5.7 Pamela Popo, named after yet another Serge Gainsbourg song, my that guy lives on, is at 15 rue Francois Miron in the 4th, 01.42.74.14.65, (Metro: St Paul) and is another place that keeps popping up time after time on various food critics' radars and keeps seeming unreachable on my "list." However, it's open 7/7 and I figured that when two other restos turned me down on the Halloween/All Saints/All Souls week of vacation for all the world save me and I'd promised my old pal V. aka Pierre45 I'd find a place for him and his two acquaintances who "wanted to meet me" it fit the bill.
One of the reviews I read described its decor as very New York lounge-ish; where these French guys get their ideas about what's New York-y escapes me; it's at best like a Chicago whorehouse waiting room (as I imagine them) with piped in awful loud American jazz-type music.
Both of us went with the raviolis stuffed with langoustines in a creamy cepes sauce with shaved carrots and green, was it cuke skin, on top? Delicious.
Then he had the navarin of lamb with potatoes which was quite good despite the fact that the wait-guy told me it was this year's lamb not 4-y.o. mutton (to which all I can reply is "Sheep lie") and I had another starter, the sauteed foie gras that walked that fine line between slightly sweet and treacly, and by me, was just what I needed on a nasty, rainy day in November.
Then my friend had the crumble of red fruits (which despite my dislike of crumbles, I found quite good) and I had a vanilla creme brulee that was OK, no more.
With a bottle and glass of wine, no bottled water, quite acceptable bread and one OK coffee, our bill was 86 E (you can figure on 26-40 E a la carte when not there normal weekdays for their 17 E lunch "menu.")
* Now, Buster, explain "Surprisingly good"? OK. First off, the 4th is a culinary desert save Colliot and Le Gaigne (I don't count l'Ambrosie and Benoit as serious restaurants for the populi.) And second, Sundays and Holy Days, all bets are off. So to find a place like this here, today, is an unexpected treat.
Anything wrong? Yah, my pal insisted I put I my review that the wine list was perilously tilted toward the unthinkably priced. And whatever happened to those two fans of mine?
Go? You bet.
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