John Talbott's Paris

Beaucoup in the 3rd: Très branché, très Bobo, très serré et très, très insupportable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.7 Beaucoup, 7, rue Froissart in the 3rd, (Metro: St-Sebastien Froisssart), 01.42.77.38.47, open 7/7, is the third joint opened by Julien Fouin and Ludovic Dardenay, who brought us Glou and Jaja which I haven't exactly swooned over, but it came recommended, my friend who has a cabinet/apartment nearby and needs to scrurry back and forth was originally going to dine with me and it was open on Mondays, the new Saturdays here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It was the kind of a day," Guy Noir would say, "that patrons kept their watchcaps and puffy-coats on and where the waitresses wore fluffy sweaters and bulky scarfs."  And it had the kind-of an ambiance where at 12h30, 30 year olds, 85.7% of them fashionistas, some American, were having complex mixed cocktails.  They have superbly priced 2 and 3-course "menus" and an otherwise interesting carte and I decided to plunge in.

Now like Johnnie Carson's Carnac I will tell you the answers before the questions:
9 Decor
9 Welcome
7 Food
7 Inventiveness
6 Other diners
5 Prix-Qualité
-1 Waiting times between courses
_________________________________
42÷7=5.7, you gotta problem with those maths?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wine (a Costieres de Nimes) was perfect, the ceviche of swordfish with minced agrumes and apples and flowers - terrific, and the sweetbreads with shitake (1), dense sauce and pasta, quite inventive.  Only the bread was horrible; the coffee, passable by Paris standards.

It took 30 minutes for the first course to arrive and 35 for the second - at which point the whirling dervish waitresses reminded me of a cross between the Avant Comptoir and Merci (the Concept Store's Restaurant) with the sound level of the mercifully closed Le Totem (6.8 without music, 7.5 dB with).

My bill, with 1/2 bottle of wine and the rest was 55 E.

Go?  If you're 30, or my age and want to raise the age average a few years, need cocktails, love long waits and have a hankering for frazzled waitresses, be my guest.  Udderwise, skip it.

Le Bistrot du Temple in the 3rd: "Just a neighborhood resto, but a nice neighborhood one."

5.5 Le Bistrot du Temple, 19, rue de Picardie in the 3rd (Metro: Republique I guess), closed Sundays and Mondays, 01.42.77.48.01 is a place that's mellowed a bit since it's been on my "list."  It has an arresting red front, nice paintings, all by one painter and a couple that run the front room and second floor with great joy. 

The specials on the blackboard resemble those on the evening carte at a 30% reduction we were told and that seemed very fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started off with a quite nice camembert fermier heated in a pastry covering with mesclun, duck and baby tomatoes; a salmon-haddock tartare that had an interesting tart-soft salt-sweet yin-yang set of flavors; and bottle of Cote du Rhone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains we had triangolini pasta envelopes stuffed with cepes and flavored with truffle oil and a tempura of merlu (a first for me) with green veggies and potatoes.  We decided to share what was called a moelleux but explained and tasted like a prune pudding with sorbet - quite tasty.

With two coffees, the aforementioned wine, above average bread and no bottled water our bill came to 71.50 E.

Go?  As my companion, a food critic/journalist who indeed does live in the neighborhood said on leaving ""Just a neighborhood resto, but a nice neighborhood one."  I predict she'll be back.  Decibel level with loud American jazz music = 76.9; with calmer music and more clients, much quieter.

Le Royal Turenne in the 3rd: The worst meal of the week, decade, century?

 

-1.0 Le Royal Turenne, 24, rue de Turenne in the 3rd, 01.42.72.04.53 (Metro Chemin Vert) is open 7/7 and I confess I went there because it's a Saturday, I was hankering for some traditional food in a traditional place and it was recommended in the Figaro blog by one "Le pote âge."  I entered after my invitee - took one look around and said "Tourist Trap."  And it was, but for French tourists and locals who filled it up and loved it, absolutely loved it.  Go figure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, let's get this over with expediously:

- Her onion soup was cold and filled with bread; she had one sip.

-My herring with potatoes were standard out of the can.

-Her 5AAAAA Andouilette, which the waiter wanted to be sure she knew what she was getting into, was pure Metro (despite his saying "Oh Madame, it's the very best - 5 AAAAA") and she who is in the food trade, took one look at the frites and said "frozen."

-My turbotin had a nicely crisp skin but was tasteless and sat in a bed of pink sludge with (REDEEMING FEATURE) spinach.

-The Cote d'Auvergne was OK once it opened up, the bread was, how do you say - worse than pathetic? -and the coffee OK.  The bill = 79.90 E.

Go?  Well the French certainly do.  Jeez Louise.

Chez Nenesse in the 3rd: Inexcusable 1950's truck-stop food.

2.0 Chez Nenesse, 17 rue Saintange in the 3rd, 01.42.78.46.49, closed weekends (Metro: St Sebastien-Froissart) is a place I and my Marais-dwelling pal have been by time out of mind and it keeps being mentioned by reviewers/bloggers/etc so when Pudlo declared it his coup de coeur in the 3rd where I needed to find a place my working friend could get to & from quickly it came to mind.  Silly mind.

You cannot read the menu and it's just as well, it's not worth reading.

I started off with a defensive choice - avocado and crevettes - but it was huge, oversalted and dripping in remoulade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then she had the tough as leather entrecote with (she said) beans that were either canned or way overcooked and I had slices of not-so-bad filet of pork and mushrooms with pasta from a pot made this morning.

We then made a horrible decision and both ordered an awful tarte au citron that because she's on starvation rations she finished (not me).

With a bottle of Saumur-Champigny that was terrific (see that's where the 2.0/10 points comes in), dreadful bread and so-so coffee and no bottled water our bill was 61.10 E.

Go?  Jest-you again?

Minimes* in the 3rd: a wonderful find in the cursed culinary desert of the Marais.

5.9 Minimes, 36 rue de Turenne in the 3rd, 01.42.71.36.70, open 7/7 (Metro: Chemin Vert) has barely made a wave in the water since it opened in June - I suspect that's because it's in the Marais which has become a zone interdite for the big boys.  But today it was featured in the Journal du Dimanche and heck, I needed a Sunday place since my two dates had pleaded overwork and underimmunity. 

*I assumed Minimes referred to it being a cool, trendy, minimalist living room like space; all of which it is; or what Wikipedia suggests - a character in the Austin Powers films, a MiniMe, PCLinuxOS minimal installation, Les Minimes marina in La Rochelle, the Lac des Minimes, a small lake in Paris, or the Stade des Minimes, a rugby league stadium in Toulouse, but it's really just the name of the abutting street which is named after an old convent on the street.  What a downer. 

The crowd is international and intersexual but even with a large table of Asian-American women with non-Asian SO's, they never raised their voices or used "like."  The music is loud American crap, though and the smoke from the sidewalk (excuse me terrace) French-populated tables on two sides was annoying.

As noted elsewhere, it’s another brainchild of Alexandre Chapon, the Danny Meyer of the right bank, (Pamela Popo, Chez Julien, Vin des Pyrenees, Enoteca) who brought over one of the two chefs at the Clocher Pereire, a place Colette and I have loved over the years, Jean-Philippe Leboeuf, to cook.  On weekdays it has an incredible 14 E lunch formula but even a la carte has a fine great price-quality ratio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started with a gaspacho (as I'm writing this, it's 87 F. in the sun) with gambas croquettes - the gaspacho was the thoroughly blended (I prefer chunky) and under-spiced variety but the gambas were exceptional; then "fish & chips" which were terrific, the fries retaining their crispness long after most would have croaked, but the tartare sauce was not to my taste; and a creme brulee made with limes from Nice - very nice.

With two glasses of Domaine de l'Oustel Blanc K-11 wine, 3 courses, no bottled water, awful bread and a minimally-OK coffee, we're talking about a 44.50 E bill.  Pas mal.

Go?  In this area, except for the Cafe des Musees across the street, you're not going to find such a nice place.

L'Ilot in the 3rd: Wonderful cold seafood "tapas" in a small joint with loud American music and uncomfortable stools.

5.8 L'Ilot, 4, rue de la Corderie in the 3rd, 06.95.12.86.61, open Saturday and Sunday lunch (unless there were no fresh oysters delivered) and Wednesday-Saturday nights, (Metro:Republique) got what I considered a rave review in Le Fooding last week and Sunday I was off and running to it - Closed!

Today the charming wait-bar-person on the left explained they hadn't opened for lack of oysters/etc.  OK.

P.S. She spoke English to a young woman having a coffee when I entered so if folks are worried, worry no more.What they have: oysters, crevettes, bulots, crab, tartines and cold fish with very fresh wonderful greens and baby tomatoes.  Nothing hot except for the Kouing aman, which we'll get to later.  My companions, newly disembarked from the airplane from the Bay Area said - we want everything.  So that's what we essentially had.

We essentially started by sharing a dozen (slightly oversalty) Fines de claires No 3 from who knows where (which with lemon to cut the salt were terrific); some bulots with (very nice if I do say so) mayo; and 6 "bio" crevettes roses from Madagascar which were superb.

 

 

Then we went to what were sort of main courses - slices of (again, sorry, oversalted but good) Matjes herring, astonishing smoked eel and a "little" salad.

And finally we ordered the Kouing aman, which dare I say, was as good if not better than that of my gold standard bearer Arnaud Larher.  A wonderful end to a wonderful meal.

The bill for a couple with this sort of assortment and a bottle of Domaine de la Grange Muscadet and coffee runs one 60.50 E.   Are you sure John?  Yup!  Got the bill in my hand.

Go?  You'd be nuts if you didn't; for a Saturday or Sunday light lunch before a blowout dinner it'd be perfect and if it were in my neighborhood I'd be there at least once a month.

L'Intention in the 3rd: A very friendly, neighborhood place with good intentions.

4.9 L'Intention, 3, rue du Roi Dore in the 3rd, 01.42.74.31.22, closed weekends is a place that only Gaudry saw slip under the radar and when challenged to find a place my oldest friend in France could get to quickly to and from her cabinet, it was a natch.

It's in one of those classic Marais buildings with stone walls that are warm and the couple that run it are equally welcoming.  Inside there are photos of middle America (aka Oklahoma) and Johnny Cash-type music playing - nice!

The carte is supersimple and choices were easy for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both chose the braised leeks with salad greens and herbs atop and a subtle mustard sauce below which were quite tasty, then diverged to have the chicken (which was overdone & thus dry) with beans and chorizo and French pork with fall vegetables, quite nice; and I finished with a nut financier with mascarpone - again quite nice.  However, nothing was ground-breaking/earth-shaking.

With a bottle of nice Bordeaux, no bottled water, OK bread and two coffees our bill was 65 E (which now that I add it up seems 4 E too much, but is not cause for WWIII.)

Go?  The road to hell is paved with good intentions (St Bernard of Clairvaux) or as Hemingway amended it - The road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs, whatever that means (at 18 it seemed terribly significant.)

Le Cafe des Musees in the 3rd: my new bistrot of the moment.

David Lebovitz said it best, the Cafe des Musees "is one the best small restaurants in Paris offering good value & great food."  And we had another simple but fine bistrot meal there today.

I say "simple" because the menu, i.e., carte, sounds straightforward but delivers food that is fine and as well-priced as one can find in Paris.  On the 13 E (that's not a misprint/mistake) 13 E menu today were a nettle soup and confit de canard with "to die for" white beans, which if combined with a glass of wine and coffee allows one to exit only 19.20 E the poorer, which one of my three bosses did today.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I said, my tierceieme boss had the creamy nettle soup, a big thing in the U.K, which I've never truly "gotten," although it's supposed to do great things for U.T. problems.  I had a portion of wonderful warm girolles on top of a generous pile of greens along with various-colored beans; I had to call on my female companions to help me out.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains (preparation took 30, minutes, but we were among great company) Colette had the fish of the day, in today's case turbot with very flavorful diced veggies and some greens that none of us could match a word to; my treysome boss had the confit de canard with beans which were melt-in-your-mouth; and I had an echine of pork with more of those greens, many roasted garlic cloves and a dish of super small sliced potatoes, in the style of what my mother would call au gratin.

At this point we were very satisfied and coffee was a perfect ending.

Our bill for 3 with the moral equivalent of about two bottles of wine and no bottled water was 112.40 E, thus 75 E a couple at most.

Le Petit Pamphlet in the 3rd: an archival* review.

1.02 Petit Pamphlet {I do these numbers just to drive John Whiting nutz}, 15, rue Saint Gilles in the 3rd, 01.42.71.22.21, closed Saturday and Monday lunch and all day Sunday, was described to me by my most trusted Parisian food critic as “not fun;” now, what does that mean? Oh I know, Bernard Loiseau (The Perfectionist,) is reputed to have said it’s all about providing pleasure, but not fun?

Well, my friend/colleague was right, but not completely right. It was pathetic and pretentious too. You enter, not bad, nice space, nice table coverings, nice bullfight poster (like you had in college in 1953, except not Manolete in Madrid but nobodies in Bayonne), nice rillettes and olives with three kinds of nice bread), nice wait-staff, nobody smoking except the proprietress, nice wine list all at 20 € - right?, you’ve stumbled on a find, despite the fact that you hated the mother ship Le Pamphlet.

Ok, so it’s in the heart of the touristy Marais, half the patrons are either Anglo-Saxons making notes or persons speaking English as their common tongue and the menu is terribly limited (4 starters at 9 €, 3 mains at 15 €, 4 desserts at 7 € and 2 specials, and they all have a Latinate, e.g. Italo-Spanish, spin to them). Soldier on, stout fellow!

Order the pasta with coquillagey stuff like paella (an homage to the Fables of Fontaine, I presume); the faux filet with potatoes and tiny girolles (seasonal) and roasted figs with caramel ice cream – how can one go wrong?

Well, the figs and chocolate mignardise were great, the rest barely acceptable, plus the plates, except for the figs, arrived with such astonishing rapidity that either they have a brigade of 40 all set to prepare your food or it’s all flash-prepared.

This meal caused me to reflect on why it was so different from that at the Grande Ourse. OK, it’s the 3rd vs the 15th, an annex vs an original. But I thot they weren’t really trying, as the Grande Ourse was, they were coasting - where they were, they didn’t need to hustle.

The bill = 54 €, clearly the worst price-quality of the rentrée.

*Originally published in September 2006

L'Aller Retour in the 3rd: a true meat bar, no less, no more.

5.0* L'Aller Retour, 5, rue Dupuis in the 3rd, 01.42.78.01.21, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays, was Le Fooding's pick of the week last week; in which review/article, Yves Nespoulous called it a "bar à viande" and he was quite correct.  Its menu (that is, carte, there is no "menu") is simple. direct and clear - abandon hope all vegans who enter here.

My date today was missing in combat and therefore, my decisions, easy.  For a starter I picked the classic escargots over the burrata/tomatoes, boudin, etc and they were just what the doctor ordered, no less no more.

Of all the meat possibilities, the entrecote spoke to me, but other folks, having other cuts, seemed equally pleased.  I ordered the salad not the frites with it, but after watching plate after plate of fries pass me, pleaded for "1 frite, just 1."  "Impossible," my jolly waiter said, and plunked down twenty.  Nice touch.  It came with a watery roquefort sauce, which despite salt and pepper, didn't lift it from ordinary to extraordinary.  In sum, it was average, no less no more.

For dessert, I had the strawberry tartelette, which was OK and as you've guessed already "no less no more." 

The bill, if there'd been two of us to share a bottle of wine, would have come to 95 E.

Go? While this is/was a place where, like in a show of Claes Oldenberg, everybody is smiling, everybody is happy, and all the seats are full, it doesn't attain glory.  A plus, however, is watching French women eat hamburgers with a knife and fork and without condiments  50 years after Paris welcomed Wimpy's and 30 years after the McDo invasion.

* A word about my rating system for those unfamiliar - 5.0 is a Garrison Keillor average, not bad, not great, no less, no more.