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There is no shortage of cuisine to choose from. Every country has regions that offer different takes on dishes specific to the area. Take the hamburger – a simple beef patty between two slices of bread. It can be vastly different when eaten in New Jersey – a steamed burger with cheese, versus California – a burger with avocado and bacon. The same can be said for French cuisine. Always considered a bit more upscale, every restaurant has its own specialties, and every chef has their interpretation of dish preparation. This is French cuisine at its finest: the best restaurant in every state.
Many new chefs often train in French restaurants where in addition to preparing the food, they learn highly rated skills like precision and repetition to hone their craft. French dishes are often comprised of formal techniques that have a rich history. Many of the best chefs cooking in U.S. restaurants today have had French training, either in formal cooking schools like the Cordon Bleu and Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse or through stints at restaurants in France, but the food they're cooking has a vast range of flavors. (These are the best Michelin three-star restaurants in the world.)
24/7 Tempo consulted reviews and ratings on sites including Gayot, Michelin, Time Out, Culture Trip, and Yelp, as well as numerous local and regional sources to compile a list of the finest French restaurant in every state. We considered various markers of quality (star ratings, effusive critical praise, etc.) as well as the fidelity each establishment pays to authentic French culinary traditions, whether classical or contemporary.
Some states had numerous French restaurants to choose from, like California, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Nevada. In other states, like Wyoming, West Virginia, and the Dakotas, it was more difficult to find a well-regarded restaurant that served French food exclusively or even primarily, but we eventually came up with credible representatives too. (If you don't like French food, try the best Italian restaurant in every state.)
Here is French cuisine at its finest: the best restaurant in every state:
Alabama: Chez Fonfon
- Location: Birmingham
- Sample dishes: Provençal stuffed zucchini, trout with capers and brown butter, Basque cake with Chantilly cream
- Average price per person: $50–100
Alaska: Crow's Nest
- Location: Anchorage
- Sample dishes: Pork belly rillettes, black cod with sauce Choron, certified Black Angus beef ribeye bordelaise
- Average price per person: $50–100
Arizona: Le Sans Souci
- Location: Cave Creek
- Sample dishes: Coquilles St. Jacques, mixed grill à l'anglaise, peach Melba
- Average price per person: $30–50
Arkansas: Bienvenue
- Location: Springdale
- Sample dishes: Escargots en croûte, rabbit pithiviers, roasted Cornish hen with Parisian potatoes
- Average price per person: $50–100
California: The French Laundry
- Location: Yountville
- Sample dishes: Rouelle of Dover sole, "prime rib" of Elysian Fields Farm lamb, gougère of cave-aged Comté, and black winter truffle "fondue"
- Average price per person: $100+
Colorado: French Alpine Bistro
- Location: Aspen
- Sample dishes: Steak tartare, cheese fondue, coq au vin
- Average price per person: $100+
Connecticut: Luc's Café
- Location: Ridgefield
- Sample dishes: Oeufs mayonnaise, pâté de campagne, Hudson Valley duck confit
- Average price per person: $50-100
Delaware: Le Cavalier
- Location: Wilmington
- Sample dishes: Salmon à la greque, steak frites, profiteroles
- Average price per person: $50-100
Florida: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
- Location: Miami
- Sample dishes: Crispy langoustine with basil coulis, scallops in cilantro broth, filet mignon
- Average price per person: $100+
Georgia: Café Alsace
- Location: Decatur
- Sample dishes: Tarte flambée, ratatouille en croûte with merguez sausage, crème brûlée
- Average price per person:
Hawaii: Michel's at the Colony Surf
- Location: Honolulu (O'ahu)
- Sample dishes: Lobster bisque à la Michel's, chateaubriand for two, Michel's chocolate soufflé
- Average price per person: 100+
Idaho: Bacquet's
- Location: Eagle
- Sample dishes: Baked Camembert, salmon champenoise, médaillon de veau chasseur
- Average price per person: $50-100
Illinois: Les Nomades
- Location: Chicago
- Sample dishes: Wild mushroom soup with truffle foam, duo of braised lamb and grilled veal tenderloin with cassoulet beans, warm cherry clafoutis with lemon verbena ice cream
- Average price per person: $100+
Indiana: Petite Chou Bistro & Champagne Bar
- Location: Indianapolis
- Sample dishes: Duck rillettes, chicken paillard, lobster frites
- Average price per person: $20-30
Iowa: Chez Grace
- Location: Coralville
- Sample dishes: Mesclun salad with goat cheese, pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras with caramelized pear, steak au poivre
- Average price per person: $100+
Kansas: Georges French Bistro
- Location: Wichita
- Sample dishes: Smoked salmon crêpe, duck à l'orange, chocolate mousse cake
- Average price per person: $50-100
Kentucky: La Chasse
- Location: Louisville
- Sample dishes: Ratatouille, duck a l'orange, roasted beets
- Average price per person: $80-$100
Louisiana: Ciro's Côte Sud
- Location: New Orleans
- Sample dishes: Moules frites, côtes d'agneau grillées aux herbes de Provence, tarte tatin à la mode
- Average price per person: $30-50
Maine: Chez Rosa
- Location: Kennebunkport
- Sample dishes: Pâté de Campagne, Parisienne Gnocchi, Maine Lobster Vol Au Vent
- Average price per person: $80-$100
Maryland: La Ferme
- Location: Chevy Chase
- Sample dishes: Crème brûlée au foie gras, grilled Dover sole, sweetbreads in lemon-caper butter sauce
- Average price per person: $50-100
Massachusetts: Ma Maison
- Location: Boston
- Sample dishes: Uncle Lucien's country pâté, frogs' legs provençale, magret of duck with red cherries
- Average price per person: $50-100
Michigan: The French Lady
- Location: Birmingham (Listed as temporarily closed, their website is under construction; they are open for take-out)
- Sample dishes: Quiche forestière, chicken basquaise, madeleines
- Average price per person: $20-30
Minnesota: Meritage
- Location: St. Paul
- Sample dishes: Billi-bi saffron-mussel soup, pommes frites with béarnaise sauce, cherry-glazed magret of duck
- Average price per person: $100+
Mississippi: Anjou Restaurant
- Location: Ridgeland
- Sample dishes: Savory zucchini beignets, crawfish crêpe, Angus center cut filet with maître d'hôtel butter
- Average price per person: $30
Missouri: Café Provençal
- Location: Kirkwood
- Sample dishes: Grated celery root salad, daube de boeuf, tarte au chocolat
- Average price per person: $50-100
Montana: 2nd Street Bistro
- Location: Livingston
- Sample dishes: Artichoke barigoule, rabbit fricasée, lamb ragoût
- Average price per person: $25-100
Nebraska: Le Voltaire
- Location: Omaha
- Sample dishes: Assiette de charcuterie, côte du porc en croûte de pistache, lemon and lavender gâteau
- Average price per person: $50-100
Nevada: Guy Savoy
- Location: Las Vegas
- Sample dishes: Artichoke and black truffle soup, quail stuffed with foie gras, chocolate fondant
- Average price per person: $100+
New Hampshire: Bridge Street Bistrot & Wine Bar
- Location: Portsmouth
- Sample dishes: Wild mushroom crêpe, swordfish provençal, apple clafoutis
- Average price per person: $50-100
New Jersey: Brasserie Mémère
- Location: Closter
- Sample dishes: Soupe aux carottes, loup de mer à la vapeur, kouign-amann
- Average price per person: $50-100
New Mexico: Le Troquet
- Location: Albuquerque
- Sample dishes: Escargots à la bourguignonne, filet de saumon dijonnaise, poulet Cordon Bleu
- Average price per person: $30-50
New York: Le Bernardin
- Location: New York City
- Sample dishes: Warm scallop "tartare" with caviar, poached lobster with truffled gnocchi, pistachio praliné
- Average price per person: $100+
North Carolina: Bouchon
- Location: Asheville
- Sample dishes: Assiette de deux pâtés maison, poulet rôti au thym, pain perdu à la mode
- Average price per person: $30-50
North Dakota: Maxwell's Restaurant & Bar
- Location: Fargo
- Sample dishes: Red wine/tomato/basil bisque, bison meatballs with vermouth cream sauce, grilled New Zealand lamb rack
- Average price per person: $50-100
Ohio: L'Albatros Brasserie
- Location: Cleveland
- Sample dishes: Chicken liver and foie gras mousseline, bouillabaisse for two, pig's feet with sauce béarnaise
- Average price per person: $50-100
Oklahoma: Fait Maison French Restaurant
- Location: Edmond
- Sample dishes: Provençal fish stew, organic chicken breast with sauce Albuféra, signature millefeuille with pistachio cream and raspberries
- Average price per person: $100+
Oregon: St. Jack
- Location: Portland
- Sample dishes: Pâté en croûte, moules marinière, peach blancmange
- Average price per person: $50-100
Pennsylvania: Forsythia
- Location: Philadelphia
- Sample dishes: Duck confit omelette, salt meadow lamb crépinette, brown butter financier
- Average price per person: $50-100
Rhode Island: Pot au Feu
- Location: Providence
- Sample dishes: Truffle-scented wild mushroom pâté, marinated chicken livers lyonnaise, pot au feu
- Average price per person: $50-100
South Carolina: Ville Sainte Bistro
- Location: Mount Pleasant
- Sample dishes: Frogs' legs in white wine garlic sauce, ravioli dauphinoise, pan-seared flounder with brown butter lemon sauce
- Average price per person: $50-100
South Dakota: Enigma Restaurant
- Location: Rapid City
- Sample dishes: Mushrooms Avignon, steak frites with sauce Madagascar, chocolate lava cake
- Average price per person: $50-100
Tennessee: Once Upon a Time in France
- Location: Nashville
- Sample dishes: Velouté of lobster with truffles, steak tartare, jumbo shrimp à la Marseillaise
- Average price per person: $30-50
Texas: Chez Nous
- Location: Humble
- Sample dishes: Soupe à l'oignon, roasted rack of young New Zealand lamb with Dijon-rosemary crust, passion fruit-raspberry soufflé
- Average price per person: $100+
Utah: Courchevel Bistro
- Location: Park City
- Sample dishes: Smoked trout rillettes, Mary's chicken ballotine, chocolate tart with Chartreuse ice cream
- Average price per person: $50-100
Vermont: Bistro de Margot
- Location: Burlington
- Sample dishes: Foie gras and lobster crème brûlée, medallions of monkfish with chanterelles, Paris-Brest
- Average price per person: $50-100
West Virginia: L'Auberge Chez Francois
- Location: Great Falls
- Sample dishes: Warm oysters with béarnaise, vegetable Napoléon, grilled duck breast with Grand Marnier sauce
- Average price per person: $100+
Washington: Le Pichet
- Location: Seattle
- Sample dishes: Assiette of Bayonne ham, brandade de morue nîmoise, roast chicken with favas and fennel for two
- Average price per person: $50-100
West Virginia: The French Goat
- Location: Lewisburg
- Sample dishes: Endive salad, pan-roasted chicken with Mediterranean spices, buttermilk blancmange
- Average price per person: $50-100
Wisconsin: Cadre
- Location: Madison
- Sample dishes: Escargots, daube de boeuf, gâteau Basque
- Average price per person: $50-100
Wyoming: The Bistro
- Location: Jackson
- Sample dishes: Frisée aux lardons, coq au vin, venison filet with wild mushrooms and blackberry jus
- Average price per person: $50-100