The best and worst of French food

A few weeks ago Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope rated the MiniPalais, Saturne and Arnaud Daguin Au Café Pleyel as his three top-rated places that week (with Philou coming close behind) each meriting 3/3 hearts; the following week he said four places got his most unenthusiastic rating (1/3): La Table de Botzaris, Le Square Marcadet, Vingt Heures Vin and Modjo. How can it be that in this fabulous city, owners, investors and chefs open 5 places every week that are so wildly different? (PS And, you should know that I trust Rubin and the merry crew at Figaro/Figaroscope too).

Here are some thoughts.

Let’s take the best first – and I’ve taken the liberty of dropping Arnaud Daguin’s spin on the Café Pleyel for the restaurant named Philou because I think, for a rare instance, Rubin conflated their grades.

First, the best is clearly Saturne, where the wining combo from Les Racines has opened an edgy-looking but traditional tasting and exciting place in the 2nd a few weeks ago. While a semi-forced choice “menu” at lunch (I haven’t had dinner where supposedly it’s rigidly forced,) the choices were not only very different but all appealing-sounding. For starters the day we went, they consisted of a browned outside/raw inside white tuna with a thin leek and a subtle mushroom sauce and calamari with nicely coriander-dressed, incredible heirloom tomatoes and subtle eggplant sauce with a kick that the grilled skin added. For mains, we had the choice of cod with clams; a chunk of nicely cooked pintade or a wonderful, properly undercooked (without asking) thick lamb chop - the latter two accompanied by various greatly sourced and perfectly cooked veggies (the carrots and beets striking me the most forcefully); and for dessert we had three aged cheeses: a nutty gouda, tasty comte and thinly-shaved hard Normand one and a mound of chocolate, caramel and milk mousse concoction that was very, very good. With a bottle of bio/natural/etc wine and coffees, our bill was 96 E.

Then the Mini Palais, where the influence of Eric Frechon on the kitchen is clear. Again the setting was great but the cooking greater. For firsts here another food-knowledgeable person and I started with a clafoutis of cepes and what were called snails with tomatoes (and roasted garlic) both of which were the stuff of three star kitchens, which Frechon is from of course; our seconds consisted of a tempura of gambas and a friture of merlan with a lovely tartare sauce and (herbed) chips, that were the only disappointing things this meal; and the finishers waincluded one of the best desserts of the year which was called a sabayon (semi-freddo/mousse/ice sort of) with chocolate and beurre sale caramel - heaven. Again with a bottle of wine and coffees, our bill came to 92 E.

Finally, passing over Arnaud Daguin Au Café Pleyel, we come to Philou, which, while it doesn’t come with the pedigree of the first two mentioned, very much holds its own. Here for instance, the firsts ordered were a pumpkin soup and cepes sauteed in fine olive oil on a bed of lovely greens, green beans and nuts; seconds were a leg of lamb which I, a leg of lamb expert, thought was the best I'd had in years (albeit not raw and dripping blood as I prefer) and the perdreaux rouge with cabbage and other veggies that were sublime; finals here included a classic baba, which I loved. How about 76.00 E with good bread, no bottled water, two coffees and two supplements.

Now to the worst? La Table de Botzaris, Le Square Marcadet, Vingt Heures Vin and Modjo? I dunno. You think I’d go to restos Rubin says are stinkers?

But I did go to another of his top places (before he’d written Arnaud Daguin Au Café Pleyel up). I’d had  it on my list since summer and took two trusted-palated friends and we bombed, or I guess they did. It again comes with a fine pedigree - Arnaud Dauguin (son of Andre of the Hotel de France in Auch and brother of Ariane of D'Artagnan fame in NYC/New Jersey is someone we’ve followed since the 1970’s. But his team’s firsts were simply not great and the mains way too dry and over-cooked. Here, I have no idea what the bill was because my friends were probably too horrified by my choice to share the addition.

The restos discussed here are :

Saturne
17 rue Notre Dame des Victoires in the 2nd, (Metro: Bourse)
T: 01.42.60.31.90
Closed weekends
Lunch menu 35 €, dinner, 37 € for 4 courses, 59 € for 6 courses

Le MiniPalais
Grand Palais (SE crnr), ave Winston Churchill in the 8th, (Metro: Champs-Elysees Clemenceau
T: 01.42.56.42.42
Open 7/7
Lunch formula 28 €, a la carte 40 €