Bistro

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This article is about the type of restaurant. For other uses see Bistro (disambiguation)

A bistro is a familiar name for a cafe serving moderately priced simple meals in an unpretentious setting, especially in Paris. They often specialize in classic dishes such as steak au poivre, French onion soup, and coq au vin.

The term is possibly derived from the Russian: бы́стро (IPA: [bɨstrə]) which means 'quickly.' Russian soldiers occupying France after the Napoleonic Wars would frequently demand that French civilians serve their food quickly, shouting the word that evolved into the neologism 'Bistro' at them. This etymology is disputed, however: Cossack soldiers occupied Paris in 1815 but the first recorded use of the word appears in 1884, almost seventy years later, and in 1892 ("bistrot"). Another possible source for the word could be bistraud, a word in the Poitou dialect which means a "lesser servant." Another possible source for the word is bistouille or bistrouille, a colloquial term from northern area of France, which is a mixture of brandy and coffee; precisely the kind of beverage that could be served at a bistro.

Bistro eating is a style of cooking that involves using fresh, (usually organic) ingredients to produce delicious, and nutritionally healthy recipes. Bistro eating has become much more popular due to the fact that people are more concerned about their eating health, and also because a number of celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey use this style of cooking.