For 15 years, Fred Rongier wanted to bring Paris to Pittsburgh in the form of affordable, authentic French cuisine -- so much so that he had the name of his future restaurant, "Paris 66," molded into his license plate long before he had the money to open the place.

Now, with a buttercream facade and a big bay window, the culmination of his dream sits tucked between a framing shop and a yoga center on Penn Circle South in East Liberty.

But Mr. Rongier and his wife, Lori, have yet to take a moment to relish it; the restaurant has been overflowing with customers since its soft opening on June 5.

"I feel like I'm still dreaming. It happened so fast," he said. "I haven't had a day off since we opened, and maybe I should just take day off to sit down and look back."

Mr. Rongier has to juggle his job as a BMW salesman with running the restaurant, which has required his wife and his employees to step in and fill the holes.

The bistro's staff is almost entirely French, including head chef Cesar Dubs and pastry chef Fabien Moreau. Born in France, Mr. Rongier is "100 percent French" as well and comes from a family that has been in the crepe-making business since 1905.

Started in a Montparnasse train station in Paris, his great-grandfather's creperie -- where Mr. Rongier learned to make crepes -- originally gave people a close-to-home place to eat buckwheat crepes, a delicacy from Brittany, France. His bistro has the same purpose.

"I want it to be the least expensive way to go to travel to Paris," he said. "I love Pittsburgh and I love French restaurants, but it's too expensive here. I want to show my clients in Pittsburgh that you can eat French at a very, very good price."

The food ranges from crepes (about $7.50) to quiche ($8) to French pizza ($7.50). The Rongiers wanted to showcase food from every region of France, so each menu item takes on the name of a destination in the country.

The pizza, for example, is from the South of France, which is known for using a puff pastry crust. Every condiment is homemade as well -- from pesto to caramel sauce.

Chef Dubs makes the soup, his own specialty, and will not disclose the recipes even to Mr. Rongier.

And although French onion is the only soup on the menu every day, Mr. Rongier said it is there only because it makes his customers happy.

"Many of my clients come in and say 'I went to France and I couldn't find French onion soup anywhere,' " he said. "That's because most restaurants don't make it. I think the French onion soup is a myth. It's an American thing."

The "66" in the name has a number of meanings; just as Mr. Rongier named his food for destinations in France, he named the restaurant for a famous destination in the U.S., Route 66. But most relevant to Pittsburgh, and perhaps Mr. Rongier as well, is its place on the back of Mario Lemieux's jersey. A hockey lover, he hopes Mr. Lemieux will one day visit his restaurant.

The bistro might be especially worthy of such a famous presence when the staff breaks out of the everyday mold once a month to prepare a special reservation-only, themed dinner. The meals will cost $70 per person and give customers a chance to experience food from different regions of France.

About 14 people already have signed up for the first one, which will include four courses and take place on July 14 in honor of Bastille Day.

The events are also a time for Chef Dubs to challenge himself.

"He's a real chef, not a cook, and right now he's kind of bored," Mr. Rongier said. "He's used to really doing food -- gourmet. The thing that we're doing once a month, that's what he really wants to do."

Both Chef Dubs and Mr. Rongier coincidentally were taught to become master crepe makers -- a real title -- by the same teacher in France. But they did not meet until they both relocated to Pittsburgh.

Even with his lofty credentials, Chef Dubs greets all customers with a merry "Bonjour!" as they come in the door, a perfect example of the warm, humble personalities running about the tiny rectangle-of-a-restaurant.

The kitchen, a close galley that doubles as the cashier's area, constantly is filled with cooks and waitresses hopping over and around each other, conversing in French as they shovel out food orders.

The decor is humble as well.

Glass cases packed with homemade desserts make the bistro feel like a quaint sidewalk cafe.

All of it, including an enormous wall-hanging clock that displays the time in Paris, is meant to give customers an authentic French experience.

"I'm sure 90 percent of clients who come in think it doesn't work," Mr. Rongier said of the clock. "But it does."

Finally up and running, Paris 66 is, to Mr. Rongier, proof that the U.S. remains a place of prosperity.

"I came here in 1999 with a wife, two kids and no work," he said.

"It's a land of opportunity much more than in Europe. People say the contrary sometimes, and I always say, 'No, just look at me.' "

If you go

Paris 66

6018 Centre Ave.,

East Liberty

412-404-8166

paris66bistro.com