6.5 Les Coulisses Vintage, 19, N.D. de Lorette in the 9th, 01.45.26.46.46, closed Saturdays and Sunday nights, (Metro: N.D. de Lorette) is a place that crept in on little cat feet (ack Carl Sandburg, sorry, it's the English major in me) back in Setember 9 months ago. It was only when I read that Claude Lebey had named it a "palmeres 2011" and Alexander Lobrano rather liked it, that I took notice.
I reserved in my real name, not my dead brother's, a mistake? Maybe. But I was outed from the start and the fact that I was eating with a far more famous person didn't count; we got comp'd to wine, prosciutto and visited every 5 minutes by the wonderful owner and chef - "it's nice to be the king."
The menu is a combination of ambitious and predictable; 4-5 salads with stuff like pigeon, foie gras and Caesar; beef but sturgeon, eel and ceviche. They clearly advertise that they do not only serve regular meals but ones before and after theater performances.
My friend started out with the eel and foie gras terrine-like-thing with white asparagus a la milanese, aka sprinkled parmesan-dust with a sherry chutney (mostada xeres), sound complicated enough for you?: and I had the tuna ceviche with green kiwi-looking but raddish tasting slices and white asparagus - both were classic dishes, but updated and with modern products. At this point my companion, who knows his way around a kitchen said "This is really interesting food."
Then he had the special of the day, which the chef had carefully explained to me was not the usual vitello tonnato, and indeed, it was not, it was decontructed to 5-6 slices of nicely cooked warm/hot veal with slices of variably-colored-tomato and capers and a tuna-assisted white sauce and I had that chunk of duck - simple yes? Well yes, but great product, beautifully cooked, accompanied by butchers' potatoes cooked with black bacon (BTW the menu/carte is in French and English). My friend said "This is really, really interesting food."
We both wanted the chocolate mousse, me in part because I'd read the review in the door that said it was the best mousse the reviewer had ever had, he because he has good sense, but he also wanted the strawberries "Anais" (turns out they come from a grower well-liked by the house). Again both were terrific. At this point he says "I'm coming back." I'm not sure I've ever heard that from him. Wow.
The bill with all the comp'ing, no bottled water, two dinners of three courses and a bottle of their wine (39.50 each for that) and two coffees was 84 E.
Go? I chatted them up and Colette and I will be back soon.
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