HS** Les Fines Gueules, 43, rue Croix des Petits Champs in the 1st, 01.42.61.35.41, open everyday. My friend, the RFC (real food critic) called to warn me; this place is really just the old Tourelle under new management (exBistral) and not to expect a lot.
But I did, because Pierrick Jegu in l’Express and Jerome Berger in A Nous Paris had spun me its spin; a presentation of the “best of” products; eg, best oysters from David Herve in Oleron (14 € a dozen), best butter from Bordier, best bread from Poujauran, best andouillette from Thierry Daniel, best meat from Hugo Desnoyers, best charcuteries from Gilles Verot, best veggies from Joel Thiebault, etc., etc.
Plus superb wines, Bourgueil from the Bretons (my favorite couple in the Loire), Sologne from Claude Courtois, Cotes du Roussillon from Jean Louis Tribouley, etc. It’s not a wine bar, or bistrot or restaurant or brasserie – it’s all of the above and none of them, it’s sui generis.
Now the menu (ardoise) changes every day – I spied the one from yesterday and of course saw that of today and except for the charcuterie platter, they were totally different (tuna, cod, duck, andouille, bourgignon, sausage, riz au lait, crème chocolat yesterday vs beef, salmon, vegetables today). So what we had, will not be there tomorrow, but never you mind, go!
We started with two sublime, divine dishes: cold lisettes with a gelee of coriander and veal carpaccio with the lightest of nutty Italian olive oils and 36 month old parmesan.
Then we were going to share some charcuterie as a main course (6 varieties) and cheese as the cheese course (7 varieties) but the RFC saw a plate of huge leeks with Iberico ham go by and it was all over; we were hooked. What was better? Tough call.
Maybe the chorizo with cornichons, maybe the ham, maybe the St Nectaire.
And the 1st white, a Chardonnay, was wonderful, but the second, an Anjou was even better and the third, a Gauillac (by then we were standing at the bar with the patron, sipping out of a bag-in-box) was incredible and unrecognizable – complex, apples and apricots (I hate it when wine mavens talk this way, but it was true) and layers of taste – heaven.
Our bill with all that food, wine, coffee, Armagnac, and after-dinner stuff was 121 €.
The downstairs room-cum-cave seats 18 and is no-smoking. The only bad sign is that their card gives the telephone number as +33 1, but maybe they gave me that one because I’m so obviously an Anglo.
Go again? Are you kidding?, this is the find of the year. It’ll never make the Michelin or New York Times and Colette will love the fish, veggies and desserts.
*Originally published in April 2007
HS** = outside classification, unfair to rate
Shortly after John Wrote this, Mary and I followed in his footsteps. It was one of our most enjoyably informal Paris meals, feeling as if we were in a small idyllic village where this was no big deal, just the norm. http://www.whitings-writings.com/bistro_reviews/gueules.htm
Posted by: John Whiting | December 20, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Unfortunately, your description is quite perfect... for "Les Fines Gueules" in 2007 ! I used to like this place a lot, but my last two visits have been disastrous. The Wine List is reduced and OMG, what are those prices ? I found bottles that I buy for about 6€ from the producer for... 32€ ! The food is not as great as it used to be, and the service looks passively at the disaster...
Posted by: Raoul Volfoni | December 21, 2009 at 05:34 PM