John Talbott's Paris

Reviews of reviews: The Week of January 17th, 2011

Monday in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard gave 4/5 dots to the co-Glou-creator’s new place Jaja, 3, rue Ste-Croix in the 4th, 01.42.74.71.52, open 7/7 with 16 and 21 E formulas at lunch except weekends and 40 E a la carte; he singles out the charcuterie, chestnut and smoked bacon soup, foie gras and ox tail terrine, shellfish and linguine and veal piccata. Meanwhile, Jerome Berger reviewed the ex-Table de J.R., now called Les Tablettes, where himself has departed to open l’Atelier de l’Etoile au Publicis Drugstore and where now, the ex-Ducassian (Lasserre) Jean-Louis Nomicos has opened a half-pop/half-hightech place that 7/7 for 58 E at lunch serves an entrée, plat, cheese, dessert, water, wine & coffee; there are also menus for 80, 120 and 150 E ; dishes mentioned are foie gras and potato emulsion, foie gras and encornets, cod with artichokes, fresh goat cheese and a Grand Marnier soufflé. In the side-bar, along with the details of the musical chairs is a mini-review of the Maison Mere, coordinates given last week, emphasizing its hamburgers, fries and cheesecake as well as Mexican beer.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his five new restaurants in Figaroscope’s “Les nouveautes a la carte” thusly: he ranked three 2/4 hearts: the above-mentioned Jaja in the 4th, mentioning the same soup but a croustillante of pigs’ feet, a Jaja hotdog and St Marcellin; the aforementioned Le Pantruche in the 9th, where he commented on the oeuf mollet, tandoori cod and soufflé; and the Japanese Kura in the 16th. One heart each went to the “Khymer food” place Bayon in the 5th and the French but American-sounding Home in Paris, 17, ave de la Motte-Picquet in the 7th (not the 17th as published), 01.45.05.07.37, open 7/7, with a lunch menu for 17 and dinner for 23 and weekend brunch for 30 E, serving oeufs mimosa, tartare and vanilla millefeuille.

Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week by Colette Monsat, Alice Bosio, Alexandra Michot and Francois Simon was on financiers (the pastry not Madoffs), from 1-18, they were:
Hugo & Victor
Le Moulin de La Vierge
Le Ble Sucre + Gerald Mulot
Carette
Lenotre
Stephane Seco
Des Gateaux et du Pain + Laduree
Carl Marletti
Eric Kayser
Le Furet Tanrade
Au Panetier
Strohrer, Arnaud Delmontel + Le Quartier du Pain
Dominique Saibron
Laurent Duchene
And Francois Simon wrote a “Hache Menu” about one at Laduree.

Then Colette Monsat contributed to an article on where to go as a group, that included:
Tables d’Hotes
Afaria
Mama Shelter
Glou
Big rooms
Caffe dei Cioppi
Mini-Palais
Privatisable
Flottes
Aux Lyonnais
Other places involve museums, clubs, soirees and boats.

Thursday, in l’Express François-Régis Gaudry reviewed as his “address of the week” Le Dauphin, coordinates given before, Pierrick Jégu reviewed Casse Noix, ditto, as his restaurant under 30 E and Marie-Amal Bizalion did the same for the Drôle d'endroit, in Aix-en-P.

Saturday, in Le Figaro, Francois Simon in his “Croque Notes” interviewed Werner Kuchler of the Relais Plaza.

Sunday in the New York Times, Christine Muhlke reviewed Saturne, coordinates well known.

In Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp published articles on the Cafe Faubourg & Restaurant Astier covering Jeanne A. as well and on La Bauhinia, Restaurant Lounge in the Shangri-La Hotel.

John Talbott’s Restaurant Ratings* 2006-2011*

John Talbott’s Restaurant Ratings* 2006-2011*

9.0 Auberge des Saints Peres, in Aulnay sous Bois,
8.5 Le Violin d’Ingres
8.5 Spring/La Buvette
8.2 Chez Lena et Mimile (since downgraded alas)
8.0 Ze Kitchen Galerie
8.0 La Regalade St. Honore
8.0 Saturne
8.0 MBC
8.0 Les Autodidactes, in Levallois-Perret
8.0 Le Versance
8.0 yam'Tcha
8.0 l’Escarbille, in Meudon
8.0 l’Agassin

Zaytinya (D.C.) vs b Bistro (Baltimore): What a difference a day/city/meal makes during restaurant week.

Restaurant Week is a great idea; it began in NYC almost 20 years ago and has swept the USofA.  D.C. and Baltimore have theirs this same week and they are a pretty good bargain.

We ate lunch today at one of the Jose Andres/Thinkfood's six places - Zaytinya, where I've only been once before.  Normally, DC places offer lunch for $20.11 for a three-course fixed-price meal, but at Zaytinya, being a small plates/tapas place, it was four courses.  The wines were 35% off.  What can I say?  From start to finish every dish had bursts of flavors and herbs, whether salads, chicken, shrimp, salmon, ice cream or what was called a Turkish delight.  A great meal with no bottled water, one bottle of Macedonian wine, great bread and two coffees (comp'd after we engaged our genial host in a broad-ranging discussion of Thinkfood's next restaurant opening and where he should eat in Paris next month [Spring, Ze, Frenchie, Moustache, Casse Noix]) for $79.44 before tip.  Repeat?  Next year for sure.

On the other hand, closer to home, last nite we went to one of our and our youngest daughter's favorite places - the b Bistro - and the experience couldn't have been more different - 3-courses for $35.11, OK, it was dinner, service rather distracted (no discussion with a "responsible" there) and food, how shall I say? - strange-tasting (bouillabaisse and [I assume] truffle-sprayed sweetbreads), banal ("pressed" fat-encrusted rilettes, rolled smoked salmon things and a 3-cheese plate), badly prepared (over-toasted, maybe over-the-hill sweetbreads) and good (molten chocolate and ice cream but also the onion with the cheese was edible).  Here with no bottled water, a bottle of wine, alright bread with authentic green olive oil and no coffees, the bill was $106.24 before tip.

Conclusion: Restaurant week is a great idea, but......it all depends where.

Back to Boboville, an archival* essay.

Eons ago, or at least it seems that way, the Winter Olympics were in Albertville and I went to the nearest point where I could watch the Olympic torch pass by. It was a thrilling, eye-wetting experience to watch other runners carrying what must be the most globally recognizable symbol there is and I had all I could do to keep from joining them.

And where they came by or down, was the Canal St Martin, then (in 1992) a somewhat shabby area, gone to seed since the glory days of the Hotel du Nord and the film of the same name (1938) that featured Arletty, who also played Garance in Marcel Carne’s Enfants de Paradis. Now, what a difference fifteen years has made.

This last fall I went to eat at Garance (which I assume was named after Garance, Arletty’s role) on a weekend and was startled by the difference. Instead of grey buildings huddled over the canal, there were brightly colored boutiques lining it; instead of drab Hotels du Nord-lookalikes, there were freshly sandblasted facades; and instead of unwelcoming industrial blocks, there were welcoming paths and plants. (I’ve already written about that day above in an essay called “The new hot quarter – the 10th – update,” but it deserves yet another update.)

But most changed were the citizens. Whereas along that Olympic torch route, thousands of flabby spectators watched a small bunch of fit runners go by, that afternoon there were tons of runners, skaters, bikers and poussette-pushing joggers – all fit and raring to go.

Granted it was a sunny, warm fall afternoon, not a cold, drizzly evening, but it was as thrilling as the torch parade; except these were young mothers and fathers and their kids.

More recently**, Colette and I went, sharing equally good dishes – a tempura of squid and scallops, veal liver again, mesclun and fresh winter veggies, followed by a new digestif (for me) Manzana Verde (green apple). I’m not sure how much more highly rated I judged Garance because of the street scene, but it certainly was by itself, very, very good grub.

The moral of the story, today’s grubby area may be tomorrow’s hot new quartier.

**My last meal at Garance was 29 December, 2007, fully paid for.

My favorite then in Boboland, now shuttered, was:
Garance (no longer open)
96, quai de Jemmapes,10th, (Metro : Republique, Gare de l’Est)
T: 01.42.02.87.95
Closed Mondays
Lunch menu 18 €; a la carte 30-40

*Originally published in February 2008.

La Plancha in Maisons Laffitte: An archival* review.

1.0 La Plancha, 5, ave de St Germain in Maisons Laffitte (78) 01.39.12.03.75, closed Sunday and Tuesday nights and Wednesday. You know the dilemma: it’s Sunday morning and you’ve gotta eat; this place got 2 hearts a few weeks ago in Figaroscope and is near a nifty chateau – why not?

It’s jammed into a space almost lost amidst a pizza joint, creperie and cafes across from the RER A5, looks pretty nice inside and had a most interesting menu (a French twist to Spanish stuff). It’s got a 28 € menu and wines starting at 14 € for full bottles; although a la carte will run at least 50 €.

The amuse gueules were a good start; a tiny tasty pizzetta and a croquette of melted cheese and ham.

The wine was delivered promptly and promptly chilled. Good start, except for the fussy kid across the room.

First course: tapas gourmands: great display of gazpacho, fried eperlans, marinated sardines, brochettes of shrimp and peppers, and chorizo and manchego cheese – but the chef was not up to the task of actually cooking them. Some of my readers have suggested I provide more detail and less telegraphic criticism, so here goes: some of the eperlans were over the hill (e.g., fishy-smelling and old) and could not be improved with salt and the teeny slice of lemon provided; the sardines had no zip and were too cold; the gazpacho was as pallid as it was at Fish earlier this week {is there a message there?}; the chorizo did have salt, indeed too much, and was clearly industrial; and the shrimp was OK but the peppers again lacked character (I couldn’t help thinking that they were the exact contrary of Richard Gere’s great delivery of the Chicago song about that old dazzle-dazzle.)

Next course, a dorade royal cooked well but tasteless, whose accompaniments of spinach and mushroom couldn’t save the main product.

I’d ordered the “menu,” so I reluctantly ordered the dessert of chocolate mousse, caramel sauce with salt and coffee ice cream and while it didn’t redeem the meal, it certainly redeemed the husband-wife team who comprise the waiter and patisseur. The place gets extra points for the basil leaves in the finger bowl and cool curved-bottom carafes for the “young wines,” but loses points for the incredibly bad industrial bread and incredibly expensive and bad Segofredo coffee.

The bill = 42 €.

In contrast to Francois Simon’s query “Should one go?” I propose another - “Should one go even if you live upstairs?” Answer here – No! It’s horrible to say, but an enthusiastic staff just cannot overcome poor product and zestless cooking.

*Originally published in september 2006

Two Words this Wednesday: Upsell and special (bottle of wine.)

January 8-9's Wall Street Journal had an article by Lettie Teague entitled The Outrage of the Upsell.  In it she complains about two things that bug her when selecting wine in a resto: first, being coaxed by a sommeliere to buy a wine that was double the price (the upsell) and second, being told the suggested wine was "special."  She says beware of both which I certainly resonate with having written myself about this practice.

To counter-balence the bad rep sommeliers/sommelieres have however I would remind my gentle readers of he at the Elysees Vernet who when I ordered the cheapest visible ting on the wine list said "You've found a favorite of mine, I'm very proud of that wine, there's nothing on this list I don't heartily endorse."

Desperately seeking bistros.

A poster on another website was eager to find a bistro that was:
-moderately priced
-atmospheric
-old-school
-fireplace a plus.

Now, I’ve written before on bistros, brasseries and restaurants – What’s in a name?

But it seems to me that what visitors are seeking is a throw-back to their student days at the Sorbonne or their parents’ student days at the Sorbonne when the Left Bank cafés were pretty simple, reasonably-priced places that pushed out classic dishes like a magret de canard, green beans and better frites that we have now.

All the words the poster used have loaded and sometimes divergent meanings, as another sage pointed out.

What is moderately priced, say 30 E a meal before liquids, is expensive to a relative back-packing across Europe for a year and cheap to the Wall Street banker who’s back in the bonus game.

And an atmosphere that Colette and I prefer in a place where we can hear each other, have elbow room, drink in the décor with our eyes and be treated warmly and nicely may not be what my grand-kids think is cool, vibrant and full of pounding music nor my parents who sought table clothes, finger bowls and 15 silver utensils for one meal.

I’ve already addressed what is old-school; again I think old school is good, solid, classic stuff; whereas I think many think it’s what they were served in school or university cantines or others think has to have classic butter, flour, sugar and creamy sauces.

And then there’s the fireplace, which more and more these days seems artificial unless you’re in the country at Sunday lunch with families taking the old folks out.

Finally, while not discussed in the thread I’m referring to, the issue of ownership is an underlying, unstated subject. We seek out chef-owned places, even if SocGen or Credit Agricole are standing over the chef-owner’s shoulders and we mostly eschew the Costes, Blanc, Bertrand, Flo, yes, even Alain Ducasse’s empire outposts.

So what bistro combines moderately prices, atmosphere, old-school cooking and a fireplace? Got me.

Chez Georges, Chez Grenouille and La Regalade meet the atmosphere and old school requirements but customers are jammed together and Paul Bert and Repaire de Cartouche fail the fireplace test. Indeed no place I know except Guy Savoy and Robert & Louise have fireplaces anymore, so maybe that’s a lost cause.

On the other hand, they’ll do until something that meets all the criteria shows up:

Le Repaire de Cartouche
8 blvd des Filles du Calvaire, 11th (Metro : Filles du Calvaire)
T : 01.47.00.25.86
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Lunch menus 13 & 24 €, a la carte 35-45 €.

Bistrot Paul Bert
18, rue Paul Bert, 11th (Metro: Faidherbe-Chaligny)
T: 01.43.72.24.01
Closed Sunday and Mondays
Menu 16 (lunch), 30 €. (dinner)

Reviews of reviews: The Week of January 10th, 2011

Monday in A Nous Paris, two places got 3/5 dots: the ex-Eric Frechon trained chef at Pantruche, 3, rue Victor Masse in the 9th, 01.48.78.55.60, lunch formula 10, menu 32 E for items such as boeuf bourgignon, a blanquette de veau, farm pork and chocolate mousse and the afore-mentioned Monsieur le Prince, coordinates given, serving a salad of mache and beets, chicken cassolette, entrecote and a celemintine parfait.

In the Tuesday Le Fooding, Yves Nespoulous reviews a funnily-described New Yorkish place two steps from the Hotel Amour, La Maison Mere, 4, rue de Navarin in the 9th, 01.42.81.11.00, closed Mondays but open Sundays, where he had the leeks, bavette with anchovy sauce and 2 glasses of wine for 35 E. They also have burgers, Brooklyn pastrami & pickles, Long Island salmon and cheesecake.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his five new restaurants in Figaroscope’s “C’est nouveau in a strange manner: the highest ranked are first two, whom he gave 2/4 hearts to - l’Hedoniste in the 2nd, coordinates given before, where he commented on the confited beef raviolis, confit de canard and pear hot-cold and Le Casse Noix in the 15, coordinates also given before, where he liked the leeks, beef cheeks and pear Belle Helene. Then he have one heart/four to the other three: L’Epicuriste, 41, bd Pasteur in the 15th, 01,47.34.15.50, closed Sundays and Mondays, with 24 and 28 lunch menus and costing 34 E a la carte for game paté, tripes and pear clafoutis; La Terre, 31, rue Coquilliere in the 1st, 01.42.36.74.90, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, with a 14.50 lunch formula, menu at 18 and 25 E a la carte at dinner for celery-bacon soup, beef sautéed with pepper and a Baba; and the Lebanese Chez Nagi in the 7th.

Figaroscope’s “Dossier” this week by Colette Monsat, Alexandra Michot and Hugo de Saint Phalle dealt with the New Generation of snacks in epiceries/etc.:
Mio Padre
Terra Corsa
L'Oenosteria
Chez Elles
Jeanne A
Mamie Tevennec
Simone & Nicola
Le Siffleur de ballons
Le Panier de Zoé
D'Oliva (expanding)
And Francois Simon wrote a “Hache Menu” about getting his stuff at Monoprix St Michel.
Colette Monsat and Alexadra Michot also had an article on new codes of bistrots, specifically Le Dauphin + Saturne. If I “get it” they think in both (but I’m taking what follows largely from the comments about Saturne) noise is chic, the star is the product, slow cooking at low temperatures, lively herbs, natural wines, the décor is stark, less is more for cheese and dessert and the service is collective.

On Wednesday as well, Richard Hesse in Paris Update went to l’Epicuriste too and despite its location liked the “Space, lovely staff, good take on Bistro food.”

In Bonjour Paris, Margaret Kemp published as essay entitled “Alexandre Allard Chats and James Viaene Celebrates 40 Years at the British Embassy, Paris.”

 

What do Americans want? An archival* essay.

For 20 years or more, I’ve been keeping a list of restaurants I’ve found to be particularly good, new, inventive and often as yet not written up in the Anglo-Saxon guides or other publications.  My friends/colleagues/etc ask for the list each time they go and the only thing I ask in return is for them to report on their experiences.  The most dutiful couple of them actually telephone from the restaurant (I recall two calls from them, one from Chez Catherine, the other from Le Reminet, both in their prior incarnations, raving about the food).

But frequently, folks who were in Paris for a week, will report on only one or at most two, when there were maybe 20 on the list (7-8 top ones and then ideas for the weekends and Mondays, when finding places can be tricky.)  At first, I took it personally, and added a caution to my list – something to the effect that they should try one and if they liked it (and by inference, my taste) proceed.

 But often I got the following feedback:

“After we got out of the Louvre at 1 PM, we couldn’t walk a step more and just crumped at the nearest place nearby, I can’t remember its name.”

“Oh, we were so tired and jet-lagged that we fell asleep at 5 PM and only awoke at 10:30.”

“Oh gosh, we wanted a place near our hotel and found this terrific café – have you ever heard of it?”

But in looking back over these 20 years, I notice a pattern.  No one has ever gone to the two places outside the city, Les Magnolias in Le Pereux-sur-Marne and l’Escarbille in Meudon, that I think are superb, nor do many travel far from their hotels, museums and the city center.

So what do Americans want?  Freud of course famously asked rather rhetorically “What do women want,” never really answering his self-question, and maybe I’m in the same spot.  I always thought they wanted what I did: that is, superb, inventive, reasonably-priced French food, setting be damned, location be damned, décor be damned.   40 years ago, we’d taxi out to Le Pot Au Feu in Asnieres, drive across to Fredy Giradet’s in Crissiers or take a train to Reims for Les Crayeres.  But today, if I put pins in the map where my friends go, they’d cluster in the single digit arrondissements.

Which is way too bad.  Because, for instance, I’ve eaten recently at several places* located outside the tourist corridors; the best, in my opinion, is Le Clocher Periere, out to the North-West, far from normal metro traffic (on an RER to boot).  Then there’s this year’s Spring, called Le Bigarrade, again located in a non-frequented part of the 17^th, out where the Olympics would have been held if we’d won the nod.  And finally, there’s La Bulle, a place which has been around for a year but little reported-on, also in a strange place – in back of the Gares of the North and East.  All really follow Olivier Morteau’s famous formula for culinary success by locating in a culinary dessert, where rents are affordable, finding a talented chef and charging reasonable prices. 

But that’s not necessarily what Americans want.

*My last meals at Le Clocher Periere, Le Bigarrade and La Bulle were 28 December, 24 and 25 February, 2008, respectively, all fully paid for.

My favorites 10 minutes from the beaten path are:

 

Le Clocher Pereire

42, bvd Pereire 17^th, (Metro/RER: Pereire )

T: 01.44.40.04.15

Closed Saturdays and Sundays

Lunch menu 17, dinner 29 and 38, a la carte 35-50 €.

 

La Bigarrade

106, rue Nollet,17^th, (Metro: Brochant)

T: 01.42.26.01.02

Closed Saturday lunch and Sundays.

Menus at 45 (lunch) and 55 € (dinner)

 

La Bulle

48, rue Louis Blanc, 10^th, (Metro: Louis Blanc)

T: 01.40.37.34.51

Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday night

A la carte about 25-35 €

Le Violin d'Ingres in the 7th: an archival* review.

8.5 Le Violin d’Ingres, coordinates well-known, I know, I know, it’s not new, but it has a new 45 € menu-carte (announced in Les Echos last Friday) with 5-5-5 dishes and 4-4 specials.

Three of us, all committed food nuts, ate there this week and it was, in the words of one of us, “bloody wonderful.” Pure back to the future: by that I mean old classic dishes brought up to 2006 standards.

We started with a blini with salmon and caviar, a millefeuille with foie gras and ox tongue, and fois gras with a divine gelée – great start with a great white Graves with which my companions were celebrating; then a palombe with lentils that was pure heaven (I had that), a tete de veau and pied de porc (classic dishes that were cooked modernly to perfection) with a wonderful Pic St Loup; and ending up with two of us having a vanilla soufflé with an incredible salted-caramel sauce and the other poor thing suffering with raspberries with mascarpone.

I am too discrete to mention who else was there that day but they included one three star food critic, one two star chef and several not so bad other food folk (identified by the most branché of us).

The bill I cannot reveal because of my partners’ exuberance and indiscretion but for normal human beings, the addition would be, for a couple - 45x2=90+22=102 €. You gotta problem wi dat for a one star who is simultaneously running three glorious places?

*Originally published in September 2006