It's called côte de boeuf, a two-inch, bone-in rib-eye steak, a 3- to 4-pound hunk of marbled beef and the most generous piece of meat you can be served in France. It's what you bring home from the butcher when you've got company; it's what you (and two or three friends) order at the brasserie when you're really, really hungry.
At Seattle's Metropolitan Grill, they call it their "Long Bone" rib-eye; it sells for $99. At the Brasserie Bordelaise in Bordeaux, it's served with a side of pommes frites; the price is 65 euros per kilo, so a 3-lb portion runs something like $150. Not unreasonable for three or four eaters, but still: this is an expensive, special-occasion piece of meat.
(You might think that Tuscany's famous Bistecca Fiorentina is the same thing; it's not. The Italian cut is a porterhouse; what makes it special is its provenance: Tuscany's gangly Chianina cattle.)
In the course of a five-night visit to Bordeaux earlier this month, we enjoyed côte de boeuf three times, twice in private châteaux, once in a restaurant. This isn't an entrecôte, by the way; that's a boneless rib steak. Ideally, you grill the côtes de boeuf m over vine clippings that have been reduced to embers, If you don't have any vines nearby, a cast-iron skillet is ideal for searing the steaks; you'd finish them in a 350-degree oven, until the internal temp is 135 degrees; let it rest for ten minutes before proceeding. The host (or maitre d'hôtel) carves the meat before serving the guests; you don't get the whole damn thing for yourself. The French eat their beef very rare, bleu rather than saignant, seasoned only with salt and pepper. The rib bone and the marbling impart tremendous flavor to the meat, which pairs beautifully with whatever old Bordeaux you might find in the cellar.
Of the 3 do you have a favorite or is it a matter of time, place and company?