6.5 Pottoka, 4, rue de l'Exhibition in the 7th, 01.45.51.88.38 (Bus #80), closed Sundays, has been open since June 23rd, my charming Italian-born waitress informed me, and has already gathered praise and custom. Everyone probably knows by now that it is a Basque meat-oriented around-the-corner off-shoot of the seafood-oriented Fables de la Fontaine, itself originally an off-shoot of Christian Constant's just plain good food-oriented Violon d'Ingres, sold less than a decade ago by himself to two of his loyal aides from the Violin- Sébastien Gravé (a Basque chef) and David Bottreau (front-room master). It's named for an endangered Basque pony, why? You'll have to ask them.
It's got a really sharp, clean, edgy decor albeit with jammed-together ftables and an uncomplicated carte and 17 E 2-course and 22 E 3-course "menus" (which today includeda layered tarte of potato, boudin noir and salad, pork shoulder, avocado salad and cauliflower and "soup" of apricots and coconut.) I wanted the highly praised charcuterie, however, and went with the carte (about 30-50 E).
I started with the Basque (Ibaïona) charcuterie rather than that from Spain (Iberique); it seemed only right - delicate, light ham, 2 types of sausage of varying spiciness and the famed boudin noir, which went on the terrifically crusted bread like it was made for it. With the cornichons and peppers one had about as good a starter as could be hoped for. Then I had the axoa (veal, too many potatoes for me, onions, peppers and Espelette from Ezpeleta) which was cooked in a traditional casserole with an untraditional pastry crust. And unable to contain myself, I then had, after the longest wait of the year, what may have been the best dessert of the year, a gateau Basque with ice cream on crumble and a strawberry coulis - I could not finish it but couldn't envision their throwing it away, so threw myself on their mercy and got a Tupperwaresque container to apport it home.
The bill with that great bread, decent coffee and a nice wine (by the glass, 25, 50 and 75 cls) was 53.80 E; over my price point, but hey, I have breakfast tmrw to look forward to.
Go? Fast folks; this is exactly the sort of place the New York TimesLRRP's (look it up), Seth Sherwood, Mark Bittman, Alexander Lobrano, et al, love and once they write it up, faggedaboudid.
Coda:
Paradoxical street scenes: In front of the Romanian Embassy, very obviously pregnant lady smoking and Muslamic woman covered hair to thumb with a French au pair.
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