John Talbott's Paris

Goust d'Enrico Bernardo in the 2nd: Walk don't run.

 

 

 

 

5.75 Goust d'Enrico Bernardo, 10 rue Volney in the 2nd, 01.40.15.20.30, closed Sundays and Mondays, has garnered rave reviews, especially in cyberspace with one post entitled "Run don't walk."  It is beautiful to be sure but not without its problems which we'll get to later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's start out with the "bright side of life" as Eric Idle of Monty Python would say.  The prices can be staggering but there is a nice lunch at 35E for 2 dishes and 45 E for 3, there are wines whose prices are reasonable and the amuse, at least today, of anchovy and pepper gel, was very good to me, although the others felt it was way too salty.  Indeed when one of us indicated she had a problem with fishy fish they quickly substituted some Spanish ham (it's interesting that Bernardo, who is Italian in origin, is featuring food, at least today, that was mainly Spanish-influenced, which Laidback informs me is because the chef is Spanish - whatever.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two entrees were a gaspacho of tomato and strawberries and a most intriguing looking dish that appeared all the world to be two thick stalks of green asparagus but in reality were two tubes made from asparagus cooking water mixed with melted butter to make a tube filled with a "parfait" of foie gras and garnished with slices of Granny Smiths.  Both were pretty successful but I wouldn't say dazzling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The folks who ordered as a main the Spanish "paella-like" pasta with lobster and fruits de mer declared themselves bewitched by the seafood but not the pasta or lobster and the two of us who had the crispy-skinned confited suckling pig with a mustard mousse thought it was well-executed but not out-of-this-world.

 

 

 

At this point the others decided to drop out and left it to Colette and me to go for the two desserts; a caramelized cream and pannacotta with raspberries and these we found just ordinary.

Our bill, with two bottles of wine, good bread, no bottled water and two coffees amounted to 110 E a couple.  A problem they must solve is to provide sound-baffling - the dB level started at 77.7 and went up as the meal wore on. It was hard for the 5 of us to hear one another.

Go?  Ah, here everyone was in agreement, not again.  I called for votes and got two 6's and two 5.5's (the scale being 0-10), so I split the difference at 5.75, which is about where I was going to rate it.  We were disappointed by the hype, the glowing reports, the instructions to "run, not walk?"  I don't know, but compared to recent meals at JL Nomico, 110 Taillevent, Sergent Recruiteur, Petit Champerret and Premices it really paled.

Edgar in the 2nd: When they're good, they're very very good, and when they're......

5.0 (6.0 for the food, 4.0 for the problems that persist) Edgar, 31, Rue d'Alexandrie in the 2nd (Strasbourg-St Denis) 01.40.41.05.69 (which on the bill is transmorgrified to 01.XX.XX.XX.XX like a Visa number) is still a work in progress or process.  I read in yesterday's JDD that Aurelie Chaigneau waited 30 minutes for a table, had a plate of (not cooked enough) langoustines spilled on her shoulder but thought the food of Xavier Thierry, ex-Petit Cheval de Manege, otherwise was "without fault."  So I went with Colette, our ex-downstairs' neighbors and my oldest friend living in France, with my eyes wide open.

Problem #1 - On entering we saw that there were a mixture of sofas, overstuffed chairs and spare seats; Madame M. needs cushioning on her bottom or her back hurts, I need a firm seat or mine rebels and everyone else is cool.  The very friendly staff offered us any table in the house, we dithered and finally the Maitre pulled up a firm chair for me at a table with soft chairs and a sofa and we were on our way. 

 

 

 

 

 

Problem #2: They were out of the eperlans that M. Paga and I wanted with no substituted fried starters.  Problem #3: They were out of the mackerel with a mer... family noir substitute.  Problem #4: All the items on the black chalkboard which had been mentioned by reviewers were only available at night and we had to scramble back to the white carte to order.  But Plus #1: They ladies gaspacho with watermelon chunks - very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pluses and Problems: The fish products (from top-bottom: mer.... noir, cod and fish and chips) were all very good, but Colette gave me a piece of cod that was stone cold, the fries were equally cool and barely edible even with (asked-for) vinegar which was not tart offsetting Brit malt but cloyingly sweet).

The desserts, especially the ice creams within them, were disappointing: again from top to bottom, an ecume of two chocolates (bitter and caramel), Italian ices and a Baba au Rhum.

With 2 bottles of La Vista, no bottled water, reasonable bread, 4 coffees and 2 Calvas our bill came to the equivalent of 83.20 E a couple.

Go?  If you're a branche Bobo whose ears like 85 decibels, you dig exotic if not erotic photos in the loo and you can put up with imperfections in what could someday be a great place - be my guest.

Pascade in the 2nd: good enough; no better.

5.7 Pascade, 14, rue Daunau (you remember Harry's American Bar which helpfully helps you to find it by writing "SANK ROO DOE NOO" on its window) in the 2nd (Bus: 95), closed weekends, 01.42.60.11.00, recently opened by Alexandre Bourdas of the famed SaQuaNa in Honfleur.  It serves pascades and pascades only - and while others describe them as crepes, they are not, they're halfway between a crepe and a quiche.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had invited my favorite cookbook writer/critic/blogger/friend/pal to dejeune here shortly after her arrival from NYC and she called at 11 AM - "John, I can't do it; I'm jetlagged; I'm crushed; forgive me."  Me "Ah, come-on, buck-up, brush your teeth, throw on some clothes, I'll be there at 12:30 with or without you."  Her "No I cannot, I'm sorry."

I walk in at 12:29 and at 12:31 in she waltzes, fresh as a rose.  The place is midway between an 18th Century Auberge and 22nd Century space ship with rough cloth napkins and stone walls but cool holes in the tables for metal cylinders of cutlery and a really friendly hip staff.  Carte.  OK, all pascades, which I haven't had in 25 years, savory and sweet - cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She orders the pascade with cod, spinach, lime, coriander and sea parsley and I that with ham, endives, garlic and lettuce.  Pretty damn good, except I found the pascade pastry too sweet (as have others) while she, a Breton-Normandy girl, did not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For dessert we shared a pascade with truffle cream (so light that I, a truffle detester, didn't object) and 20 other ingredients (again I follow others who feel they pile on too many things in each production) and with our two coffees, chocolate from Ghana, Ghana?  You got it, they couldn't find anything in our neighbors' (Belgium, Switzerland, Italy) stores?   Hummmm.  But you've gotta agree that the presentation was super.

Our bill, with a bottle of Fitou, really interesting roll-ettes and coffee - was 79 E.

Go?   It's pretty good as I say, but I don't think Colette will cotton to the sweetish pastry.

Kapunka in the 2nd: A Thai fast food place with a back story.

Kapunka, 59 Rue de Richelieu in the 2nd, 09.83.08.08.07, closed weekends is a Thai place recommended by one of my loyal readers.  Because I am not qualified to rate Thai places (by me so long as the chow is hot it's good) I called in my friend from the Asian desk who hesitated at going to a place whose name was a corruption of "khap khun kaa" (thank you), but I prevailed on her.

I passed the place twice before "seeing" it, small and in the midst of construction as it is and so was late but she was sitting there having some juice and nems that she recommended I not order - one look at the dessicated leaves that were once mint turned me off anyway.  They have about 5 "menus" but when we started to order the extraordinarily nice wait-guy said "we're out of stuff, let me tell you what we do have."

We both then had the "Thai bouillion" which I thought was fine but she said was hardly Thai and not at all distinguished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then she had the beef salad which she again thought was undistinguished but I thought my chicken with ginger was dandy because it knocked out my tastebuds and the mushrooms were terrific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally she ordered the "home-made" yogurt because she wanted to compare it to what she makes at home (I suspect you know the result already) and I had mixed fruit that I thought was/were great.

With the chrysanthemum juice, two beers and a coffee in a bowl our bill was 39.60 E.

Go?  She declared the meal "forgetable" and while I won't forget it, I'll return to my French food mode in Paris.

Les Jalles: All the publicity hasn't gone to their heads.

Les Jalles, only open for a few weeks to universal acclaim, was, in the (academic) year-end summary of great restos of 2012 in Figaroscope, named one of their favorites with a full first page cover pix of Megali Marion & Delphine Alcover, the co-heads, but thankfully all this has not given them swollen heads.  Sure it's full, but then, so was/is its older sib the Bistro Volnay.

Since I've been over-gushing over both I was not surprised when Madame Marion greeted me warmly on entering and whispered to me in English that she had just received today, the sort of wine that I like, which to the ears of a cheapskate is sweet music.  While we caught up with our cooking guru friend we enjoyed the superb toasts and rillette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friend ordered the hierloom tomatoes and gaspacho which Colette, Ms. Gaspacho, announced was the best of the year and perhaps the decade, and I had a mound of intriguing, slightly smoked eggplant "caviar" with julienned summer veggies stuck in like pick-up-sticks, surrounded by a tomato (I think) "soup."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then both ladies had a very nice block of cod with summer veggies that were perfectly al dente and I had a magnificent whole fried merlan (whiting) with a Colbert butter sauce that was unfortunately salted twice (which Madame Marion apologized for).  It was still plenty good and plus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I, who was having the 42 E "menu," got the giant Baba which was much better than average, shared it with the ladies and we all enjoyed the various mignardises.

With great rolls, no bottled water, 1 1/2 bottles of the Rhone just in today "at a price I would like," our bill was 152.50 for 3 or 101.66 E a couple.

L'Apibo in the 2nd: A few kinks show up.

L'Apibo in the 2nd is still on the coolest street in town, especially on Gay Pride Day, with all the balloons and outrageous facepainting, tattoos, hair-dyes and outfits.

As an amuse-gueule we had a wonderful gazpacho with a dollop of olive oil on top and then went on to the menu and carte which were not all that different from exactly one week ago - Duh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For firsts we all had the smoked haddock with guacamole and avocado slice and mango juice/puree (a substitute on the carte for the eel I had a week ago); then the ladies both had the bar with black rice and roasted eggplant, squid ink and tandoori sauce which they declared was one of the best uses or any of those ingredients ever had; and I soldiered on with the veal scallop (which I ordered when offered the opportunity - blue and was told rose - but turned out overcooked) with summer veggies which almost made up for the veal slip.

 

 For desserts we all scored; our friend from the Left Bank had strawberries and panna cotta, Colette enjoyed the lemon with raspberries and I had orange slices with coffee ice cream on a bed of hummmm with a wafer.

With two bottles of Cote du Rhone Villages, no bottled water, 3 coffees and OK bread, our bill was 143 E or 95.33 E - which because they claimed their credit card machine was not getting power for today, we ponied up with cash and checks.

N.B. The no-choice/forced-choice "formula," which didn't warm my heart last week, was a deal today at 26 E.

L'Apibo in the 2nd; Outstandering: What's not to like in hipster heaven?*

*Prequel: The Rue Tiquetonne is the hippest-gayest-neatist street in Paris I've tumbled on in years: kids on bikes, skateboards, skates; kids in pousettes, frontpacks, carriages; same sex/heterosex couples, some with said strollers, ratio 3/1; bald heads on men and women/full heads of hair ratio 1/4; smokers to non smokers ratio 3/300;  no tattoos visible; many Bobo's and tourists spotted, only one grandfather with (Ho-Ho, nudge-nudge) luscious grand-daughter and one bum seen.  It was like the Rue Ste-Marthe; except with more ethnic restaurants, hair & nail salons and cool stores and fewer pastelly-painted facades.  Conclusion: if there was ever an audience for a cool, new resto/bistro, it would be here.

7.0 L'Apibo, at 31, rue Tiquetonne in the 2nd, (Metro: Etienne Marcel) 01.55.34.94.50, is open everyday except Sundays for lunch and has a no-choice "menu" at 26 E for 3 courses and menu-carte for 32 E at lunch and dinner.

Chalk it up to savvy or cowardice or blind-luck but I chose not to go with the tomatoes & mozzarella, bar and lemon cream "menu" but the menu-carte.  Colette always wants to know the provenance of the chef and here Anthony Boucher is recorded as passing through Jean, Le Cameleon and maybe Ferrandaise and Grand Pan according to one source.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amuse bouche was a lovely melon soup (clearly intended for a blisteringly hot day which it was not but just fine anyway) and then I had three nice pieces of eel, avocado two ways (sliced and as a guacamole), mango juice, sliced raddishes and coriander fraiche; boy, this guy knows how to sling hash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I had the rouget, undercooked as I love it, with potato cubes, zucchini slices and red pepper strips in a bouillabaisse-like sauce and ended with a chocolate fiesta - ganache, mousse, white chocy tuile and what was called a crumble but I'd deem a biscuit/cookie - all outside classification as many of the Tour de France mountain climbs are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention that the female-male couple in the front room-kitchen are adorable, charming and attentive?; no, well, they are; and the room is cool too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a half bottle of Cotes du Rhone (you know, a half bottle of newly opened wine today is so much better than two glasses of yesterday's that they ought to make then Député, now Ile-de-France Public Health General Director Claude Évin a saint for passing the law that permits one to doggie-bag-home unfinished wine), a coffee, decent bread and the ever-present marshmallow, my bill was 46 E.

Go?  Despite Rubin's take that the food here is made too hastily, I'll affiliate myself with Toinard who thought the place fell somewhat between Michelin star food and gastro-bistro quality.  Not bad company to be in at all.

Zinc Restaurant: "Authentic flavors," great service and very pleasant in a barren culinary desert.

4.0 Zinc, 8, rue de Hanovre in the 2nd, 01.42.65.58.95, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, opened with great hopes since it was the second of Frédéric Vardon of 39V that I rated at 5.8 and called "very nice, refined and pricy."  Ironically my meal at the supposedly less refined and less pricy Zinc today was about the same.

As soon as I entered and looked around, I realized that my good buddy Julot, who says I cover mainly "hipster" type places, would rib me endlessly about this place whose decor was classic hipster, with all its customers (except me) in ties, under 30 and clearly on their nearby places' lunch break.   Well Bobo be damned.

The service (wait-person-wise) was terrific, 6 people must have said Hello and Goodbye to me; the music subdued and non-intrusive and the amuse gueule spicy and satisfying (with great toasted breadlettes - the two regular breads were also quite nice).  So I was primed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rather than order the forced choice menus at 23 or 28 E, I went a la carte with a very pleasant (but let's face it, bland) marinated salmon in the style of herring, which in this Republic means warm potatoes and olive oil but not necessarily sock-it-to-'em zingo-ing fish - and a jambonette of chicken made quite well but served with a too many potatoes and a few sauteed cepes with a weird smoky sauce.

In honor of its being the summer solstice ("Midsummer's Night Dream" and all that, the Fete de Musique and the first day of summer-like warmth and humidity since April), I had a Matelote Rosé from the Bandol, which went perfectly with my mood and meal.  Wines here are sold by the glass (teens), 50 cl carafes (high teens) and bottles (twenties and up).

With no bottled water or dessert but a coffee with a mini-Madeleine, my bill was 66.50 E.

Go?  Funnily enuf, Yes, even though I rated it a 4.0 and Rubin 1 heart, Lobrano thought it was a solid B concluding that "Ground breaking gastronomy isn't what this place is about, of course, but rather good quality affordable casual dining," and I think that sums it up perfectly. 

Les Jalles in the 2nd: "Bombinette exquise" or "un must, un 'it'?"

7.0 Les Jalles, 14, rue des Capucines in the 2nd, 01.42.61.66.71, open 7/7, has a 42 E forced choice lunch "menu," and a la carte runs one from 50-75 E. 

A few weeks ago Delphine Alcover of the Bistro Volnay, which she and Magalie Marian also run, invited four of us who were dining at the Mothership to see it a few days before it opened and we were wowed.  Since then, Adrian Moore predicted that it would be the "most talked about opening," Laidback called one dish extraordinary and Simon and Berger used the quotes in my header.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Said hostess/co-owner greeted us warmly and immediately supplied us with geneous portions of piggy matter along with which we had two bottles of the very wine she recalled us having at the Bistro Volnay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While one of us ordered the foie gras we were invited to share it and it was lovely; as well, the Medoc special - grenier medicain - pigs' feet and stomach re-made with garlic and spices, was delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then 2 of our crew of 5 had cod and monkfish, which my camera balked at, so you'll just get a blurry look at the cochon du lait and veggies the other 3 of us loved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the finale, three of us shared a rather banal baba au rhum, but all of us indulged in the mignardises and coffee.  And I should note that like Laidback, I too couldn't tell the difference between the doors to the lady, the tiger and the bathroom.

The bill, per couple, with a bottle of Chateldon, amounted to 112.80 E a couple.

Go?  After all the buzz, you gotta; especially in that Bombinette exquise, which I guess we'd call a "little deuce coupe."

Le Bistrot Volnay in the 2nd: Volnay, Volney, Dufroux, Oïe? Who cares as long as Delphine and Magalie are in charge and the food is great?

7.1 Le Bistro Volnay at 8 rue Volney was reported to have recently changed chefs, bringing in Shimpeï Oïe from Stella Maris, but our gracious hostess, Delphine Alcover, who with Magalie Marion, oversees it as well as opening a new place (Les Jalles) around the corner at 14, rue des Capucines Wednesday, updated those reports, saying he wasn't totally new to the kitchen, perhaps intending to reduce any fears I might have about radical revolutions at the piano.  No sweat.  The place still looks lovely with its 1932 lights over the bar, deep interior and bright ambiance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For starters, Colette had the petit pois soup, Elan the salmon confited with citrus fruit, Paga the foie gras with dried fruit chutney and I the pigs' feet, parmesan and cured ham; all were great although if there was a winner it was the salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, the ladies both had the rable de lapin special, Paga had the pigeon and I the tourte of duck Rouenaisse with foie gras: this time the pigeon scored, being one of the best any of us has ever had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For desserts we had from top to bottom, the rice pudding, soup of strawberries, chocolate tart and Grand Marnier souffle; and I be hard-pressed to pick one above any other.

The wine?  Yes the wine.  Now, I am known to the house, having eaten here some half-dozen times, but I didn't realize my wine perversion was so widely understood: when handing me the wine list, the woman acting as sommeliere in the absence of the two principals, suggested a Gaillac Syrah from Robert & Bernard Plageoles and I immediately ripped it out of her hands expecting an astronomical price - but no, she had found Waldo at 22 E a bottle, and she was right, it went perfectly with our meal.

The bill, with two bottles of wine, no bottled water and three coffees, was 214.50 E or 107.25 E a couple.

Go?  Certainly, and not only that, if it isn't over-booked due to the big boys' rave reviews, in two weeks time I'll be going to their new place around the corner, which Ms. Alcover invited us to inspect after lunch. It looked pretty nifty, with the chefs working away in the semi-open kitchen.