John Talbott's Paris

Chaumette in the 16th: Finally, a bistrot with soul. An archival* review.

5.1 Chaumette, 7, rue Gros in the 16th, 01.42.88.29.27, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, menu at 28 €, a la carte 35-45, with reasonably priced wines, e.g., our Chablis was 26 €. After five solid days of mediocre to bad cooking, we tumbled on a fine place located across the street from Zebra Square and Radio France and down the street from Joel Thibault’s stand in the Rue Gros outdoor market.

In any case, while jam-packed, all French-speaking by the way, and some annoying smoking, although we were technically in non-fumeur, my companion and I had a fine meal (why do I say fine, not great?, wait, that’s coming.)

It looks ages old and has clearly attracted a huge clientele from the working media nearby. We essentially ordered on and off the menu, choosing stuff from the printed carte, blackboard and lettered specials on the mirror.

We started with a just superb salad with sliced Bellotta/Bellotta on top, ringed by perfectly sautéed langoustines and what was a really finely pureed chicken liver that were divine in a sauce we loved but forgot to ask about.

We then shared a ½ pheasant in the blackest richest, not-too-sweet port sauce and dorade royal with a cream basil sauce. Only problem – the pheasant was over-cooked for my pal, but OK for me (hummm, it’s usually the reverse).

Finally we shared one crème renversee (a special and ironic treat, because my friend lives just across the river from where we were eating, in the Tour Totem, well-known to “French In Action” trivia players as the place where Robert was served a crème renversee.)

Now to top it off, they offered us digestives of prune because they had served us the dorade instead of the featured bar with chorizo; I only found out when I inquired where the chorizo was (don’t laugh, Leo Fourneau in Bon Appetit, Messieurs, tells of one malicious chef who served Christian Millau cod instead of the bar on the menu and he (Millau) complimented the chef on the excellent bar). In any case, it was a fine meal costing us 90 €. 

Should you go? As a friend said in an email today, if you don’t have to cross more than one arrondissement.

*Originally published in February 2007

Le P'tit Caillou in the 8th: What a wonderful (inattendu) surprise.

6.8 Le P'tit Caillou, 2 rue Maleville in the 8th, - where?  I know, the no man's land in the 8th where only Dominique Bouchet dares ply his trade - 01.45.63.20.87, closed weekends and Monday nights, with lunch formulas at 22 (2 courses) and 25 (for 3), a la carte 41-51 E, crept in under the radar screen in October and TMK was only "discovered" by Jerome Berger 3 weeks ago.  Where have we all been?

My "date" had a dread infection and pleaded pardon and I went myself, fully expecting this to be one more "trying hard and falling short" new place; uhn uh.  I truly entered with no expectations but was immediately impressed by the huge numbers of groups at tables of 12, 6 and 4; and with suits and ties and ordering the 25 E menu - there was not a place available by 1:30.

I took one look at the "menu" (firsts of cucumber salad, gesiers' salad and a terrine; plats of long cod, daurade and a knuckle of lamb aka mutton with couscous; desserts of choc cake, white cheese and a raspberry/pear tarte) and for complicated reasons, moved over to the carte.

My former internist was worried that my cholesterol level was abnormally low and encouraged me to indulge, so in his honor, I had a lobe of sauteed foie gras on top of red apple slices, both incredible - now I mention the "red" in apple because I do not like red apples, finding them (usually) lacking in tartessence, but these/this did the trick.

Next I had rognons nature with a glassfull of mashies - boy Colette and Paga would have loved 'em, but I liked them well enuf and the rognons, besides being too much to finish, were just properly cooked.

A word about the "service": the two women in the front-room, who were standing for 1 second both facing the same direction, sure looked like Mother-daughter, and were efficient, pleasant and accommodating as family members can be, whether they were related or not; for instance, offering me a more expensive wine for the one I had ordered at the same price.

There was no room in the inn for dessert and frankly nothing turned me on but with a coffee, good bread and wine (they sell 50 cl carafes starting at 14 E) my bill was 47.50 E.

Go? This is the real thing, why we test to "undiscovered" places and Colette and I will be back soon.  If you want a "proper" bistrot, this is it.

Turner at the Grand Palais: Rush right on over.

I thought with the opening of the Clore aka Turner wing at the Tate 1987, I'd seen it all.  Wrong again.

This show is a blockbuster that deserves the overused moniker but funnily enough, because of the huge size of Turner's works, it's not exhausting to go through it at all.

I've had a theory about painters losing their eyesight when they get really old which explains to me the muddyness of Monet's work, the impressionisty look of late Titians and the use of dodges (such as cutouts) by Matisse.  But Turner was only 55 when he began to paint like the Turner we love - so classical examples of this Turner, such as the Snowstorm and Beach at Calais at Ebb-tide, were done with clear eyesight I suspect and intentionally impressionized.

Go?  If I could I'd give it more than my 3 Wows allow; it's glorious.

Le Restaurant in the 6th: Innovative and classical.

5.8 Le Restaurant, 42-44 rue d'Assas in the 6th, 01.45.44.44.44, closed Saturday lunch and Sunday night, has a lunch menu at 18 and a la carte 30-35 €.  I went today with my very discerning, oldest French friend and we were both pleasantly surprised.

She had the menu (which had gone from 16 to 18 since it opened 2 months ago) and started with the poached egg in a cream of chorizo which I thought was super; I had an interesting tartare of salmon, enlivened with chuncks of ripe avocado and chives.

Then she chose the haddock raviolis, which was really green ravioli slices topped with smoked haddock that was not too smoked or fishy and I had a shoulder of falling off the fork lamb (mutton really) in a croustillant crust with a great sauce that combined with the mashed potatoes "made" the dish. 

The desserts were also good; a mousse of mascarpone and pear with sweet-salty caramel

With a bottle of Bordeaux and two coffees our bill was 86.00E

Go? Definitely.

Munch at the Pinacotheque : the unScream.

The purpose of the show of Edvard Munch at the Pinacotheque in Paris, subtitled "The Anti-Scream," is clearly to show that he painted more than the "Scream" and it does this very well.

I sat down with a biography of his and my notes on where I thought his paintings fit and by golly, they don't.  For instance, his sister, whose death supposedly haunted him for years, died just before his most representational period (1881-1891) and his father's death was followed by his impressionist phase (1891-1896). 

The creepy stuff doesn't show up til 1896 and the fantastic art 'til 1902 and his nervous breakdown (later with delusions) wasn't until 1902.  By then you'd think he'd be painting bonkers-type-stuff but no, his famous woodcuts are from 1919 and formal portraits 1916-1919.    In any case-

Three Wows!

Coinstot Vino in the 2d: Critics confused and I think I know why.

5.0 Coinstot vino, 26 bis Passage des Panoramas in the 2nd, 01.44.82.08.54, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, has a lunch formula at 12.50 2 courses) and 16 (3 courses), a la carte 25 €; wines 3.80-5 a glass and bottles starting at 16 € is termed a cave a manger and I guess it it.  It is run by the ex-Verre Vole guy and has wine bottles on the wall and in the vitrine.

To the critics: first, Yves Nespoulous of Le Fooding describes but doesn't judge the food, then Philippe Toinard of ANP says the dishes are well made and yet not new and finally Emmanuel Rubin of Figaroscope calls the lentils sad.  So everyone is pulling his punches but wants to laud the wines and prices.

I went today with a new friend who's been living here for only two years but sure has his finger on the pulse of Paris restos.  We both had our reservations too.

Instead of firsts of (what everybody agrees are) good products such as oysters, charcuterie and smoked andouille we stuck to the menu; he with a soup of pumpkin and parsnips and I with the herring with gravlax sauce - both acceptable, not great.

Then he had the canard parmentier that in the UK could have been called a pie; OK but the ratio of potato to duck was wrong; I had a pretty tasteless (before salt and pepper) joue de boeuf with an incredibly watery sauce mixed with pasta.

We finished with the chocolate and creme renversee and two glasses of wine from the ardoise; his not a good fit, mine OK.

With two (actually comp'd to three) coffees the bill was 69.50 E.

Go?  For the wine and oysters, etc yes; for the plats, I'm not so sure.

 

Last Station & It's complicated: What a difference a director makes. Cinema Saturdays.

With the Last Station and It's Complicated the viewer can really understand the difference a good director and script make, even with superb actors.

Both films have wonderful actors at the heights of their careers - Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer and Paul Giamatti in the former and Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin (who along with William Hurt and Sam Waterston is one of the most underappreciated actors living) in the latter.  But whereas Nancy Meyers gets the best from her crew, Michael Hoffman wastes his talented cast.

Of course the cynical point out that Hoffman's cv is a bit threadbare, including such films as Soapdish, One Fine Day and A Midsummer Night's Dream whereas Meyers is known for two Father Knows Bests. 

But both wrote the screenplays and bear that responsibility as well.  Oh, and the Merchant-Ivoryesque tone Hoffman seeks is ruined by the stagy background of noble Russian peasants going about their labors.

The real French-Parisian bistro of the moment.

Americans, indeed probably all visitors, want to know what is the real genuine guaranteed bistro of the moment.  When I use the word bistro in my blog, my hits go off the chart (better than sexual anatomical words, go figure!)

I’ve already declared that l’Ami Jean was the “ideal French bistro” for Americans, that l’Ami Louis was, while 30 years behind the 8-ball, the preferred place for Anglophiles, that the Cartouche Café was the Perfect Bistro of 2009 and Le Petit Marguery the perfect restaurant (masquerading as a bistro of yore).

Unfortunately, these four places are the prime example of the question – “What is a bistrot?”   In some godforsaken American towns the term is meaningless as I suppose the original hurry-hurry, быстро-быстро was in Russian. 

To fudge matters more, my food-God Sebastien Demorand coined the phrase bistronomique or gastro-bistro that along with traditional bistro, bistrot bistro and neo-bistro now haunts the categories places are labeled as.

Even here, many confuse bistros with restos with brasseries with just plain old bar-café dumps.  So I’ll avoid the definitional question for the moment and concentrate on some bistros of the moment.

Just this week I was at three places I’m sure in the next Pudlo will merit the term but they were totally different but totally genuine.

First, was 23 Clauzel in the 9^th whose bistro claim may well be secondary to its cheapness, 3 courses for 18.50 €.  But my friend and I ate rather well for very little and his brochettes of salmon and my carrot, leek and potato soup (with what I swear were peas too) were bistro fare if ever there is/was such.  Likewise our mains of chicken and short ribs as well as “bistro” desserts of a chocolate gateau and floating island were emblematic.

Second, was a meal at a place that reeked bistro – Chez Grenouille also in the 9^th.  Another friend and I were regaled with items such as scrambled eggs with morrels and an onion soup gratinee; peasant food both, but great peasant food.  And our mains were not stretching into the higher socioeconomic classes either – a dark brown almost burnt pastry surrounding dark dark beef and triple dark sauce and sweetbreads in a creamy sauce with morels.  Finally here we had the baba au rhum made from a 150-year-old recipe – no nouvelle or minceur or molecular cuisine I dare say.  Most finally, came a Calvados the stuff of down and dirty bars in soggy-earthed Normandy.

Finally, third; does this food at L’Agrume in the 5^th sound like fancy-schmancy Palace hotel stuff, even tho the chef - Franck Marchesi-Grandi (great name huh? Remember it.) - is an ex-student of Alain Ducasse and Eric Ripert, no slouches they: A trio of starters -  shrimps with seaweed and ginger, sliced chicken with celery remoulade and a veloute of leeks with some infused olive oil. Or an echine de porc, the stuff the Lords threw away towards their lowly servants.  Only my dessert – a "soup" of grapefruit and basil would qualify as haute, but I needed some unbearable lightness of being at this point.  Oh and BTW, three courses here are all of 21 €.

So, what’s today’s lesson?  I guess that despite all the teeth-gnashing and envious-looking southwards at Las Rosas and west at Los Vegas, good bistro stuff is still happening in Paris and as far as I’m concerned you can keep your fluff and deconstructed gelatin washed down with unfiltered, unstable, bio wine.

The coordinates of these bistrots of the moment are:

Le 23 Clauzel

23, rue Clauzel in the 9^th (Metro: Trinite)

T: 01.48.78.74.40

Closed Sundays

Plate of the day = 10, 2-courses = 15 and 3 = 18.50 Euros, other menu is 34 E.

 

Chez Grenouille

52, rue Blanche in the 9^th (Metro: Trinite)

T: 01.42.81.34.07

Closed Saturday lunch and Sundays

Lunch menus at 15 and 25 and a 40 E carte but they’re cool about mix & matching

 

L'Agrume

15, rue des Fosses Saint-Marcel in the 5^th (Metro: St Marcel or Gobelins)

T: 01.43.31.86.48

Closed Sunday and Monday night

Daily special costing 11, lunch formula 16 and a la carte 35 €

Reviews of reviews: The Week of February 15th, 2010

Monday, in l’Express, Elvira Masson named as her resto under 30 E Les Tourelles in Le Rheu. In addition, Francois-Regis Gaudry had an article on Inaki Aizpitarte of Chateaubriand and his protégé Delphine Zampetti of the Café du 104 see just below.

In Le Fooding Tuesday, Yves Nespoulous reviewed the ex-Azpitarte-chef’d Le Café Cache du 104, 104, rue d’Aubervilles in the 19th, 01.42.05.38.40, closed Mondays, serving small dishes at reasonable prices (eg 12 E) such as a carpaccio of beets/avocado, salmon or beef tartare, smoked fish, apple/pear crumble or a pot of chocolate. They do have a lunch formula at 14, a plat du jour at 11 and wines by the glass for 3-5 €.

Tuesday, Philippe Toinard in ANP reviewed and gave 2/5 dots to Chez Catherine coordinates in the guidebooks, after the departure of Catherine (Guerraz) herself and replacement by Franck Paget who worked with her for three years and offers a single 37 E menu about which he is unenthusiastic because it has rumsteak and crepes with pears and chocolate sauce and the a la carte (49-78 E) scallops, chicken & pineapple; meanwhile his compatriot Jerome Berger gave 3/5 to the “cave a manger” Cointot Vino, coordinates given last week, charcuteries, terrines, andouille, pork belly and orange cake.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin’s “C’est nouveau” in Figaroscope reviewed and gave three hearts to Chez Grenouille, coordinates given before, where he commented on the head cheese, andouillette and baba. He gave the next three only one heart: the pizza place Greenpizz in the 9th, Coinstot Vino, coordinates given before, where he said the lentils that came with the andouillette were sad and the Café des Antiquaires, 12, rue de la Grange-Bateliere in the 9th, 01.48.00.99.92, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays where its elevated price (40 €) gets you overcooked sausage and lentils. Finally he awarded a busted heart to La Criee de Babylone, coordinates given before where “in brief, everything was useless.”

The “Dossier” by Colette Monsat was about counter-restaurants:
New ones
Charbon Rouge
Flottes O.trement
Le Concert de Cuisine
L’Agrume
Café Prunier
La Villa
Classic ones
Les Cocottes
Le Chiberta
Willi’s Wine Bar
Chez les Anges
And, Francois Simon, in his « Hache Menu » reviewed the Japanese Toyo in the 6th.

Wednesday as well, Marie Tatin in Paris Update reviewed Michel Del Burgo’s La Vieille, coordinates given before, where the food was good but the wait-staffing slow.

Thursday, in l’Express Francois-Regis Gaudry reviewed as his restaurant of the week Le Beguin, 2, rue du Cardinal-Mercier in the 9th, 01.42.81.58.20, costing about 25 E for soups and salads and also published and article on Cyril Lignac’s Le Cinqieme. Pierrick Jegu reviewed Les Petits Plats, 39, rue des Plantes in the 14th, 01.45.42.50.52, closed Sundays, lunch formula 15 and evening 32, a la carte 25-35 € for Aubracian fare such as terrines, supion-scallops-black rice and a chocolate mi-cuit and Yves Nespoulous covered Le Comptoir des Saveurs in Clermont-Ferrand.

Over the weekend, in Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp wrote about the Café Pleyel & Bread and Roses and John Talbott wrote an essay entitled “Always reserve, unless you dreviewed[/url] the Japanese Toyo in the 6th.

Wednesday as well, Marie Tatin in Paris Update reviewed Michel Del Burgo’s La Vieille, coordinates given before, where the food was good but the wait-staffing slow.

Thursday, in l’Express Francois-Regis Gaudry reviewed as his restaurant of the week Le Beguin, 2, rue du Cardinal-Mercier in the 9th, 01.42.81.58.20, costing about 25 E for soups and salads and also published and article on Cyril Lignac’s Le Cinqieme. Pierrick Jegu reviewed Les Petits Plats, 39, rue des Plantes in the 14th, 01.45.42.50.52, closed Sundays, lunch formula 15 and evening 32, a la carte 25-35 € for Aubracian fare such as terrines, supion-scallops-black rice and a chocolate mi-cuit and Yves Nespoulous covered Le Comptoir des Saveurs in Clermont-Ferrand.

Over the weekend, in Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp wrote about the Café Pleyel & Bread and Roses and John Talbott wrote an essay entitled “Always reserve, unless you don’t.”

Sunday in the New York Times Claudia Barbieri reported that Art Home, the glass resto in the air near the Palais de Tokyo would be travelling around France and maybe abroad after September.

Bocuse, marriages and food pleasure: an archival* essay.

Paul Bocuse, the “Pope” of French Cuisine, is quoted by Leo Fourneau in Bon Appétit, Messieurs, Paris, Editions Grasset, 2006, 260 pp. 16.90 €, as saying, very roughly translated, that “A couple, driving up from Lyon, who have just had a violent argument, cannot possibly appreciate their subsequent meal, no matter how good.”  Now, leaving aside the fact that this Pope has had several wives/mistresses and “close” female friends simultaneously and knows his women, I respectfully disagree.

Let me give an example.  Colette and I went to an incredible Slow Food aka 2007 Osterie d’Italia Restaurant Guide recommendation in Rome called Tram Tram a while back and on the way had a horrible fight about the usual – leaving our friends’ apartment late, arriving at the resto late and the best way to get there.  Both of us were pissed off, heated up and “off,” if not our feed, at least our moods.  Thus Bocusianwise, we should not have been able to fully appreciate our meal.  But, to the contrary, it was fabulous, inventive and warm.

What happened?  Well, after stumbling to find the place in the charming San Lorenzo quarter, we chanced upon it.  We entered and immediately realized that this place was special; full of students, professors, in-betweens, doctors and laborers.  We were ushered to our table and the very atmosphere of hustle and bustle, laughter and drinking, warmth and friendliness, melted any ill-will that had been generated between us outside the door.

We both really believe in the “When in Rome” strategy and we ordered what looked good on other the tables around us.  I started with fresh fried sardines that were simply, there’s no way around it – divine!  Then Colette had pasta with tiny diced swordfish bits, eggplant and tomato and I had a pasta with clams, a lot of pepper and pureed broccoli – both so totally different from what we’d ever had in Rome or elsewhere.  We then shared a main of giant shrimp and squid (roasted toasty crisp and crunchy) with potatoes (and rosemary) – moist and sweet, delicious and unusual.  The bill was 56 €.  As far as I was concerned, whoever reviewed this place for the Slow Food folks was spot on.  It embodied all the principles of the Slow Food movement, good seasonal product, honestly cooked food, pleasantly presented and justly priced. 

Irony of ironies, after this fabulous meal and on the way home, we had another bad spat, but it never altered the two-hour experience in the restaurant or our sharp, fond memories of it.

The moral, M. Bocuse: is that a cigar may not always be a cigar.

Our favorite (just 700 miles southeast):

 

Tram Tram

Via dei Reti 44/46 (no Metro nearby but a tram of course)

T: 06.49.04.16

Closed Mondays

A la carte 25-30 €.

 

*Originally published in June 2007.