Back to Articles

Cooking for One, Bistro Edition: Steak Frites

Treat yourself—and only yourself—to a classic.

Published January 5, 2026

1 Comment

Tucker Shaw

I’d been busy, so I didn’t have any special plans that Friday night. It would be just me and a DVD of my favorite silly movie, Evil Under the Sun. (If you have never seen this Agatha Christie gem, with Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg, Sylvia Miles, and Roddy McDowell, stop reading this and go watch it.)

I decided I had a taste for steak frites, which is something I’ve made for a crowd before (people never believe it when you slide a big pile of hot fries onto the table in front of them), but never thought to do for myself. It seemed too, I don’t know, fussy to cook for just one.

Log in, or become a member today.

Join in: enjoy 7 days free, plus 40% off your first year with access to 1,000+ highly vetted recipes from the How To Cook Everything series and beyond, essays from Mark, and original pieces from our contributors.

Join annually and save 40%
Log in to your account

GetBetterFasterHealthierSmarterTastier

in the Kitchen

Through our (more than a thousand, and growing) highly vetted recipes from the How to Cook Everything series, original food essays and reporting, thoughtful podcast conversations and introductions to new and responsible food products, we aim to showcase what’s possible, from farm to fork, and power a growing movement that encourages people to think about food not as a commodity, but as central to our health and happiness.

Start your free trial

We hope you join us on this journey. We’d love to have you as a part of the Bittman community. As a member, you'll have access to:

  • New recipes every week
  • 1000s of recipes from How to Cook Everything and beyond
  • First access to in-person events with Mark and Kate
  • Exclusive discounts from our favorite brands
  • Q&As with Mark and the team

 

Subscribe to our free newsletter

Join over 105,000 passionate individuals who receive our weekly emails. It’s 100% free and you can unsubscribe anytime. Plus, we’ll email you a sampling of what premium members receive on a weekly basis.