L'Office (version 4.0) in the 9th: Luckily Charles Campagnon didn't try to fix what wasn't broke.

6.7 L'Office, 3 Rue Richer in the 9th, 01.47.70.67.31, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, is a place that just keeps getting better and better.  You'll recall the history: Frenchie Marchand's BIL Nicolas Scheidt opened it in May 2007 to pretty good applause (5.0/10 from me), then Charles Campagnon, ex everyplace (Costes, James Beard, Lily Wang) bought it and brought in the much loved and heralded Kevin O'Donnell ex Del Posto and other venues) and I thought in October 2011 that it had climbed to a 5.7; now, after Kevin's depart for SE NE, one Youssouki Yamaji (my partner's spelling), ex Bocuse, Piege, Barbot, etc is in the cuisine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My partner started off with slices of perfectly ripe avocado, cool crab and a lime sauce and I had a mound of encornets with parmesan and a nicely piquant sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then she had a yellow lieu which was sauteed in a shredded wheat looking batter with broccoli, petit pois and other seasonal veggies and I had the chicken with heirloom tomatoes and an anchovie-infused sauce.  At this point I should mention that the chef and, for all I know the owner, are fierce advocates of fresh, local, beautiful products, a wall of which is evident when one visits the newly-refurbished cuisine (under Scheidt it had one frigo and one oven and O'Donnell was covered with sweat from the blast-furnace-like temperatures; no more, Campagnon proudly showed off his glistening ventilation system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At some point Campagnon was chatting to us about the cheese he had acquired, insisting that this was the best of the year.  So we had the St. Nectaire, Conte and blue and with the great bread and fine wine were not disappointed.

Finally he served us Ethiopian coffee which he spent as much time and verbiage describing as others do wines and it too was way above average.

For all the above, the tarif was 83 E and we left very happy campers.

Go?  Please do.

Comments

[Carol]

welcome back! We sure missed reading your Paris reviews.

[John Talbott]

Thank you, but I (imitating the French) get out of town from July 14-15 every year til the rentree.

[Jim Hutchinson]

This is good news as we thought l'Office was nearly unbeatable for the price before the change and were a little nervous about the new kitchen staff. See you soon.