5.75 La Grande Ourse, 9, rue Georges Sache in the 14th, 01.40.44.67.85, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays, is a find.
My friend John Whiting, the “King of Paris Bistros” would love it and would rap my knuckles for rating it with a number. Why? Because it (an apple) shouldn’t be judged against other places (the oranges).
It is what it is, a fantastically priced (2 course = 15 €, 3 = 18, a la carte 40 €,) neighborhood bistrot that cooks food to perfection but does relatively uncomplicated, reasonably priced fresh products quickly to order (I can only relate it to Roger Verge and Bernard Loiseau’s “cuisine a la minute” described so well in The Perfectionist. Thank you Felice.)
I had a composed salad of lettuce, ecrevisses, mango strips and rounds (called “chips”) of sweet potatoes that tasted like fresh carrots, I swear, that was quite refreshing on a 30° afternoon; then maigre (fish, trans = meagre, as if that helps) cooked toasty on its skin side on a bed of fennel confited with saffron and topped with caramelized soy (that I thought was balsamic); followed by a Fontainebleau (fromage blanc with mashed cherries on top and whipped cream on top of that – verrrry good.) (When I was offered that or a rice pudding, which I detest, I asked “the Fontainebleau, is it interesting or banal?” and the young waitress burst out laughing and immediately brought it.)
So why if I loved it so well, do I rate it mid-range? The schlep!
It’s nowhere, except right next to Severo + Bis de Severo, so maybe the 14th, not the 11th, is the happening place.
My bill, you’re not gunna believe this – 25.30 € - that’s with 25 cl of a terrific wine and a properly serréd coffee.
But conductrice Martine Alexandre and chef Yves Moulin (ex-hotel Montalembert + Fauchon have got a great little place on their hands.
My friend John Whiting, the “King of Paris Bistros” would love it and would rap my knuckles for rating it with a number. Why? Because it (an apple) shouldn’t be judged against other places (the oranges).
It is what it is, a fantastically priced (2 course = 15 €, 3 = 18, a la carte 40 €,) neighborhood bistrot that cooks food to perfection but does relatively uncomplicated, reasonably priced fresh products quickly to order (I can only relate it to Roger Verge and Bernard Loiseau’s “cuisine a la minute” described so well in The Perfectionist. Thank you Felice.)
I had a composed salad of lettuce, ecrevisses, mango strips and rounds (called “chips”) of sweet potatoes that tasted like fresh carrots, I swear, that was quite refreshing on a 30° afternoon; then maigre (fish, trans = meagre, as if that helps) cooked toasty on its skin side on a bed of fennel confited with saffron and topped with caramelized soy (that I thought was balsamic); followed by a Fontainebleau (fromage blanc with mashed cherries on top and whipped cream on top of that – verrrry good.) (When I was offered that or a rice pudding, which I detest, I asked “the Fontainebleau, is it interesting or banal?” and the young waitress burst out laughing and immediately brought it.)
So why if I loved it so well, do I rate it mid-range? The schlep!
It’s nowhere, except right next to Severo + Bis de Severo, so maybe the 14th, not the 11th, is the happening place.
My bill, you’re not gunna believe this – 25.30 € - that’s with 25 cl of a terrific wine and a properly serréd coffee.
But conductrice Martine Alexandre and chef Yves Moulin (ex-hotel Montalembert + Fauchon have got a great little place on their hands.
*Originally published in September 2006
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