is a legitimate restaurant serving French cuisine, with gypsy music and French songs on Thursdays by a band called the Manouche Bag.

The place is nice: located at the bottom of a townhouse, you walk downstairs to a warm dining room with an atmosphere that reminds me of one particular restaurant I used to go to when living in Paris called Le Temps Des Cerises.

The menu is full of classic French dishes, from coq au vin to duck confit, and of course the classic steak frites. Here is what we had:

I decided to order a cocktail, The Manouche Bag (remember the band I mentioned before), made with Rye, chocolate bitters, sweet vermouth and Chartreuse, while Jodi got a grenadine syrup (these syrups are quite popular in France: concentrated, you just add water or seltzer to it - there are flavors like mint, anise, cherry, mojito, etc). I should mention that they have a nice selection of French whisky (Rozelieures, Michel Couvreur).

As an appetizer, I could not pass on the escargots, that were made with the classic garlic, butter and parsley sauce (I of course dipped some bread in it).

Jodi got their smoked chanterelles mushrooms that were sublime, really smoky but without overpowering the delicious taste of these elegant mushrooms.

She then continued her meal with a warm goat cheese salad that was served on a crouton with mesclun, carrot and slices of pear.

Warm goat cheese salad at Madame Claude Bis in Jersey City

On my side, after quite a bit of hesitation, I ordered their lamb shank. That dish was phenomenal. The lamb shank was braised in rosemary and white wine, the meat literally falling off the bone, to the point where I did not even need a knife. It came with baby green peas, carrots and a potato gratin that was deliciously cheesy. I was in heaven!

Last was dessert. We decided to go for their homemade tarte tatin. Although I wished it was more buttery, I thought it was a good way to end this delicious meal.

Tarte tatin at Madame Claude Bis in Jersey City

So, yes, Madame Clause Bis was a real treat and I will certainly go back to that place. It is one of the few French restaurants in Jersey City that are worth a visit.

Enjoy (I really did)!

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Madame Clause Bis - 390 4th St, Jersey City, NJ 07302

I Just Want To Eat!