Bar Bites: Le Zinc

Most people who know me know that I have a thing for bistrots, and for small-plate dining in general. While my favorite bistro in the city, no contest, is Café Claude, there is one enjoyable bistro right here in our own neighborhood: Le Zinc. DPaul and  I have eaten here a number of times, for brunch, lunch or dinner. It has always been recommendable. However, especially on rainy, gloomy Sundays like today, we often feel peckish in the mid-afternoon and just want a smattering of tasty things.

This is the best-kept secret part about Le Zinc: From 3-5 pm, in between their standard lunch/brunch and dinner menues, they offer a limited but interesting menu of tapas that allow you to appease the afternoon grumblies with gorgeous small plates. Today we had delightful croustillants de camembert, crispy fried and redolent of truffle oil; escargots aux cèpes, a perfect disk of snails and porcini, bursting with mushroom and garlic flavors (this we substituted for the brik au merguez, which they were unfortunately out of); crevettes au lard fumé, succulent shrimp wrapped in bacon served with chili oil and squid ink; and of course an order of frîtes. Wouldn’t be bistro fare without the frîtes! Combine all this with a lovely carafe of Sancerre rosé, and you’ve got a light and satisfying meal that chases away the hunger pains as well as the rainy day blues.

Le Zinc
4063 24th St (between Noe and Castro)