John Talbott's Paris

Le Bon Georges in the 9th: Thank you Mr Lobrano, you really picked a winner here.

7.2 (my companion said 6/10) Le Bon Georges, 45 Rue Saint Georges in the 9th, 01.48.78.40.30, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays (Metro: duh St Georges) opened a while back and Alexander Lobrano (of Hungry for Paris fame) tweeted a quick message ("Nice new little neughborhood [sic] place with amazing beef from #Polmard") and that convinced me to go right away.  I approached and it looked like a really cool, really old, really friendly joint, with a door advertising beef, beef and more beef and my heart sank - "What will Colette do?" - but no, once inside, the offerings on an even bigger tile wall included a veggie soup, scallops, two fish dishes and rice pudding - a slam dunk for her.

After a bit of pondering, my friend in the food biz went with the scallops in truffle butter, which were perfect product, perfectly done, that is crisp on the outside, almost raw on the inside, and I had the compotee of rabbit which had the best sauce of the year, well, maybe the decade - both of which came with nice, indeed, big portions of fresh salad greens.  Our wine was perfect with all.

For mains, she chose the sole meuniere, which at 26 E was spectacularly better than those at Le Dome or Garnier at double the price, and I had a wonderful pigeon which came with a giant crouton topped with its abats, my oh my, and for those, actually me, who don't believe frites can be done 5 km from central Brussels, I've got news, these were great.

We terminated with a quite fine apple tart with whippies.

Our bill, with no bottled water, fine bread, a bottle of wine and 2 coffees - would amount to 105 E.  (Of course that's no counting the, aw, forget it).

Go?  Right now this stands Number 3 on my Great Hits List for 2014.  I chose the worst table, between the toilettes & kitchen window and the American music was blarring (78.8 dB); next time I'll go up to the bar level.

Jean-Christophe Bechet's Accidents: Photo Show in the 10th

As loyal readers, who go beyond my food stuff know, I've taken a pledge, no not those, but the Greg Vow to boycott anymore Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, From Michelangelo to Hirst Megashows and try to see stuff that I've not seen before.

This show in an old public bath (Douches) 5 rue Legouve in the 10th features photos that got screwed up.  And it's quite refreshing.

A couple of Wows: closes March 15th.

Liberté Patisserie Boulangerie Par Benoit Castel in the 10th; another hit on the newest Feng Shui Street in town

OK, we're leaving Les Vinaigriers on the rue des Vinaigriers and my friend says "Hey, what's that?"  "What's what," say I.  "That new bakery."  "Oh that."  Never saw it, nor she, before.  But it's beautiful and teaming with good stuff.

I got two desserts (a lemon tart and a mini-clafoutis) for tonight, a chausson for breakfast and a pillow of ham and cheese for tmrw night.  All set for 11 E.  I'll be back.

Les Vinaigriers in the 10th: Nancy was right; there are Feng Shui food streets.

5.4 Les Vinaigriers, 42, rue des Vinaigriers in the 10th, 01.46.07.97.12, closed Sundays and Mondays, has been open about a month.  "How do you find these places," I'm asked.  Well one way is that trusted friends, like my ex-co-host at the food website that cannot be named, touted me onto this place about 10 days ago which is/was not far from the flat she just left.  Last week, I drifted by after my fine lunch at the Petit Mathieu down the street and liked the cut of its jib.

So, I asked my friend from the quartier, who writes/blogs about food, restaurants and art, to come.  Outside it looks like an decrepit old auberge; but once inside, I was wowed by the circular stair, packed room and reasonable prices.  And the beautiful, friendly, attentive young couple who run the joint.

I took one look and figured "Doc says you're gonna die."  Nothing really appealed to me.  Burrata with, of all things, clementines, charcuterie from Italy and Spain or Jerusalem artichoke soup.  Boring!  Mushroom risotto, pasta with coques or lieu noir; boring and too Italian.  Aie!  But my friend had the buratta, which without the clementines was fine and my platter of charcuterie was Extra-Prima.

Then she ordered the lieu noir with a ton of vegetables which was/were very good and I had orchiette with coques in butter and parsely - the coques of which I carefully picked out and relished, the pasta of which I left - in retrospect I should have asked for the coques alone, screw the chef's feelings.

For desserts we had the chocolate-pepper mi-cuit and vanilla creme brulee, both more than acceptable.

Our bill, with a bottle and half of wine (there are 50 cl carafes for 10 E), no bottled water and 2 coffees, was 101 E.

Go?  If you live or are staying by the Canal, this is well worth a visit - is it worth schlepping across town for, I think not.

Paris Today: Trees in bloom and Muslims on the March

 

L'Envie du Jour in the 17th: Feng Shui, Karma, whatever, it passed from Bigarrade on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.2 L'Envie du Jour, 106, rue Nollet in the 17th, 01.42.26.01.02, open 7/7 but brunch on Sundays, despite what the reviews say, (Metro: Brochant) has been open for quite some weeks but gotten scant attention which is strange because its chef, Sergio Dias Lino comes from great places, albeit outside Paris such as Pic.  It's located in the space formerly occupied by Bigarrade and is much the same with three notable changes; it has a 2-3-2 menu rather than 1-1-1, it has room for 6 at the counter and it hasn't got those goofy but hippy hanging lamps.

One terribly annoying thing is that despite multiple blackboards hanging in the window and all over the place, they don't tell you what's up today, so the poor waiter has to reel off the entire day's "carte" and by the time he's done, I've forgotten the first two things.  In any case, my guest, well I treated her since she just painted and installed a wonderful painting for our living room in our new flat - it's spectacular,

ordered the broccoli soup with incredibly tasty croutons (cannot imagine what they were sauteed with) and porky bits and I had slices of splendid cru dorade.  Off to the races!

I saw our neighbor (the place was packed; 25 seats folks, reserve now) get these slices of what looked like duck breat but no, it was what my artist-friend had ordered - slices of faux-filet on top of mashies - quite good, but then my cod with a Grenobloise sauce where the parsely, butter and capers bleached into the mashies and I, not a mashed potato fan, went wild.  Heaven.

To end we decided to split the house dessert which I thought was divine and the house, by now had probably figured out who my famous guest was and gave her a Macedonia/fruit salad/etc.

Our bill, with a bottle and 2 glasses of red and 2 coffees (which came with the "menu") and quite nice bread in a wrapper sitting besides the tools of the trade - pen, paper and a decibel meter (80.0 dB) was 93.00 E.

Go?  My most loyal readers will trek out her to the Batignolles but I suspect the average lurker will not - a pity.  With L'Envie, Coretta and Atao, even if we didn't get the Olympics last time because of Perfidious Albion, we might in 2024 if JC Killy is successful, and the Batignolles will be a great dining opportunity for the visitors, bless them.

Les Demoiselles in the 17th: Oh boy did we have different experiences.

5.3 (6 for my guests, 4.6 for my dishes) Les Demoiselles, 23 rue Léon Jost in the 17th, (Metro: Courcelles) 01.58.57.90.93, closed Sundays has been open about 3 months and has certainly drawn a following; it keeps saying "All fresh, all made in house, all good."  From the outside it's certainly fresh, the regular carte is a bit stoggy, but the specials looked cool.

My pals from the neighborhood had the fish starters, salmon fume and herring classically prepared with warm potatoes - both were very good, but my oeufs mayo were very substandard, almost difficult to finish.

Then my food-guide/cooking-expert friend had a very decent piece of salmon which she declared was "perfectly cooked" and my sculpteur friend and I had the paleron of beef which was so full of gristle/cartilage/etc., that I couldn't eat more than a half.  To terminate we three shared a creme brulee of Madagascar vanilla that redeemed my meal.

With a bottle and 2 glasses of wine, a Cocalite, coffee and no bottled water, our bill was 105.30 E, thus 70.20 E a couple.

Go?  They loved it and will be back, I will not.

L'Auberge Nicolas Flamel in the 3rd: here since 1407 and still going strong.

5.5 L'Auberge Nicolas Flamel, 51 rue de Montmorency in the 3rd, 01.42.71.77.78, open 7/7 (Metro: Etienne Marcel) has been around a long time, at least since 1407 when M. Flamel was practicing alchemy - but Max of lesrestos.com, who like Madonna and Sade and Sting has but one name,  announced this month that one Alan Geaam, he of L'Autobus, born in Lebanon, trained in Prague and Milan, was now at the piano (in researching I learned he's been here since 2007 so Max's news, if one regards news as new, is not new).  In any case it's a charming old auberge with big wood beams, solid walls, sound baffling (78.9 dB) and a real old Paris ambiance.

There is an astonishingly priced "menu" - 18.50 E for 2 and 35 E for 3 courses with a drink and coffee - beat that.  My pals from across the Seine chose that, one of them believing in rating the "total experience" was unduly influenced by these prices.  But onward.

They started us off with tasty parmesan cakes - quite nice and we chose a Corsician wine which was anything but coarse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They both started with the "menu" soups, one of courgettes, the other of chestnut - both were divine.

I didn't warm to any of the mains on the carte nor those on the "menu," thus I chose two starters - the sauteed foie gras and sweetbreads (without the black truffle slices).  Both came with a tasteless homage to the St. Louis Gateway Arch, both were fine product but overcooked and the latter had a mushroom sauce that was heavenly.

My friends had the two "menu" mains - the bar - OK and the 7-hour lamb - OK.

Then, we essentially shared a portion of cheese and two of mixed desserts, the ice cream of which was outstanding.

Our bill, with two bottles of wine, no bottled water and one coffee (did we ever get bread?  hummmm, I think not) was just under 100 E a couple.

Go?  If you're staying in the Marais, are watching your wallet and have American friends visiting who want the "genuine Paris bistro experience" without those pesky fellow Yankees - yes.

 

Reviews of reviews: The week of February 17th, 2014

Monday-Tuesday in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard reviewed and gave 2/5 dots to the henceforth fish-serving Café des Ministeres in the 7^th where his meal sounds awful (a la carte 45-60 E), closed Sundays; and Jerome Berger gave 3/5 to the American food (hamburgers, San Francisco beer and cookies) centered Lockwood in the 2^nd (closed Sundays, running one 15 E).

Tuesday in Le Fooding Yves Nespoulous reviewed Blue Valentine, 13, rue de la Pierre Levee in the 11^th, 01.43.38.34.72, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, chef’d by a Japanese guy from the Mandarin Oriental, who for a 19 E lunch formula, 29-36 E menus and 54 E at night, serves sourced items such as marinated octopus, a poitrine de porc and a Mont-blanc.

Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed and gave 2/4 hearts to two places: Les Nicois, 7, rue Lacharriere in the 11^th, 09.84.16.55.03, closed Sunday dinner & Mondays, which runs one 25-30 or at the 25 E brunch serves coffee, fresh fruit and tartines and L’Envie du Jour in the ex-Bigarrade space at 106, rue Nollet in the 17^th, 0142.26.01.02, closed Sundays, serving items such as veal piccata, beef with carrot puree and a macaroon with chocolate for menus at lunch 16 E and dinner 24 and 36 E.  Three places merited one heart: the Japanese Street food Peco Peco in the 9^th; Clint in the 11^th and the Lebanese Chez Nagi in the 7^th.

The Dossier this week by Colette Monsat, Alice Bosio and Hugo de Saint Phalle was on “concept-stores:”

The Broken Arm

Merci

Clint

Colette

duo

Le Bal

Mel, Mich & MartinLe

Sept Cinq

Professore

Le Beef Club et le Ballroom

Le 68 Guy Martin

Nanashi chez Bonpoint

More

Marcovaldo

Le Fantome

Gossima Ping Pong Bar

In another article on spring happenings, Colette Monsat mentioned the “best addresses of the moment:”

Coretta

David Toutain

Dessance

Haikai

Caillebotte

And Francois Simon went to the Japanese “bobo” Café Kitsume where he had an espresso and chocolate cookie for 6 E.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update continued her review of places to get quality fast food: the previously mentioned Grillé, Jules et Shim, and Holybelly.

Thursday, in l’Express, Francois-Regis Gaudry extolled the merits of L’Assiette in Reims and Charles Patin O’Coohoon liked the pretty bistro run by an ex-Ribouldingue chef – l’Atelier Ramey, 23, rue Ramey in the 18^th, 01.42.51.04.78, closed Sundays, which has a formula for 19, a menu for 35 and a la carte runs on 25-35 E for items such as a lentil soup, veal poitrine and chocolate quenelle. 

Saturday, Colette Monsat, in le Figaro, revealed that most wasabi in France is faux – a mélange of horseradish and mustard and that only 10% of Japanese places have people of that origin actually are involved in Japanese restos. 

Sunday in the JDD, Francois Lemaire wrote up the previously mentioned Tsubame and Aurelie Chaigneau gave the previously mentioned: Degustation a 8/10, Coretta a 7.5 and Isse a 7/10.

Ma Chere et Tendre Steakhouse in the Meridien Etoile in the 17th: True, both chere et tendre.

5.2 Ma Chere et Tendre Steakhouse in the Meridien Etoile, 81 Boulevard Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, in the 17th, 01.40.68.30.40, open 7/7 (Metro: Porte de Maillot or PC Bus) is whoo-woo pricy a la carte and wine-wise but has a lunch and dinner "menu" at 35E that provides a glass of wine or water and coffee, so....  If you didn't know it was a steakhouse, the waiters' butcher-boy aprons and signs send a strong meat alert.

My friend from the 14th, originally from Baltimore, ordered the "crab cakes comme dans Le Maryland"; of course they were not made from blue Chesapeake crabs, but those pathetic French things, had no Old Bay seasoning, but instead a watery tartare-sort-of sauce, and had no binder, eggs, crumbs, mustard, Worchester, butter, etc so they, actually, it, fell apart on arrival and was pretty tasteless.  The cucumber wrapped salad was nice although the dressing was so etherial as to be well - etherial.

Then she had the filet of Charolais beef asked for "rare, rare, rare" which it was and very good indeed, with Bordelaise sauce and some unadorned spinach sprouts (which could have used some lemon or vinegar) and I had the "menu" special of the day - a faux-filet from the Limousine, which I ordered "blue, blue, blue - black on the outside, raw on the inside" which it wasn't but I still enjoyed, once corrected with some salt and pepper.

We shared the "menu" dessert of a tiramisu with chopped apples - pleasant enough - and finished our 35 E wine.

I had a coffee in a cup that said Dreams (rightside up) and Conflicts (upside down); must be some inside joke.

Our bill, which my friend picked up for services unknown that I've apparently rendered, was 124 E. 

Go?  If at a meeting at the Palais Des Congrès across the street and the company or university is picking up the tab, sure.  The dB level never got over 68 dB and the bread was quite good.