5.5 Le Galvacher, 64, ave des Ternes in the 17th, 01.45.74.16.66, open 7/7, is a place my dining companion had on her list to review for a guide book she's working on. I chose it from a list of 10 places I hadn't eaten at she'd given me, because it's been in the back of my mind to go for a while and translates into ox or cow drover, which sounded pretty meaty to me.
Midway through the meal she said - "I've got to work, what do you think of the decor?" "Pretty dismal" said I. "Yup, I agree." And the welcome (acceuil), wait for food, and service (for example, our wait guy didn't know the specials on the lunch "menu" which was plastered all over the exterior, but I couldn't recall all of). But she said, "all that doesn't matter if a meat place produces great meat, let's withold judgement."
So after regarding the carte, this sophistocated TV star/guidebook/cookbook writer who knows more about food than Herve This and Ferran Adrian and Thomas Keller put head to toe says "I'll have the escargots." I felt less stupid ordering the classic French onion soup - "what the hell," I said "it's a gamble." "But," she said, "if this place has it on the menu, it's got to be good." Well it was, very good, bringing back memories of Les Halles in 1953. And her snails were OK, although light or indeed absent the garlic, but with added sorrel - a nice touch.
As soon as we put our utensils down - the beef arrived - in her case the faux filet with Bearnaise sauce, in mine, the heart of rumsteak with pepper sauce; both blue and coming with tons of pretty-crisp frites. The meat was cold, the frites equally so, but who cares; the beef was of extraordinary quality.
We both had a hard time finishing our meat and had no room for any dessert from the list that looked like fungible brasserie type stuff and lots of cheeses listed but none visable.
Our bill, with no bottled water but a nice bottle of Fitou (she, the wine maven, noted that their markups were minimal), average bread and decent coffee (Papousian) was 86.20 E. (BTW the lunch "menu", forced 2/2/2 choices, with a glass of wine and coffee, was 20 E). Pretty good, eh?
Go back? When in the meat mode, for sure.
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