John Talbott's Paris

Reviews of reviews: The week of January 16th, 2012

Tuesday, in Le Fooding, Yves Nespoulous reviewed the restaurant Au Vide-Gousset, 1, rue Vide-Gousset in the 2nd, 01.42.60.02.78, closed Sundays running one only 15 E for sandwiches with Ospital charcuterie, veggies, chorizo and ham and « New York cheesecake. »

Tuesday as well, Philippe Toinard in A Nous Paris, reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to Antoine Heerah’s third place (after Le Chamarre & Moulin de la Galette) on the Mont – Au Clocher de Montmartre, 10 rue Lamarck in the 18th, 01.42.64.90.23, open 7/7 serving eclectic stuff (eggs, noodles, langoustines, Paris-Brest) in an old haunt with an eclectic decor for about 35 E ; meanwhile his compatriot, Jerome Berger reviewed the burgermania at Blend Hamburger Gourmet in the 2nd. (2 dots)

On Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed only 4 places this week (instead of 5), giving two hearts to two – L’Escargot 1903, 18, rue Charles-Lorilleux in Puteau (walking distance from the esplanade at La Defense), 01.45.75.03.66, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays, offering a 37 E menu and a la carte 45-50 E for items such as scallops, beef with mashed potatoes and a St-Honore; and the Asiatically-inclined l’Escient, 28, rue Poncelet in the 17th, 09.66.92.49.13, closed Sunday lunch and Monday dinner, with menus at 25 (lunch), 35 and 45 E for a beef maki, lacquered pork and tiramisu. One heart each went to the “burgerisation” center Blend and the neither bad nor good Louvre Bouteille, 148-150 rue St Honore in the 1st, 01.73.54.44.44, closed Sundays, with menus at 26 and 33 E for chestnut soup, tournedos and apple tart.

In Figaro this week as well, Francois Simon took over part of page 1 of the “Figaro et Vous” section and the food section in Figaroscope to discuss whether Paris was still the center of the food universe, using seven foreign writers as foils  While largely laudatory, there were occasional surprises – as when Ken Hom stated that Japanese food was better in New York, Chinese food in London approached that found in Hong Kong and Thai better in Sydney & LA. He also wrote of the 10 restaurants the world likes Paris for:
Pierre Gagnaire
L’Astrance
Alain Passard l’Arpege
La Tour d’Argent
Le Chateaubriand
Le Jules Verne
Le Baratin
L’Ami Louis
Le Flore
Le Petit Vendome

His Hache Menu dealt with Le Cherche Midi and I suspect readers will remember the subtitle “We’re closed” told him at 7:57 PM, rather than his statements that its reputation, products, clientele, etc., were impeccable, serious and well priced.

In place of Saturday’s Croque Notes in Le Figaro, Francois Simon teamed up with Emmanuel Rubin on an article on the 2012 France Michelin Red Guide, noting that the web edition will allow comments from diners of their experiences and replies from restaurateurs. They also give several pluses and minuses: Good; The Bib Gourmands, the global view and the test of time; Bad: its lateness, opaque methods, hieroglyphic writing and sacred cow chefs.

Saturday, in the JDD, Aurelie Chaigneau rated Albion a 7/10, Caius a 7.5 and Juji Ya a 4.5 while in its version femina, Astrid T’Serclaes wrote that the food at the Taverne de Zhao was astonishing.

During the week, in l’Express, Francois-Regis Gaudry wrote up La Coloniale, 25, rue Mazarine in the 6th, costing 25-50 € and Julie Gerbet in anticipation of Chinese New Year’s republished her assessment of the best Chinese places in the 13th:
Les Delices du Shandong
Lao Lane Xang 2
Imperial Choisy
La Nouvelle Mer de Chine
Tricotin 2
Pho Bida

 

Mirama in the 5th: All you could want in a Sino-French restaurant in a gastronomic wasteland.

5.1 Le Restaurant Mirama, 17, rue Saint Jacques in the 5th, 01.43.29.66.58 (but don't bother, they don't take reservations,) open 7/7, 12-23h00 without interruption, is situated in a culinary dessert amidt all the cheapo kebab/etc., shops east of St Michel.

How did I find myself there with 3 others who are food-driven folks?  Easy.  We'd all "won" a lottery for tickets to ParisdesChefs: Food+Design (no spaces thank you) held by Paris by Mouth's Magnificent Meg Zimbeck and after a short spin through the world of Kitchen Aid, knives, about to be food demos by the likes of Bertrand Grebaut (Septime) and Yannick Alleno (Le Meurice) as well as music by Wynton Marsalis, needed a place to lunch at.

The window of this place that looks all the world like a narrow boxcar, tells you that you've arrived at a place that takes its lacquered duck seriously, and after a wonderful wonton soup with thin noodles

we moved on to it as well as (clockwise) beef with thick noodles and vegetables shown with some tofu stuffed with shrimp and broccolini; all adequately spicy for most patrons but even better for two of us, with the bit more from one of two hot pepper sauces.

With 50 cl of red wine, two Cokes, tea, one rice and no coffees, our bill for 4 was 75.70 E, thus 37.85 E a couple.

Go?  If caught in this Bermuda triangle, you bet, but go early because our expert said that by 1-2 PM there'd be a line out front (even by close to 13h00, the 30 more seats downstairs that were fully occupied).

Geneva: Maison de Coree & Cafe de la Gare: Safe if not exciting bets.

La Maison de Coree in Geneva - The night I arrived in Geneva to visit a dear friend, he suggested: a Portuguese and a Korean place.  With memories of a fantastic meal at a nouvelle Korean cuisine place in Toronto, the Korean Village, I swiftly chose that.

Looking at the portions as they arrived at neighboring tables, chockfull of Asian and melanged families, we wisely chose one dish each to share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was called pork kimchi arrived with plenty of accompaniments (kimchi, seaweed, rice and pickled stuff); while the shrimp with vegetables was pretty straightforward.   For me, they didn’t have the heft of traditional restaurats nor the finesse of Toronto's Korean Village.

Our bill, with a bottle of wine and no bottled water or coffees, was 104 SF.

Go back?  I'm not so sure.

La Cafe de la Gare in Geneva.  The following day I wanted to "do" lunch at a place near the station, as I had a train back to Paris quite early and I'm always anxious not to miss such.  My host said "let’s go to the Café Central or Relais d’Entrecote" and I pleaded that they were too far from the station (however, the truth was that he likes them and I'm just lukewarm).  "OK," he said, "there’s a café just near your train track; not good, not bad."  "OK."

Slight diversion for a recounting of a piece of street theater: as we walked through the tunnel from the south side of the Cornavin Geneva SCNF/CFF Station where we'd parked the car to the north side, my buddy said "would you like to get a paper for the train?," we diverted into the Presse and on exiting, I noted two guys hanging around the entrance/exit to/from French trains who raised the hairs on my neck; they were up to no good, and indeed they were in back of us, ahead of us,then in back again and one tapped me on the shoulder as we mounted the steps to the Cafe and I shook him off and sped up.  A few minutes later two waiters said "You just missed getting your pockets picked, we chased them away, they're here every day, and make their money this way."  So much for the vaunted Swiss Army, police and Security forces.

 

OK, back to my topic; I said my friend had said that this place was "not good, not bad." Well, it was much more than that, it was quite good for rush-rush food.  He ordered a green salad and fish soup (with croutons, rouille & cheese, of course) and I had a dozen fried local Lake Geneva perch with a huge green salad.   I thought his soup was one of the best ever but my perch were overcooked but not crisp on the exterior, they were stuck in the "no man’s land" between lightly/undercooked/fleshy and crisply fried.  Too bad, because they were good product.

Our bill with a ½ bottle of local rosé, one Coke and one coffee was unknown to me, since he insisted on picking it up while I dashed off to the train.

Go back?  Yup.

Le Petit Marcel; Pretty good Metro food for Metro food.

5.0 Le Petit Marcel, 65, rue Rambuteau, barely in the 4th, 01.48.87.10.20, open 7/7, is a place you and I have passed thousands of times and never "seen."  It looks like a thousand other fungible decked-out-in-red places that call themselves brasseries/bistros/bistros a vin/cafe's etc.  It was on my "list" because of something new - a new chef, a new owner, a new awning, cash register, bannister, I don't recall.

I had to go to Geneva from the Gare de Lyon on a Saturday and I’d wanted to eat with two of my best new friends; one of whom was imprisoned in a French language program that tied him up weekdays at lunch but who responded to my first suggestion with an email saying “is this a John Talbott quality place?”  “Come up with something better”, I said, ‘that is accessible to the GdL, open on Saturday and I have never been to.  Silence.

So it was that we found ourselves at the Petit Marcel.  The menu/carte at 15.90 E for two dishes on the blackboard was fine for me and they.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of us started with the eggs and chevre while I struggled with the classic escargots (a safe bet huh?).  Both were better than average, indeed pretty good for a place totally full of tourists, albeit all Francophones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains, J. was the "odd man out” choosing a pathetic lasagna, dangerous to order in any country except Italy, exception made for Colette’s version of Ed Giobbi's; and the other two of us had the (again safe to order) confit de canard with fine fried chunky potatoes. 

They both recused themselves from dessert, pleading a slow recovery from a heavy dinner the night before but I went ahead with the tart tatin flambee, once again, a safe bet – and indeed it was and good.

Our bill, with 46 cl of red, soft drinks, coffees and pathetic bread was 82.40 E; thus 55 E a couple.

Go?  Wad’d’ya’expect for 15.90 E?  Pierre Gagnaire?  Best prix/qualité of the year.

Le Clocher de Montmartre: What's in the water way up here?

6.0 Le Clocher de Montmartre, 10 rue Lamarck in the 18th (No Metro but either the funicular and Montmartre bus will get you there), 01.42.64.90.23, open 7/7, is Antoine Heerah’s third place (after Le Chamarre & Moulin de la Galette, [neither of which I liked much]) and will become, I predict, the only restaurant over 100 meters on the Mont worth visiting in short order.  Everyone knows the water tower next to Sacre Coeur but nobody knows what they're putting in it these days to trickle down to the new superb places like Le Clocher, Sens Uniques and Lui... L'insolent.

I went with my favorite downstairs' French neighbor, who knew the place from its prior owner who was, with her, a member of either the Polish-French underground or the conductor of a group of elderly women singing songs either celebrating Montmartre's independance from Paris and France in 1871 or Montmartre's silly wine harvests.  In any case, she said its interior had been totally redone but they had preserved the La Boheme view of the city below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On reading the first review of it I'd seen I was wary of mixing hamburgers and langoustines, salads and eggs, tarts and soups, but in fact, while eclectic, the carte is pretty comprehensive.  My friend started with a salad with what was called fish from the ends of the world.  We had quite a discussion of where exactly drilling straight down from Montmartre would land you, Heerah hails from the l'île Maurice, but her dish had salmon, smoky halibut, eel, tuna and two kinds of fish eggs, so maybe it was just descriptive.  Oh yah, it was also terrific.  And I had wonderfully sauteed langoustines with a salad of great greens, both with a sweetish dressing but a very tart kumquat much beloved by my photo-frenzied friends David and Julot, to squeeze on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then she had a thin slice of veal's liver with pickled onions, apples (harvested a few months ago) and mashies, pretty damn good - and I had Roscoff onions from Brittany (harvested in late summer - hummm) stuffed with minced ox tail, accompanied by a dish of absolutely first class rice with an intriguing sauce - jasmine maybe?

I tempted fate by having the Paris-Brest again, afraid that after yesterday's this would be a let-down, but no, it held up the standard high.

With a bottle of Bordeaux, two coffees, decent but not great bread and nice little cookies, our bill without bottled water was 92 E.

Go?  A must for those climbing the hill.

Sens Uniques: A live one in a dead zone.

7.0 Sens Uniques, 44 rue Damremont in the 18th, 01.42.23.04.63, open 7/7, opened in mid-October to near-silence from the gastronomarati, except for Ruben's 2 hearts and Toinard's two dots.  No ringing endorsements those.

Why?  The location - in the "No Man's Land" between lines 2, 12 and 13? (although within steps are Virginie's Cheese, Delmontel 's bread and Lahrer's pastries); the name - One Way Streets, Only in Sens, Bad Smells, Unique Flavors?; or that it followed in the wake of Le Winch, which soared and spectacularly crashed and burned and despite Parigi's incantations might not have been able to revise its feng shui, karma or curse?

In any case, the owner or owners have done a terrific job at refashioning it, while keeping its seafood orientation.  It's bright, light and they smite you with a tremendous unexpected warm welcome.

There's an incredible nearly-forced-choice formula at lunch, 15 E for 2 dishes, 17.50 E for three but

there's also a multiple choice 30/35 E menu which I chose.

My first consisted of 10 noix de petoncles (with their coral) cooked on a plancha with a delicate but slightly sweet/slightly sour sauce with spinach leaves around a round of crab bits, picked off the little buggers; inventive, complimentarily flavored, subtle and sublime.  Plus it was topped off with microscopically thin threads of beets.

Then I had their bourride, which one always orders with a degree of anxiety due to lower-level places' habit of tossing into it everything that didn't sell yesterday - but no, this was well thought out and had piece of mild fish (monkfish like), a pink salmon trout-type one - both offset by a piece of fierce haddock - as well as beautiful sliced wild mushrooms, carrots, bok choi (I swear) and broccoli.  At first, I dodn't like the etrille (crab) sauce but as I progressed, I really did; however the revisionist rouille/aoili never grew on me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now as I've been hinting, ancient recipes here are tweaked a bit, so when I ordered the Paris-Brest, I was on my toes for a twist.  And by golly, it was different, it was succulent, it was satisfying and as long as I know my cardiologist doesn't read my blog, I'll say it was probably bad for me.   On the other hand, what isn't?

My bill, with 2 glasses of superb Loire Sauvignon, quite acceptable bread and terrific coffee with fine madeleines, was 47.50 E.

Problems John?  Yah, the bottles in back of the bar were too carefully lined up, indicating extreme care for details; but now that I think of it, care for details was their hallmark from the welcome, to the menus, prices, products and goodbyes.

Go?  Laidback - hie thee here and see if I'm lying.

Where do you eat when you’re working and in a hurry but want decent food?

A while back, we were eating at Neva Cuisine in the 8th and noted that the place was dominated by coat-and-tie folks who were clearly taking an hour lunch break and eating well and not dawdling. But during this hour, they were relaxed, talking and seeming to be having a great time and meal.

Two had platters of Iberian ham and cheeses, two had Argentinian steaks and others seemed to be having an assortment of items on the menu, sometimes with wine or water or Coke.

I said to Colette, I’ll bet there are many such places in town, but because we are in no rush, we don’t think about them much.

So I did a little research to see where office buildings might be clustered and dug up some ideas from the archives where folks can eat well but be back at their desks by 13h30.

1st
Les Fines Gueules
43, rue Croix des Petits Champs in the 1st, (Metro: Les Halles)
T:01.42.61.35.41,
Open everyday
Cost 40-60 E depending on the wine.

L'Ecume Saint-Honore
6 rue du Marche Saint Honore, 1st (Metro: Tuileries)
T : 01.42.61..93.87
Open Tuesday through Friday 8:30 A.M. to 2 P.M. and 4 to 7:30 P.M.; Saturday from 8:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M.; Sunday from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M.
Cost depends on the number and size of oysters.

2nd
L’Ecaille de la Fontaine
15, rue Gaillon, 2nd (Metro: Quatre-Septembre)
T: 01.47.42.02.99
Closed weekends
Menu: 19 €, A la Carte depends on the number of oysters, average 40 €.

7th
Le 122: Bistrot d'Hier et Aujourd'hui
122, rue de Grenelle in the 7th (Metro: Solferino)
T: 01.45.56.07.42
Closed weekends, open for lunch Mondays-Fridays, dinner weekdays except Thursday and has an "afterwork apero-dinatore" from 6:30-10 PM except Thursdays.
Lunch formula at 16,50, menu-carte at 35 and 20 €.

8th
Little B
11, rue Treilhard in the 8th (Metro: Miromesnil)
T: 01.45.63.40.47 (but no reservations; first come, first serve)
Open only for lunch weekdays
A la carte about 80 E.

Neva Cuisine
2 Rue de Berne in the 8th (Metro: Europe)
T: 01.45.22.18.91
Closed Saturday lunch and Sundays
Lunch menu, 29.50 for 2, 36 E for three courses, a la carte considerably more.

10th
La Bulle
48, rue Louis Blanc, 10th, (Metro: Louis Blanc)
T: 01.40.37.34.51
Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday night
A la carte about 25-35 €

12th
Cartouche Café
4, rue de Bercy, 12th (Metro: Cour St Emilion)
T: 01.40.19.09.95
Closed Saturday noon and Sundays
A la carte about 30 €

14th
Les Petits Plats
39, rue des Plantes in the 14th (Metro: Alesia)
T: 01.45.42.50.52
Closed Sundays
Lunch formula 15 and evening 32, a la carte 25-35 €.

15th
La Cave Edmond
10, rue Nicholas-Charlet, 15th (Metro: Pasteur)
T: 01.47.34.10.62
Closed Sundays and Mondays
A la carte from 20-40 € depending on wine.

16th
Aux Marches du Palais
5 rue Manutention, 16th (Metro : Iena)
T : 01.47.23.52.80
Closed weekends
Lunch menu 18 €, a la carte 45 €.

17th
Le Clocher Pereire
42, bvd Pereire 17th, (Metro: Pereire )
T: 01.44.40.04.15
Closed Saturdays and Sundays
Lunch menu 17, dinner 29 and 38, a la carte 35-50 €.

La Defense
Sorry you’re on your own, the best I can come up with is a couple tram stops away:
Pere Lapin
10, rue de Calvaire in Suresnes (92nd (T2 Suresnes)
T : 01.45.06.72.89
Closed Mon & Tues
Lunch menus 20 and 25 €, a la carte about 40 €

Reviews of reviews: The week of January 8th, 2012

Tuesday, Yves Nespoulous of Le Fooding, reviewed the vegan, biocool, tarts, salads, soups and smoothies place called MOB (Maimonode Of Brooklyn) in the 3^rd.

Tuesday as well,  Philippe Toinard in A Nous Paris, reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to Les Saisons which uses « biologique-biodynamic « products whose tastes are occasionally neuralized at 2, rue Lamartine in the 9th, 01.48.78.15.18, closed Sundays and Mondays, with lunch formulas at 15 and 20, a la carte 35 E, serving such items as sausages, a parsnip-chestnut soup, seafood mix, poitrine and cheese ; his colleague Jerome Berger reviewed the Japanese Walaku in the 7th. 

On Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual five places, giving two hearts to two – Chez la Vielle, coordinates well-known, with menus at 28 and 38 and a la carte 50 E, where the new Asian/Japanese chef prepares items such as chicken terrines, kidneys and cream of chestnuts; and Albion, coordinates given before, serving an oyster vichyssoise, cod and lemon dessert.  Three restaurants merited one heart: Black Turtle, 46, rue Croix des Petits Champs in the 1^st, 01.42.86.93.45, closed Sundays, formula at 25, a la carte 35 E for a salad of boudin noir, partridge and entrecote; the Italian Il Circulo in the 9^th; and Americanesque Livingstone Steak House in the 1^st. 

His colleagues in Figaroscope’s Dossier this week by Colette Monsat, Hugo de Saint Phalle, Anne-Charlotte De Langhe, Alexandra Michot and Francois Simon covered the « new » brunch places :
Les Pipelettes: 8,5/10
Simone & Nicola: 8/10
Le Floréal : 7,5/10
Point Bulles: 7/10
Môm: 7/10
Bioboa: 7/10
Nanashi: 6,5/10
Miss Terroir: 6/10
Le Brillat: 6/10
Le Petit Resto dans la prairie: 5,5/10
La Raffinerie: 4/10

Francois Simon visited the classic brasserie La Rotonde Montparnasse in the 6^th and says while pricy, it’s worth it, so go.

Pere Lapin in Suresnes: I'll be back. An archival* review.

6.0 Pere Lapin, 10, rue de Calvaire in Suresnes (Tram #2 to the Suresnes stop and climb the hill), 01.45.06.72.89, closed Mon & Tues, is sited on Mont Valerian just in front of the Park and while you’re technically outside Paris, it has that suburb yet city feel to it, much like nearby St Cloud/Boulogne-Billancourt, all of which were built in roughly the same styles and periods.

They have a 2-course lunch menu for 20€, 3 are 25€, which is forced choice but looked great, so I took it; it consisted of a magnificent veloute of lentils with tiny slivers of ham, croutons and mascarpone; two small paving stones of bland swordfish with a wonderfully-offsetting grapefruit and orange sauce that redeemed the bland fish, on top a pissaladiere; and three most excellent roast figs stuffed with minced almond accompanied by an ice of verveine.

This, plus a pichet of St Chinian and a coffee went for 40.50€. I went on a brilliantly sunny 70-77 degree F. afternoon and sat on the huge terrace and had a great time.

I’ll be back - oh, there was lots of fish on the carte as well, bespeaking confidence in his supplier(s). The crowd was a bit too nouveau riche and shirts for me, but hey, that’s the nabe.

By the way, an alternate way to go is the #244 bus from the Porte Maillot which goes straight thru and almost non-stop to Suresnes and took less time going back to “town” than the #1 Metro to La Defense and Tram #2 did to Suresnes.

*Originally published in September 2006.

FAQ. “What is the best restaurant in Paris?”

Wow, what a question.  And recently Francois Simon put it to himself and attempted to answer it in his Croque-Notes column of October 22^nd in Le Figaro. 

If one goes to the guidebooks, 

the Michelin’s list would be comprised of Ducasse, Bristol, Ledoyen, le Meurice & le Pre Catalan

G/M’s - Carre des Feuillants, Grand Vefour, l’Espadon, Apicius, Bistrol, Le Cinq, Ledoyen, Taillevent, Grande Cascade, Pre Catalan & Rostang 

Zagat’s - Taillevent, Le Cinq, Savoy, l’Astrance, Gagnaire, Ambrosie, Ducasse, Robuchon, Grand Vefour & Les Ambassadeurs

Lebey’s – l’Arpege, Ducasse & Le Cinq 

Pudlo’s – Le Meurice, Ducasse, Bristol, Taillevent 

Conclusion: Slam dunk for Ducasse, eh? 

Ah, not so fast.

But because of my intolerance for outrageous prices, family price-point and the demographic of my readers, I couldn’t disagree more.  (Let me state that I’ve eaten at all the above, at one point or another, so it’s not just sour grapes due to their habit of exploding my purse, because even when my buddies from the Oil Exporting countries treat me, these places don’t make the mark). 

So it will surprise you, perhaps, that Simon’s headline of his piece was, (my translation) "Le Baratin: Best restaurant in Paris?" 

And it will probably not surprise you that while I think Le Baratin is a fine place, when a dear French friend asked me yesterday “What’s your favorite place now, John”, none of the ones named above figured in my confidential answer to him, which I will share with you - pledging you to secrecy. 

I said “Well, for us (Colette is part of the equation, after all) our list would be something like this”: 

Ze Kitchen Galerie - most exciting, different and pleasant to return to. 

Spring – most inventive, consistently good, most French and most interactive with the clients. 

Le Repaire de Cartouche, Le Bistro Paul Bert – most “old shoe” into which to slip your foot. 

L’Ecallier de Bistrot, Atao – most seaworthy. 

L’Antre Amis, Le Casse Noix, Le Clarisse, Les Coulisses, Le Galopin, l’Hedonste, Septime - most newly entertaining. 

Kei, Qui Plume La Lune, Sola, Sot l’y Laisse - most revelatory how Japanese chefs can blow the roof off French food. 

So there you have it, loyal readers, another contrarian view.