5.5 Le Brasserie de l'Isle/ile St. Louis, 55, quai de Bourbon in the 4th (Metro: Cite or Pont-Marie), 01.43.54.02.59, closed Wednesdays, is a place you've been been by time out of mind, remember, at the point of the Island facing Notre Dame, the place with thousands of fellow travelers around it and in it. Sure you do, and so do I, from 1953, when it first opened and I first went by it, dewy-eyed and awe-struck.
So how did I and Paris' hottest chef find ourselves there on a blustery Sunday noon. Well, (1) It was Sunday noon, (2) All my comrades-in-arms had been invited by their new P.R. folks so I knew something was "up" and (3) It was Sunday noon. Now, I'm not sure I went in, in 1953 but I guarantee you, if I had, it would have looked exactly the same: checkered napkins, bustling waiters in black and whites and the noble front-room host in a suit and tie.
The menu is classic 1953 brasserie stuff, except for no oysters; I won't repeat it, but it had all the Golden Oldies. So sit back and let the good times roll. My eating partner had the leeks and I had the salad frisee with lardons, that I first had in 1953 I think for the first time at Aux Lyonnais - they were both just fine, but mine was Julot-sized and I gave up after 80%.
Then he pulled back from the liver English style thinking it might have a dusting of flour which would put him in a very bad humor, indeed, and went with the entrecote while I went full blast with the cassoulet which was the equivalent of those at the old/original Auberge Pyrenees-Cevennes, which was also a Les Pinceau portion.
For desserts; he had the Berthillon ices while I carried on with the classics; a millefeuille.
With a bottle of their fine wine of the month, two coffees and no bottled water, our bill was 104.80 E.
Go? If you want classic stuff, midst all the French folk let out of their retirement homes and all the folks clutching dictionaries in many languages and don't mind "Turkish" toilets, by all means - it's fun, as good as 1953 gets and reasonable enough.
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