Pan-seared foie gras at Petit Robert Bistro

For food-obsessive types, following restaurant trends is undeniable fun. But after about a year of relentless media coverage and too many restaurants jumping on a particular bandwagon, overhype fatigue sets in. By the end of 2009, any mention of cupcakes, tart fro-yo, or small plates had us thinking, "¡No más!" It's not that we dislike locavorism or bacon (we love both, actually), but endless blather about any one topic gets tedious. Another one of these done-to-death ideas is "comfort food." Yeah, sure, we're all dining out less often at super-fancy restaurants, but cheaper places don't all have to be about tomato soup and sliders, do they? Not if you're taking cues from France, where urban bistro chefs bring refined technique to modest ingredients and serve them at prices that don't seem prodigal on a Tuesday night.

Nowhere in Boston is this notion channeled more traditionally than at Petit Robert Bistro (480 Columbus Avenue, Boston, 617.867.0600; 468 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 617.375.0699; 45 Chapel Street, Needham, 781.559.0532), right down to its according-to-Hoyle red-leather banquettes, mirrors, brass rails, and pastis posters. It draws the kind of patrons more likely to TiVo Julia Child than Guy Fieri. Rather than chicken and dumplings, they favor coq au vin ($15.75), chicken stewed in red wine and served over buttered noodles. Bored with meatloaf and mashed, they're tucking into short ribs bourguignon ($17.50). Instead of steak tips, they're eating venison medallions ($19.75) topped with blueberry poivrade and shallots, or at least a steak-frites ($19.75) made from the more flavorful skirt, classically sauced and served with awe-inspiring fries. These dishes produce the same contented smiles for lower price points without falling back on clichéd retreads of Mom's home cooking.

In the fine Gallic tradition of occasional everyday indulgence, Little Bob will also let you luxuriate in an appetizer of pan-seared foie gras with roasted pear atop a crimson pool of cinnamon gastrique ($16.75). The liver is incredibly rich yet light as custard, especially gorgeous when paired with a glass of golden, syrupy-yet-faintly-crisp '03 Le Dauphin de Guiraud Sauternes ($13). Instead of yet another dead-tired molten chocolate cake, you can finish with a real soufflé au chocolat ($10) accompanied by its own sweet pitcher of crème anglaise. To paraphrase Bill Maher, the French invented daytime sex, lingerie, and the tongue - surely we Americans could learn something from them. After a few turns around Petit Robert's menu, you may well conclude that their version of comfort food knocks ours squarely on its sorry, mac-and-cheese-fed ass.