Simply perfect! Simply perfect!

Once in a while we come across an undiscovered treasure of a restaurant. A couple of Thursdays ago, on a tip from a friend who KNOWS these things, my husband and I ventured a mere 10 minutes south of Pasadena to try out a three-month-old French restaurant, Bistro 39 (so named for its location at 39 W. Main St. in Alhambra). And voila! There it was, a real undiscovered treasure, nestled between an Italian joint and a soul food place, just waiting to be found.

Despite the name, which should denote a casual eatery (check out the etymology!), most bistros are a lot fancier (and a lot more expensive) than their designation implies. Not so with Bistro 39. Although the decor is haute (mirrored walls, burgundy paint, green carpet, high-backed damask-cushioned chairs, white and burgundy linen), the lighting and background music both low, the outdoor patio with its fountain inviting, the menu is pure Parisian casual and eminently affordable.

First of all, there are the crepes — lots of them. Crepes with ham and cheese and creamy béchamel sauce ($8); crepes with chicken, mushrooms and tarragon cream sauce ($10); and even crepes with mussels, shrimp, scallops and lobster sauce ($12). And, for dessert, crepes with ice cream, fruit and chocolate or raspberry sauce ($8); crepes Suzette ($12); crepes Calvados ($12); and crepes marrons (with coffee ice cream and chestnut puree ($9) — all flamed with traditional liqueurs.

Starters include onion soup done properly: sweet and buttery, capped with a thick layer of melted gruyére atop a crouton ($7); melon with prosciutto ($9); smoked salmon with capers, shallots and wheat toast points ($9); endive salad with Roquefort ($8); and green salad with warm goat cheese ($9).

You can get a salade Nicoise ($11) or a croque monsieur ($7), the unctuous grilled ham and cheese sandwich that’s as ubiquitous in Paris as the Big Mac is here.

And there are lots of the other classics you find in neighborhood eateries throughout Paris: filet of sole amandine ($15); pork loin with mustard sauce ($14); braised lamb shank ($17); and salmon in dill ($15).

There are some notable lacunae (e.g., no mussels; no patés). I asked about the absence of coq au vin and was told it was often on special. Ditto for rabbit. (We overheard the manager and chef, taking a break at the bar, discussing whether to braise a bunny in beer or wine for a client who’d requested it for the following evening.)

My mate went for the onion soup, which he loves beyond all belief, and steak au poivre — grilled prime Black Angus sirloin ($19). I expected a relatively thin cut paired with a pile of frites; but, instead, the filet was a thick one with a scoop of fresh mixed vegetables and a ramekin of lyonnaise potatoes. The beef was perfectly prepared: pink and juicy with a charred exterior and a wonderful peppercorn sauce.

My husband's choices were completely pragmatic. He likes onion soup and meat, period. No underlying psychology, no fond recollections of youthful meals. He’s an engineer, through and through. My selections were far more subjective; a Proustian walk down memory lane. I picked tender escargots de Bourgogne ($8), drowning in butter heavily perfumed with garlic, and sautéed frog legs Provençal ($15), with slightly less butter but even more garlic.

Their aroma immediately brought me back decades to grad school study in France — a medieval dig in Provence (only slightly marred by the scorpions that wanted to participate), a foray to the Beaujolais region (mostly spent in a floral-scented, wine-induced haze) and a final series of summers hanging from belfries and slogging through 12th-century archives in the Rhône Valley. I can still breathe the dust, feel the yellowed pages beneath my fingers and see the long-dead pigeons. Ahhh, the seductive aroma of garlic; far better than Madeleine’s en recherche of my own temps perdu.

It was difficult to pull myself out of reverie and back to the present. But we needed to polish off our wine (one of a number of carefully chosen vintages at reasonable prices) share a cheese plate ($9 — and, oddly, listed among the appetizers) and then divvy up a large tarte tatin ($7). We would have ordered a crème brulée ($7) as well, but couldn't handle the guilt.

The cheeses were our only disappointment of the evening. With chévre and Roquefort elsewhere on the menu, we expected to find them on our plate. Instead there were a few chunks of good gruyére and another rather bland yellow cheese of similar texture with a multicolor garnish of berries. Next time we'll request our favorites! But the tarte was warm (as it should be), browned with a sugar-butter syrup and topped with high-fat vanilla ice cream that melted like crème anglaise.

Our meal at Bistro 39 was so delightful that we immediately began to tell our friends. In the two weeks since our first meal, we’ve already brought several of them back, and they’ve been as charmed as we were. So, since they’re telling their friends who will probably be telling their friends who will, in turn, be telling their friends, there’s really no point in keeping it from you.

The previously undiscovered treasure that is Bistro 39 has been found!

Bistro 39
39 W. Main St., Alhambra
(626) 282-0600
Beer and wine/Major cards