Even back in the bad old days when all you could find to eat in Vancouver was either steak or planked salmon, there was at least one French Bistro in town: Café de Paris. The legendary, de rigueur wood and brass-trimmed West End room has operated under several owners over the last 35 years, some more successful than others. However, the once uncontested home of Vancouver's best frites and the best strip-loin for the money had slipped more than a soupçon over the last decade.