''Steak frites'', meaning "steak ndfries" in French, is a dish consisting of steak paired with

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

. It is commonly served in European

brasserie In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brew ...

s, and is considered by some to be the

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

of Belgium, which claims to be the place of its invention. Historically, the

rump steak Rump steak is a cut of beef. The rump is the division between the leg and the chine cut right through the aitch bone. It may refer to: * A steak from the top half of an American-cut round steak primal * A British- or Australian-cut from the rum ...

was commonly used for this dish. More typically at the present time, the steak is an

entrecôte In French, ''entrecôte'' () is a premium cut of beef used for steaks and roasts. A traditional ''entrecôte'' is a boneless cut from the rib area corresponding to the steaks known in different parts of the English-speaking world as rib, rib ey ...

also called rib eye, or scotch fillet (in Australia), pan-fried rare ("''saignant''"—literally "bloody"), in a pan reduction sauce, sometimes with hollandaise or béarnaise sauce, served with deep-fried potatoes (

Francophilia A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuis ...

led to its generalization to the Portuguese-speaking world, where it is called or , especially in Brazil, where the sauce is usually just onion rings cooked and fried in the steak's own juice and frying oil, being the most popular dish to go aside rice and beans. Steak frites is also common in other countries, such as Anglophone and Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Steak frites is the subject of a

semiotic Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

analysis by the French cultural theorist

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popular ...

in his 1957 work '' Mythologies''. File:Flank Steak & Frites - Cliff House - San Francisco, CA.jpg, Steak frites prepared using flank steak, at a San Francisco restaurant File:Steak frites.jpg, Steak frites in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

, France

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References

{{reflist British cuisine French cuisine Belgian cuisine Beef dishes Potato dishes Meat and potatoes dishes

See also

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References