John Talbott's Paris

Chez Marie Louise in the 10th: One of those meals where he said, she said.

5.0 (she 6.0, me 4.0) Chez Marie Louise, 11 rue Marie et Louise in the 10th, 01.53.19.02.04, closed Sundays and Mondays, formulas at 14 & 18 (weekdays at lunch), a la carte 25-34 €, has gotten not great but not bad reviews after it opened recently - and I think I know why.

I arrived earlier than my old co-conspirator and proceded to have a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau from the House of Meyran to see if the hype about this year's product was anywhere near my palate (fruity, yeasty, cheer, berry).  I donnnnnn't think so.

Looking over the ardoise - I said to she - "I'm going to do something really stupid."  She's known me long enough to realize that this ranges from extreme stupidity to a minor connerie.  "What?"

"I'm going to order two shellfish dishes - the langoustine bisque and the ecrevisse risotto" - say I.  She shrugs, signaling no big deal (oh, but it was, Dear Reader, as you shall see shortly).

She ordered a millefeuille of aubergine, tomato and something else (courgettes i think); in short - a cold decontructed ratatouille; wonderful, while I had the quite good bisque of langoustines with a great deal of cream a top.  So far so good.

Then she had raviolis of langoustines which were superb and I had the risotto (which few people on earth make correctly with the appropriate Italian rice, prepared per order, not swimming in the same crustacean sauce as the 1st course) with what seemed to me to be morsels of barely-thawed frozen ecrevisses sprinkled on top; yuk.

We shared a fried banana dessert with caramel sauce and banana ice which was again very good. 

So why am I giving a 4.0 to my meal when the bisque and banana were so good?  Just because they couldn't do risotto, which hardly anyone who lives/cooks more than 5 Km from Modena can anyway?  Plus it was my stupidity (declared like a losing bridge hand in advance) to order two dishes where the exact same base had to be made from the exact same shells.  So as many have accused me of, I plead guilty to both stupidity and meanspiritness.

Our bill, with a bottle of Syrah, (half the wines were bio,) 2 Richard coffees and no bottled water, was 73.90 €.

Go?  Only with my old pal who orders intelligently.

Urbane in the 10th: A breath of fresh air: An archival* review.

6.0 Urbane, 12, rue Arthur Groussier in the 10th, 01.42.40.74.75, closed Sunday dinner and Mondays; caution - Sunday noon is brunch.

From Belleville one walks through a souk (en route, I bought three tank tops, two sweaters and one frock for pennies for the poor ladies at home) and arrives at this very unprepossessing place - looks very modern, very hip, chic, Bobo, all white walls and photos and lights dangling.

Terribly brief menu; one starter, two mains and a dessert – already well-described by daemon [in eGullet]. I had the “salad,” in truth, and honestly described by our charming Irish waitress as separate not mixed up – good product, simply presented, innovatively garnished with a clump of mascarpone sauce – was it Bocuse who said you can judge a place by its sliced tomato?

Marvelous, as was the St Pierre, perfectly cooked with a very piquant sauce and Noirmoutier potatoes (folks think I’m nuts for raving about them, but spend a little time on the Ile de Yeu and you’ll understand the difference.)

But, but, the dessert – clenching my teeth, I, me, ordered a brownie – I mean I’ve made them since I was five, a brownie made by a French-person – divine; and the chocolate biscuit was worth stealing it was so good.

Am I gushing too much; sure! What’s wrong with the picture?

(1) It’s (forgive me, women/ladies/female gender folk,) what we in our building call “Girl Food,” much like that at Rouge Tomate + Le Jardinier, (2) It’s to hell and gone, and (3) it’s underpriced and underwined.

The bread consisted of three different types, old-time white, wheaty and oat-covered, all delicious.

The coffee was from tradizione.italiana.com and was, as ordered, serré with the best crema of the year and the choco biscuit with it worthy of Pierre Hermé.

One slight problem; they haven’t solved the issue of controlling one non-stop cigarette smoker coughing from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, poor lady, from polluting the whole room – like Lucullus, Fish, Cerisaie + Spring, places too small for nicomaniacs, they should ban smoking or get a good all-meal ventilation system.

My bill was 40.50 but one could easily get out for 24 €. 

P.S. Their wine by the bottle is overpriced, by the half-liter OK (8 €) and by the glass – a bargain at 2.90 € – go figure! 

Should one go? If you want manageable portions, a manageable menu and a manageable addition – Yes!

*Originally published in April 2007.

Le Bistro des Faubourgs: Amazingly bad, she said, amazingly bad: an archival * review.

-Ø - Le Bistro des Faubourgs, 55, rue des Vinaigriers in the 10th, 01 42 05 19 05, open Monday-Friday for lunch and Thursday and Friday for dinner, lunch menu 14 and a la carte around 30 €.

Phillipe Toinard of A Nous Paris gave it 3/5 blocks and called it ”girly food” and Richard Hesse said “you could make this food at home” – so, why did I go and drag my dear friend along, asked she? Because, I’ve been in such thrall of what an outsider, and an Anglo at that, Daniel Rose, of Spring, has done with French ingredients and Carolyn Buckley, its Irish chef, was reported to have a limited menu because she only served what was seasonal, fresh and current in the market. Probably – but that’s not enough.

Good things first; it’s in a reachable neighborhood, has a unique piece of “sculpture” with fresh produce on the wall and serves drinkable wine by the pot at a reasonable price (7 € for 50 cl).

My friend had the terrine that was served in a Aux Lyonnaisian Ball jar and it was unfinishable; dry, crumbly, pretty bad. I had the spring salad that was nicely dressed although the tomato was hot house and firm.

Then we both had the chicken with (supposedly) lemon/olive flavor; her leg was stale and barely edible, my breast was a bit more tasty; we left the accompanying mashed potatoes after one bite each.

For dessert she had a crumble and I the moelleux of chocolate that we each finished ¼ of; does that answer any questions you might have had?

The bill = 50.60 €. 

Should one go? If you find yourself in a post-Apocalyptic situation as in Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” yes.

*Originally published in April 2007.

The New Hot Quarters: the 10th; An archival* essay

The tenth arrondissement, while frequented by tourists, is usually seen more as a point of embarkation or arrival at the Gare du Nord or Gare de l’Est. However, I find walking along the Canal St. Martin to be a refreshing change from the grand boulevards or even the Seine. In fall especially, with the leaves falling, and the air a bit brisk, it’s delightful. And, I discovered recently that there’s a nifty motorized vessel that comes along periodically to scoop up the leaves that have fallen in.

As for food, we’re probably most familiar with the classic Flo brasseries: the Brasserie Flo itself, Julien and the Terminus Nord, which I actually prefer and has a terrific small private room for 10-20 with a faux Tiffany ceiling that is wonderful. Otherwise, there’s Thierry Breton’s mothership Chez Michel, which has wonderful, reasonably-priced game in season and his around-the-corner off-shoot, Chez Casimir, both convenient if you’re just getting off the train. La Grille has excellent huge turbot but hasn’t learned to master its credit card machine. Everybody’s seen the movie “Hotel Nord;” and it’s a shame that the recently revived restaurant by the same name isn’t up to the flick. I had high hopes for the new “abat” restaurant Aux Zingots, but the night I was there, there were few innards and fewer customers.

So, as usual, here are my favorites in the 10th:

Terminus Nord
23, rue de Dunkerque, 10th (Metro : Gare du Nord)
T : 01 42 85 05 15
Open everyday
Menu 25 €, 40-55 € a la carte

Chez Michel
10 rue de Belzunce, 10th (Metro : Gare du Nord)
T : 01 44 53 06 20
Closed Sunday, Monday and all of August.
About 30 € a la carte

*Originally published in November 2006
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Update August 2009.

While the 10th was blessed for a few years by a wonderful, funky and good place Garance on the canal, it closed earlier this year for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, with the exception of La Bulle, the other additions to the quartier (Aux Zingots now La Fidelite and Arthur) don’t fulfill the excitement that the area reflects in its shops and scenery. Really too bad.

Fidelite in the 10th: Q. Can this place survive?

La Fidelite, 4, rue de la Fidelite in the 10th, 01.47.70.19.34, closed Sunday and Monday, supposedly with menus of 16-21 €, a la carte easily 45 € before beverages. My food God, Sebastien Demorand wrote it up in December for Le Fooding and raved about the direction, the “inspirational” food, the prices (21 at noon, 32 at night, with a Cahors at 25 and Saveurs Printanières de Binner at 23 €).

Something’s happened and it aint good. After getting locked out of Mon Oncle which only yesterday had assured me it would be open at 12h45

 

my friend and I scrambled to my “Plan B” - La Fidelite; I assured him that like Mon Oncle, it had been scouted and tested by folks better than we. After a brief journey, we arrived at what looked just like Les Zingots, except for a brilliant, wonderful neon sign outside and the traditional Costes (he informed me) mega-priapic pink Mickey Mouse inside.

The carte (there was no “menu” or “formule,” we asked) looked exceedingly ordinary, so much so that my pal suggested that we go back to my place and eat all the goodies I’d purchased for dinner and abandon “Plan B.” Smart man this guy.

But no, we stuck it out despite the fact that they were out of two items on the carte, had no wine list and the kitchen was closed for desserts. He ordered the one winner, beignets (made with tempura or phyllo dough) of tomato that were tart and simply delicious.

I had the mackerel rillettes, which he claimed were frozen but I thought were merely tired and poor product (the bread was good, as was the Illy coffee, give them their due). But then downhill: his entrecote couldn’t be saved by any amount of condiment and my daurade was (this time I agreed) frozen and poor product.

Outa there 69 € poorer.

 

Q. Can this place survive? A. No, not in that area, with those prices, with frigo food and no nothing. If this is what happens when you cross a Costes with a d'Isny, Lord help us.  Maybe it'll wind up like the Pompe Funebres above.

Arthur in the 10th: You can’t have everything.

 

3.5 Arthur, 25, rue du Faubourg St Martin in the 10th, 01.42.08.34.33, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Monday night, menu-carte at 39.50 € for three dishes (about 5 choices each course), and 26.50 € for two courses of the daily four specials, is a place that got two hearts back in October and only now I’m catching up with.

I went (my call, sorry) with two great dining partners who know their stuff and we all three were disappointed except for the desserts. The décor can charitably be described as 1930’s whore-house red and the photos of Parisian theatre icons don’t lend confidence to the impression.

We started with the ecrevisses/lobster tartare, pate en croute and the third so forgettable I forget. (Oh yah, it was raviolis with wild mushrooms – sounded great when A. Lobrano described it in WHERE).

Then we had the tagine of lamb with (good) fall vegetables, duck breast “burger” with fois gras and frites, that its orderer asked the waiter for fleur de sel to spark up and home-made tagliatelles drowned in seafood cream sauce with five or six halves of over the hill scallops.

Then we had the tagine of lamb with (good) fall vegetables, duck breast “burger” with fois gras and frites, that its orderer asked the waiter for fleur de sel to spark up and home-made tagliatelles drowned in seafood cream sauce with five or six halfs of over the hill scallops.

Finally we shared a bitter chocolate gateau and tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.  (There is one absolutely hilarious part of the show-biz décor; in the bathroom, the sink flashes with red and blue lights like a state fair popcorn stand.)

With a bottle of wine called “You are so cool” (I couldn’t resist ordering it) that was icy cold even for a red Loire, 3 coffees and no bottled water our bill was 139.50 €.

Go? Only if you have two interesting and food-worthy dining companions as I did.

Lunch not brunch on Sunday!

I’ve written twice before about eating lunch on Sundays, so it’s clearly a preoccupation. Why? Because so many places are closed then, even if they open Sunday night and because those that are open, often only serve brunch or even if they say they serve regular food, it’s on an abbreviated carte.

I faced this problem last week when I glanced at my carefully constructed rentrée list and saw that I really had only one new place to take Colette and our friend Felice. So I reviewed the information I had and there were the deadly words – brunch Dimanche – brunch Sundays.

Oh oh, I quickly reviewed my list of existing places that I’d liked from prior meals:
Pinxo, 9, rue d’Alger, 1st, 01.40.20.20.00
La Mediterranee, 2 pl de l'Odeon, 6th, 01.43.26.02.30
L'Ardoise, 28 rue du Mont Thabor, 1st, 01.42.96.28.18
La Cagouille, 10 Place Constantin Brancusi, 14th, 01.43.22.09.01{mainly for burned finger moules and buttered coques}
Vintage, 46, rue d’Argout, 2nd, 01.40.26.57.54
La Marée Passy, 71, ave Paul-Doumer, 16th 01.45.04.12.81
Petrus, 12, place du Marechal Juin, 17th, 01.43.80.15.95
Mon Viel Ami, 69 St Louis en l'Ile, on the Ile St-Louis, 01.40.46.01.35 {off last time}
Brasserie aka La Lorraine, 2, place des Ternes, 8th, 01.56.21.22.00 {off last time}

Well that should do it I thought; so many choices. Colette, musing in the corner said, “You know, if it’s as nice a day as today, we should eat somewhere, like…….” “Ah,” I said, “like Garance aside the Canal St. Martin, where we had a fine meal one bright sunny day.”

So off we set. It was glorious - a sunny, mild, day with the Canal glistening, the skaters, runners and bikers buff and the world a better place.

I don’t want to blow the meal out of proportion; it wasn’t Giradet or Bocuse at their height of their craft, or even Ledeuil or Rose now, but it was the perfect place that Sunday. And we had a great experience.

I ordered a tempura of calamari on a dusting of piment d’espelette with a homemade tartare sauce for dipping and the three of us declared that while certainly white (a deadly color according to the great food god Atar) it was very good.

Then one of the ladies had scallops on top of mixed fall vegetables and the other bass with a side of greens and I the veal liver prepared exactly as I’d asked – blue.

The two others shared a moelleux of chocolate with ice cream that were gold standard. With three coffees and a bottle of fine Morgon the bill was 87 Euros.

Where should you go for a real lunch on Sundays (no brunch available)?

 

Garance
96, quai de Jemmapes,10th, (Metro : Republique, Gare de l’Est)
T: 01.42.02.87.95
Closed Mondays
Lunch menu (except Sundays) 18 €; a la carte 30-40 €.

Garance - It is what it is and what it is, is pretty good, sauf being the local Casa de Peepee.

6.4 Garance, 96, quai de Jemmapes in the 10th, 01.42.02.87.95, closed Mondays with an 18 € 3-course “menu” and wines starting at 15 € a bottle is indeed a “pleasant surprise,” to quote Emmanuel Rubin. I went on a glorious sunny Sunday* when there was no “menu” but there sure were plenty of people, by 1:30 it was completely full and the crowd spilled out almost to the Canal St Martin.

The tables and chairs are post-modern, the wait-staff all in tight black and the food quite, quite good. The menu (both put on the ardoise and printed), states that they buy and serve fresh products and I believe them.

I started with the very good, fried chipirons that had an intriguing batter, a layer of tapenade on the slate plate, diced veggies and seeds to put on top, one of which was fennel. I then had an almost raw (as requested) piece of veal liver with dribbles of reduced balsamic and a carrot concoction – also very good – with great fries.

On a roll, I ordered three homemade ices – Guatemala coffee, salty caramel and rum raisin, again super.

No problems? Well, the folks on the terrace (aka sidewalk) were nicotine addicted and the wind instead of blowing from Vichy as it did for Bogie, blew straight into the resto. Also, for a while, the number of non-dining folks dropping in to pee exceeded those seeking tables so it was like Grand Central.

And the bread is nothing to write home about, but who cares? The bill = 49 €, but on a weekday for two with one bottle of wine and 2 coffees (but no bottled water) it’d be 55 €; beat that!

Should one go? How can you not love a place that plays the “Buena Vista Social Club” CD non-stop?

*My first meal was September 30th; my last January 5th; both fully paid for.

La Bulle - a safe harbor in a strange place.

An honest, safe harbor, sez Toinard and I agree.
5.0 La Bulle, 48, rue Louis Blanc in the 10th, 01.40.37.34.51, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday night is in a neighborhood back of both the Gare du Nord and de l’Est, which, despite all my flanneuring, I don’t think I’ve ever entered. It’s an interesting area – having lots of ethnic places, including a Sri Lankan takeout. It looks modern and much like a lot of other new places but is different; I’ll explain why later. Everything is on the ardoise, 4 specials (eggs with foie gras, magret with green pepper and spinach, which they ran out of by the end of lunch – a good sign and a vanilla tart). I started with calamars, which were tough – my thought was that at Gagnaire some stagiere would have beaten the fiber out of them, but then Gagnaire probably wouldn’t serve them. On the other hand, someone did beat the stuffing out of the magret and it was succulent and the green pepper sauce a fine touch. The spinach had an unusual taste almost like collard greens. For dessert I had another unusual tasting sauce on my baba, confit of some kind of Asian orange. The clientele was between 2 and 72 with an equal representation of young students, young families, working folk and retirees. The noise was exactly like that on the Fooding website – wonderful.
Should one go? I’d wait a bit, he’s still finding himself, but he’s on the right track, it’s got interesting touches (great bread from l’Atelier du Pain and coffee) and while ambitious doesn’t overreach. Boy, ANP, Figaroscope + Adrian Moore sure pinned this one.