John Talbott's Paris

Ze Kitchen Galerie: Never ceases to amaze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening the carte at Ze Kitchen Galerie is always a surprise; what will William Ledeuil have "cooked up" today", because he never is stuck in a repetitive rut -  always moving, always innovating, always shocking the taste buds, in the nicest of ways.  And today was no different - the amuses were his usual fine olives, OK, love'em; and then something I don't recall being served before, microtomed beets and split radishes and celery with a sesame/sardine cream - yum.  We were "offered" and yes, Colette and I accepted, a coupe while we awaited our former downstairs neighbors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paga started with the trofie pasta with mustard, parmesan and carpaccio of beef; Colette had the oysters, urchins, white asparagus condiment in a green apple juice with ginger and I (unpictured) had a deevine special of lukewarm but previously sauteed foie gras with shaved veggies on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the ladies both had the young rabbit with a curry sauce and artichoke/wasabi condiment while the gents feasted on confited pigeon with more foie gras with a mustard/rhubarb condiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the finale two of us chose the strawberries and rhubarb with rhubarb sorbet, Colette had the mango, marinated pineapple, coco "soupe" and vanilla and the staff, not wanting me to feel left out brought out a small portion of almost mousse textured chocolate with crumble sort of stuff (which I think they overheard me talking about loving.)

With their house-bottled water and coffee (both coming with the meal) our bill came to 123.70 E a couple.  Fabulous! Yet! Again! 

Invictus in the 6th: Life is short, eat dessert first....or maybe only dessert.

5.4 (He 6, me 4.8, everything will be iluminated) Invictus, 5, rue Saint-Beuve (not a Saint/Sainte at all, just named after another critic) in the 6th, 01.45.49. 07.22, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Monday lunch was a place that's gotten a lot of press, albeit not totally exuberant; I was dying to go (1) Because of the name - I loved the movie - but it turns out it's named after the poem by the unknown (to me) William Ernest Henley that the movie was named after, because (2) Chef Christophe Chabanel spent 6 years in South Africa after he left the wildly successful and greatly good (3) La Dinee located at the end of the #8 line (Balard) which our gang frequented.  The menu here is a pretty simple - 3/3/3 but nothing called to me - first bad sign.

 

 

 My pal from the depths of Cambridge (MAA as the car boys would say) ordered the egg au gratin with cauliflower that was pretty good; but my terrine of duck was underpar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then he had the very dull merlu a la vapeur with a ton of nice looking veggies but an intense tomato sauce; while I suffered through the palid palette of pork with lentilles and an OK sauce (no could finish Papa).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my friend, 24 hours off the plane from snowland, looked raring to go, so he had the so-called fromage blanc with mirabelle halves and I had the vanilla creme brulee which was really super, redeeming an otherwise lost meal.

The bill was quite reasonable despite the wasted calories; with a bottle of nice Fronsac, pleasant-enough rolls, no bottled water and two coffees = 87 E.

Go?  Boy, we must have gone to La Dinee 8-10 times and I so wanted to return to those days of yesteryear, but..........  Oh the rating.  Well, at the end of the meal I asked him his number having settled on about 5 (average) for me and he said 6-7, but on the way home to our respective flats we both revised them down - he to a flat 6, me to 4.8 so it wound up as 5.4.

Bonardi, Tarayre & Zen at Alcazar in the 6th: A great concept by the concept guy.....but.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.0 Alcazar, 62, rue Mazarine in the 6th, 01.53.10.19.99, (Metro: Odeon), seems to be open 7/7 and is in a stunning setting designed by Terence Conran, he of the concept stores (Habitat and Conran's), restaurants (Bibendum and Buebird are the ones I loved best) and arch/design bldgs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backstories:  I ate here sometime after Conran opened it in 1998 and was overwhelmed by the design and underwhelmed by the food and have never been back.  In 2012, M6, as opposed to MI6, proposed a link to their tele-culi-reality show TopChef and periodically I've seen notes in the papers that so and so, Top Chef in 20xx, was cooking here - I yawned and moved on.  But today I had a lunch date with another websiter across the street at the bio cave a manger Epure and for whatever reason he didn't show up.  But, I had this in my back pocket, having parked across the street only last week and viewing the menu thought  "I should go some day,"  Well, today was the day and in the kitchen or at least designing the menu were three Top Chefs - Tabata Bonardi, Norbert Tarayre & Cyrille Zen and the menus at 35 or 36 E for three plates, looked doable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madame ordered the foie gras with pain d'epices, pineapple chutney with ginger and a coulis of Banyuls (couldn't prove any of it to me except for the foie gras, but she liked it); and I had the bass ceviche with avocado and mango bits and sliced green apple and unannounced but saving-the-day sun-dried tomatoes which gave life to an otherwise "huh?" dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then she had the quasi de veau with cebette (yah I had to look it up too), parsley roots and celery and potatoes - busy, busy, busy - but whoops, served well-done not rose as asked for.  Now neither was inedible but neither of us finished our portions either.

Finally we shared a classic chocolate "sphere" surrounding ice cream which supoposedly came with caramel and praline rose bursts - nice enough but if the latter two ingredients were there, they were very very subtle.

With a Languedoc (this was Bordeaux month, but they were out of 80% of them) that she wrinkled her nose at, but I thought was OK, no bottled water, good bread and butter and two coffees our bill was 110 E.

Go?  You jest.  This is what I used to call Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Aspen food where they throw 6-7 ingredients per dish at you hoping you'll be impressed and not see if it tastes good, but miss the mark every time.  Pair that with a surly waiter who clearly wanted to go back skiing in the Alps and you had an unforgetable meal - unfortunately.

La Grande Cremerie in the 6th: "But we can eat better and smaller up the road" they said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.1 La Grande Cremerie, 8, rue Gregoire de Tours in the 6th, 01.43.26.09.09 (Metro: Odeon) is a larger upgraded verson of La Cremerie on Quatre-Vents where I first encountered Pierre Jancou on a blustery cold February day years ago, standing there all alone slicing charcuterie and cheese and pouring first-class wine in a place that couldn't have had more than 8 seats.  Well, this new version has many many more seats and staff (Jancou long gone of course), wonderful walls and an expanded menu - still stuff they don't make but which comes from first-rate producers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We jointly ordered 2 fish, 2 animal and 1 cheese dish: potted boudin noir (a bit of a surprise but OK);  a trio of taramas (frankly I couldn't tell a difference), a terrine of rabbit (the best of our main dishes); and smoked tuna from my favorite Ile, the Ile d'Yeu with creme fraiche (which, with the toasted bread, almost constituted what our kids called fox and lox).

We ended with 4 slices of St Nectaire which were the best I've had in 2013.  When I returned from the toilettes the other three were busily discussing how they would rate the restaurant using my 10 point scale and a new friend asked me preliminarily - "Do you rate inedible food a 2?"  Oh, oh I thought.  But no, they were just testing the waters although one suggested we could eat much better with smaller portions up the road at the Avant Comptoir, another was annoyed at the service at the end and a third said he didn't want to influence me but it was OK with a lot of "buts."

With a magnum of Cahors, quite, quite decent, the house-bottled fizzy water, 3 coffees and a tea, our bill was 148.50 E, thus 74.25 E a couple.  dB level a quite acceptable 77.2.

Go?  The consensus was that you need a big party, and it's OK in a tourist zone if you chance by famished, but a couple cannot put away many big portions and you need to better pair wines and dishes than we did, or I did, since I was paying them back for picking up and schlepping 3 heavy pieces of furniture from IKEA.  Up the road, anyone?

Pouic Pouic in the 6th: "Ordinary," I'd say, said one of my new Brazilian acquaintances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.0 Pouic Pouic, 9 rue Lobineau in the 6th, 01.43.26.71.95, closed Sunday dinner and Mondays (Metro: Mabillon); my Franco-American friend whom I've known here since 1953 entered and immediately asked "Why did you choose this place?  It's empty and all the other places on the street are full."  I explained that (1) it was new and interesting sounding, (2) it was on my "list" and (3) a poster on Chowhound was curious if anyone had been.   "Huuuummmm," she said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both had the escargots in little pastry shells that were quite tasty, then she had St Pierre in a broth of chopped veggies ("minestrone") and I had veal kidneys in a wine sauce on a puree.  I realized I'd lost her when she compared my rognons to those prepared with mustard by her companion; and she was right; much as I tried to justify them as another preparation, they were not as good as our life partners' preparations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To get the meal back on track, we shared a tart of the day, this of figs, which were quite OK.  With that, a bottle of bio Cotes du Rhone Nouveau, no bottled water and two coffees, our bill was 88 E (dB level 81.1)

Go?  Well, on my way out a young Brazilian couple got up out of their chairs and said "Excuse us, but that was a most interesting conversation you had at your table."  Oh oh, what was it?, the discussion of Hiliary Clinton bashing by the Republicans, my saga of getting my "new" top-loading washing machine working, the discussion of gun-control and mental illness, the extraordinary level of "morosite" reported in Le Monde or our dispute about the wars we Americans keep getting into and the dictators we keep supporting?  I chose not to ask, but asked what was their verdict on their meal here after a week in Paris.  "Ordinary" they both agreed.  I seconded that.

H. Kitchen in the 6th: Yet another pair of Japanese chefs cooking French food. When will it end?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.2 70.2dB H Kitchen, 18 Rue Mayet (Metro: Duroc) in the 6th, 01.45.66.51.57, closed Sunday and Monday; it opened October 31st to the proverbial one hand clapping, but a friend wrote me thusly "A new restaurant about 2 weeks old opened near us -- H. Kitchen.....Reminds us of Clandestino -- 10 tables, Japanese chef, food is as good as Clandestino, lunch of 3 courses = 25 euros, good wines between 21 and 35 euros…….We had the tasting menu at dinner - 45 euros each = excellent, lots of Japanese touches with French main dishes like raw scallops & pied de mouton mushroom soup, mi-cuit bar with Japanese veggie decorations, veal with Swiss chard and small potatoes that tasted a bit like Jerusalem artichokes, cheese,  good fancy tasty desserts."  So had to go, no?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For firsts, our friend who wishes to be known as M. Junkfood, had a tartine of pork foie gras and tete with parmesan that was the best ever, Colette had scallops nestled in a puree of broccoli and an agrume sauce (that she desribed as bland) and I had about the best dish of palourdes I've ever had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains, Mr. Fastie had a shoulder of lamb braised in the style of a blanquette, Colette had cod in a  soup with many small veggies (that she described as flavorless) and I had a magret, cooked blue, with a devilish sauce and mashed potatoes (that were not up to Colette's standards) - I considered the duck,once again, to be one of the best I've had. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For desserts, Mr. McDo had the clementine tarte, Colette the pear with jelly and sorbet underneath a lattice made of meringueand and I a chocolate roll with chocolate ice cream; all three of which I considered way over the standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With fine warm bread, two bottles of Fronton wine, nummies, no bottled water and two coffees, our bill was 124.60 E or 83.06 E a couple.

Go?  The vote - Mr. Eat-all = 10, me 6.2, Colette way down- she thinks that if she had ordered meat dishes she would have been more satisfied; average 6.2 I declare.  And I say Return and thanks A.E.M.

Ze in the 6th: still surprises.

We returned to Ze Kitchen Galerie in the 6th which loyal readers, friends and enemies are tired of me talking about.  But it and its menu are ever-changing and delightful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They started us off with bread, which lead us into a long discussion of exterior crustiness vs interior moistness with our old friends from the internet and Paris; olive oil (a first after 11 years); champagne (disclosure: Our genial host, Cédric Maréchal, who except for Mondays can usually be found at KGB, comp'd us); and amuse-gueules of bass, tarama and citrus.  We then started working on a bottle of Costieres de Nimes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Colette had artichoke ravioli with crescenza, tomato marmelade, ginger and herbs; M. had the moules, crevettes, corail condiment and saffron; Madame the crab boullion, crevettes, agrumes and miso condiment; and I had the Thai bouillion with white beans and a soubressade condiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Colette had the salmon with fennel, beets and tomatoes; M. had the daily fish (cod) with shellfish, ginger and aioli; Madame the squid with eggplant, tomato and lemongrass condiment; and I had the (unpictured) confited, grilled, colvert duck with mostarda condiment and citrus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Madame had the figs two ways and raisin sorbet; M. the meringue strips atop white chocolate/wasabi ice cream and mangos; Colette (unpictured) had a corn/soya soup with an incredible vanilla-miso caramel and I just wept.

The bill was 223.40 E or 111.70 E a couple and was graciously and generously picked up by our friends who insisted it was a gift for the opportunity to meet the wife they weren't sure existed except as a ghost or mystery mistress.

Pinxo Rue Mazarine: Inventive but not always dazzling.

Pinxo, Dutournier's 2nd such named on the Rue Mazarine in the 6th bewitched me a few weeks ago so I returned with Colette and my forever and favorite and only still-eating-with-me-ex-co-host on the food website whose name cannot be mentioned.

The carte was pretty much the same and I revealed myself as a creature of habit by ordering the same things.

 

 

 

Luckily the ladies saved the day by ordering different items however.  My charming ex-co-host had what I would call a spring roll with crab meat and veggies; Colette had 3 gaspachos (melon, petit pois and tomato with goat cheese on the bottom of each glass) that she thought were blah but I rather liked; and I had the boring (this time) "fricassee" of chipirons, piquillos, ginger and pasta which was only brought to life with a heavy dousing/dosing of espelette and black pepper.

For mains, the ladies had green curried shrimp that was/were wonderful and I repeated the duck hearts, I had had before, a la plancha, but this time they were overcooked and not very interesting.

For dessert, our friend ordered a single "tiramisu" with strawberries, that, like at Drouant, come in three portions.  Very nice stuff and very nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered a Red Graves which everyone but Colette liked and so I ordered a Pic St Loup, which I must admit for the same price, was much better.

Our bill, with two bottles of wine and 6 Illy coffees and no bottled water was 183 E but without all the chatter and extra liquid, for "normal" people, it would come to 108 E a couple.

Chez Marcel in the 6th: Since 1919 and it shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.0 Chez Marcel, 7 rue Stanislas in the 6th (Metro: ND Champs or Vavin), 01.45.48.29.94, closed weekends,  sounded like the perfect "date setting" for me and my terribly discerning pal from the 5th.  Open forever, heavy with cuisine from Lyon, recently "madeover" and loved (3/5) by one Emmanuel Rubin, it met all my desired objectives.

Back-story (related for no reason at all).  I was in a fog, got on the bus from my place in the opposite direction from the Metro I should have taken, was absorbed in a Figaro article by F. Simon on eating at the Lutetia for -40%, looked up and realized it was 12h30, the time of my rez, several clicks away.  Metro would take 30 min; buses chancy with all the rain and construction; taxi - that's it (Sorry Colette).  Descend, pouring rain on the Champs-Elysees; 2 Russkie oligarch bimbos pushing in front of me at the Taxi rank.  No way.  Forlock-pulling time when I arrive at the resto late 30 minutes for sure.  Get on Metro; arrive 13h00.  No "date" there.  She calls, "I'll be late, go ahead and order."  Ach.  All this rushing for naught.  She arrives, no coat or umbrella, soaked through to the skin, sits down and apologizes for being 45-50 minutes late; I have to tell her the truth.  We both relax.  End of Back-story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both go for classics (no patagos today): me, the Lyon sausage with potatoes - sausage she deems "dry", I think "flavorless", potatoes bathed in water, even with mustard, barely finish 1/2; she, eggs mayo, banal, unimaginative, puhlease!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains, two more Lyon classics: she had the andouillette which indeed had the requisite uriniferous taste while I had two white thighs of quenelles with a cute little red langoustine poking up between them - well - let's say neither of us commented on this at length anyway.  Neither distinguished itself.

For dessert she ordered Rubin's rec, the nougat glace with the first Nantes strawberries of the season with a Chantilly whip she declared had the flavor/odor of "toilet-deodorant."  It too we left unfinished.

With a bottle of a decent Rhone, quite good bread, no bottled water but two Illy coffees (that's where they get the 1.0/10 points), our bill was 96 E.

Go?  Are you reading the lines or between the lines or over the lines?  Heavens no.

Pinxo LB/RG in the 6th: Very clever food from a very clever guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.5 Pinxo Left Bank/Rive Gauche, 82, rue Mazarine, in the 6th, (Metro: Odeon), 01.43.54.02.11, open (it seems from the various offerings on the menu) 7/7 most of the day seems much smaller and intimate than the Mothership in the 1st (about 26 covers downstairs but 20 more upstairs) but is not so crowded as some reviewers have said.  It is the 5th enterprise by Alain Dutournier if I'm counting correctly, and just as well planned, managed and provisioned as any Danny Meyers joint.  There's an open kitchen and several levels of personnel who are visable above; two Dudes in red aprons cooking, two in black (one with a lapel full of a sommelier's grape bunch who seems superior to the hustler), one guy with a checkered shirt and black gloves like I wear when cold and a grand lady sans uniform who swept in and must hold the money-bags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I waited the requisite 31 minutes for my dining date to show and when he didn't, I realized it was Mother's Day and his Mom was in town, so went ahead and ordered:

- a nicely-spiced fricasee of chipirons, piquillos and fried ginger and garlic, but with too many coquillettes to finish,

- duck hearts on the plancha with green asparagus on a corn polenta-esque (escaoutoan) base and thinly sliced and marinated and powerfully tasty onion strips, and

- Illy with a biscotto and a glass of - could it be? - grappa? - wonderful!  But no, it was just tap water, but no matter.

Now while my bill with two glasses of wine, no bottled water, coffee and no dessert, calculates at 44.50 E there is a "menu" day and night with a variety of tapas (pinxos) 1st and the plat du jour and a glass of wine for 29 E.

Go?  Like General Douglas MacArthur - "I will return," but I will come with a gang and order 1/2 to 2/3rds normal, because the portions are so generous.