Le Bec Fin

Napoleon and I went to Le Bec Fin for one of its three-course-meal-for-$50 specials (I'm sure there's a shorter, technical name for that). The French restaurant once lauded for its classical cuisine has fallen prey to the rough economic times and the growing number of successful -- and cheaper -- restaurants in the Philadelphia area. It is now making its menu more accessible for the common man, and of course, as common men, we had to take advantage.

One tantalizingly tasty note: owner/chef Georges Perrier was wandering around the joint the whole night! Napoleon and I were giggling like giddy little school girls. And then we remembered that it's not appropriate to giggle in the restaurant whose name translated means "The Bec Fin."

I had escargots in wine/butter sauce for my appetizer. Once you get past the fact that you're eating snails, the butter sauce is divine. It was as if whatever God you believe in had resurrected the son of whatever God you believe in right there in that bowl. That good. Really.

My next meal was the prime rib. It was better than Prime Rib's prime rib, so that definitely says something. It was cooked perfectly, but seeing as how I'm not the biggest fan of prime rib, I wasn't satisfied. However, fans of the juicy cut will definitely view it as one of the better prime rib's they've had.

Finally, we were able to sample two slices of dessert from Le Bec Fin's famed dessert cart. I wanted to literally jump on the cart and have Napoleon push me down Walnut Street. Alas, the revolving door was my arch nemesis that night. In any case, Napoleon had two chocolate cakes, while yours truly (that's me) had a Grand Marnier souffle and caramel concoction whose inexplicably complex name I forget at the moment. In any case, while visually stunning, the desserts lack a certain freshness, probably because they've been sitting in the corner of a dying breed of restaurant for the whole day. But it tasted pretty good.

Rating: 3.8/5 stuck-up French chefs