6.4 En Vrac, 2, rue l'Olive (crnr Rue Riquet) in the 18th, 01.53.26.03.94, open 7/7, has been open 2 Metro stops from me for 2 years and i keep meaning to go, but..... Well, today, I need to install a new computer, get Freebox wifi and ethernet connected and reinstall software for my printer so I whined, until my friend the Silicon Valley computer whiz refugee gave in (maybe the promise of free grub did the trick). He had a Thanksgiving feast at 15h00, so I said "Hey come at 11, get it installed in twenty minutes and then waste an hour at this wine bar nearby 'til you have to go to get your stuffing stuffed.
I arrived about 11h55, walked right by En Vrac, a bit understated eh? An oyster-boy outside, located in a formerly crummy/crumby nabe that is becoming boboized, and after breathing in a paper bag, calmed down realizing that indeed this "was the place." It's kinda cool, 10 aluminum vats of wines from everywhere from the Loire to Alsace and racks of bottles. The comptoir is replete with pots of soup and potatoes cooking away, cheeses and desserts galore. Ahhhright!
The menu consists of said soup of the days, on weekdays a plat du jour and both stuff out of cans (sardines) and cooked (pig's feet). While we debated we had a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau (3 E, right), not much of a much ("horrible" my computer genius pal said his friends said) and a bottle of Costieres de Nimes (7.60 E + 6 E corkage).
The food: my friend had the smoked herring with said potatoes and rocket; I had the giant pig's foot with similar accompaniments; and we both shared a portion of St Nectaire and a "Savoie camembert-type cheese." Delicious all. Especially with the crusty bread I'm sure comes from one of the Best Bakers of the last Five Years who sell their wares a block aqway.
The bill, with no bottled water, but a bottle and a glass of wine and one coffee, was 43.60 E.
Go? Me, but not you desoite the fact that M. Thierry Poincin (ex-L'Estaminet) has a winner on his hands; the wine, the buzz and the boboisity is contagious and the dB level (85.3) manageable and best of all there are no "pesky Yankees" - "Metro Marx Dormoy, where on earth is that?"
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