Calling all carnivores – this address is sure to tickle your fancy. After getting your hands dirty at Flesh and then Flesh II, it’s time to sink your teeth into Melt: a bona fide Texas joint created by Jean Ganizate and Antoine Martinez, a hop, skip and a jump from République. Like many of Paris’s barbecue joints, you can smell the smoked meat from a few doors down and you can expect a row of wooden tables and food served on metal trays rather than plates.
On the menu is meat, meat and more meat (obviously): melt-in-the-mouth Black Angus brisket (€13), a smoked half chicken, divine pulled pork (€10), pork spare ribs and several excellent specials like sausage marinated in white wine with Malabar pepper (€12).
Poultry and pork is sourced from Brittany, while beef is USA-certified, as are the Lone Star Beers – for the full cowboy experience. The giant smoker, which looks like an oven, cooks everything slowly at 100 degrees; chicken takes four hours and up to 15 for the brisket (which explains its tenderness). The sides like dirty beans and fries won’t blow your mind, but at €4, they don’t break the bank either.
TRANSLATION: MEGAN CARNEGIE