La Bombe (2nd)

La Bombe
20, rue du 4 Septembre
75002 Paris

When we moved into our new apartment in the 2nd arrondissement we noticed a little bistro right across the street sporting the somewhat unusual moniker: "La Bombe". Was this an American idiom (i.e. This place is "the bomb") or did the name have some other derivation?

My questions were answered a few days later when I got online to look up the history of the "Le Centorial" building that can be seen so prominently from our front windows:

You can see "Le Centorial" from our living room windows

I learned that construction on this building began in 1876 and was finished in 1913. Five years after that, and shortly before the end of WWI, a German plane dropped a bomb that exploded near the building, marring one wall. The damage was never repaired and, according to Wikipedia, there is an engraved stone there to commemorate the event.

I walk right by that building on my way into work so the next day I stopped to have a look. The hair on the back of my neck stood up a little when I spotted it:

This engraved brick marks the location where a WWI bomb damaged the building

And right across the street from this spot is... "La Bombe!"

Mystery solved.

The La Bombe bistro is half a block from our apartment

I've eaten at "La Bombe" twice. The first time was at night with Melanie and we sat inside near a huge HDTV that was broadcasting a soccer game. In the background they were playing some fairly loud techno music: "BOOTS and pants and BOOTS and pants and BOOTS and pants".  (If you don't get that reference you probably haven't seen this ad: BOOTS and pants...)

The food was pretty good, but I felt like we were in American Sports Bar and not a bistro in Paris.

My second visit felt more traditional. Team Lead Sebastien was in the mood for something "greasy", so about six of us went to "La Bombe" for lunch. No loud techno music this time, and the upstairs dining area was crowded with diners... no room for a TV up there.

My excellent hamburger was served on an old newspaper, probably to soak up the grease. Despite his pre-meal announcement Sebastien ordered a rather non-greasy pasta dish with a fried egg on top. He said it was very good, though the cheesecake he ordered for dessert didn't sit well on his stomach.

Having now eaten at Bistro d'Edmond and La Bombe (both are less than 50 yards from our apartment) Melanie and I think that the cafe food was a little better in the 15th district; but we need to go back a few more times to say for sure.