The word “bistro” is tossed around pretty indiscriminately these days, so it’s nice to walk into a place and see a menu featuring all the hallmarks of a classic French bistro. Since opening in January 2010, Bistro La Bonne has been serving straightforward steak frites, steaming pots of mussels and a “Floating Island” featuring a meringue large enough to sink a ship. Those mussels may be traditional preparations like white wine and shallot; a Thai-inspired broth of green curry, coconut milk, basil, eggplant and hearts of palm that draws from the chef’s time working with Thai chefs in the Bahamas; or you can build your own pot from a list of ingredients. Chef-owner Daniel Labonne has been cooking since he was 15, and this trade has taken him from his native Martinique to the Bahamas, Southern France (where he attended cooking school) and England before landing in Washington, where he cooked in such kitchens as Tabaq Bistro, La Chaumière, Bistrot du Coin and Petits Plats. At Labonne’s own place, the extensive menu ensures you won’t leave unsatisfied, and his generous portions mean you won’t leave hungry. For us, that’s the very definition of bonne cuisine.