Best Steak Tartare

So what's the best way to honor the gallant nation that helped us throw off the yoke of our Colonial masters a couple of centuries ago? By eating French food, of course -- especially steak tartare, a dish that originated in Russia under the Tartars but has since become synonymous with aperitifs, boulevardiers, and la cuisine bistro. At Le Petit Robert, a Polk Gulch rendezvous that specializes in rustic tartines, hearty soups, fresh shellfish, and other deceptively simple fare, the kitchen knows how to prepare a tartare unburdened by distractions. Raw beefsteak is chopped fine and brought to the table in all its luscious, cool, creamy glory, with nothing more than a caper or two to gild the lily. Crunchy, skinny frites, the phenomenal house sourdough (baked next door at Boulange de Polk), and a glass of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is all that's needed for a stellar, soul-enriching snack. Just don't call it Freedom Steak.