John Talbott's Paris

Le Ruisseau in the 18th: I wish I had a place like this nearby - Wait - it's just around the corner.

Backstory 1: I have lived around the corner of/from this site for 25 years, and pass it every day on my limpies or to my Gym; and it's gone from a scarry gay bar, to a pseudo-Brit joint called Le Bulldog (Winston right?), to a fine place called 2 Pièces Cuisine, to a pathetic tapas place to its newest incarnation as a burger joint.  I sort of ignored the change but then I saw the JDD last week and realized that Aurelie Chiagneau had actually reviewed and given a 7/10 to Le Ruisseau.

Backstory 2: I called about 11h30 this morning and was told there were no reservations until 13h00; "OK" I said, "I'll just drop by at 12h30"; "Nope, pas possible, 13h00."  What is this?  This place is nothing more than a jerk-off Yankee-pretending burger bar.  "Screw-'em" think I.  I'll go when I like, kids.... and prompty fell asleep in my great IKEA chair.

6.0 Le Ruisseau in the 18th, 65 rue de Ruisseau in the 18^th, 01.42.23.31.23, (Metro: Jules Joffrin, or Bus #31 or 60) closed Sunday nights and Mondays.  Whoa, what is that crowd in front of it?  Screw'em, squeeze in past tens, hundreds, millions of young Froggies in coats and ties, coats and ties?, sipping champagne and gnoshing on delicious looking bar mitzvah-type food. "Dude, what's happening here, in my secluded undiscovered nabe?"  Belly up to the comptoir, "Hey, I reserved for one for 13h00, Talbott's the name" (sort of like "Bond, James Bond, Bond's the name").  "Yes'sir, right this way, through the legions of celebratants (I just made it up and it doesn't mean priests).  dB's 82.5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally in, I look around and see tattered seats, folks digging into their hamburgers with knifes and forks, huh, knives and forks - still, young'uns who've been to Vegas and Tucson and Brooklyn, eating with.....oh well, and order up a burger from the Pas de Calais where all those poor Somalians are camped out, waiting to jump on the Eurostar to St Pancras, pity that Pancras got his head beheaded.  A spot of wine and we're off.

I started off with zippy nachos with zippy melted cheese (just like I see in Yankee movie houses and no where else) and zippy chunky guacamole; then a zippy cheddar cheese burger (requested Black and Blue; "we can't do that, which do you want Black or Blue?" - "Blue.") - not bad with a roll that was second only to Camille Malmquist's when she was at Blend; but wait, we've got Heinz catsup and what looks like French's mustard but wait again, it's Mississippi Belle mustard, described as America's Traditional Mustard."  Really? Why have I never heard of it?  The fries were not much of a much but dipped in their Russian dressing sauce - OK.

"A dessert?"  Why not.  2 scoops of pear ice cream with a bit of Poire Williams.  Nice

A bill for two with a shared nachos starter, 2 burgers, 2 desserts and 2 coffees but no bottled water (in the 18th, are you kidding?) would come to 77.40 E.

Go?  Well, we've got a lot of competition in the Northern part of Montmartre (NoMo) these days, with the Bistro de Maquis, L'Atelier Ramey, La Table d'Eugene, its next door sister, La RaLLonge, Sens Unique and  L'Insolite, but for a nice burger, this does the trick.

Mangetout by Alain Dutournier in the 6th: Not a missed step in his 5th place.

7.0 Mangetout par Alain Dutournier, 82, rue Mazarine in the 6th, 01.43.54.02.21 (Metro: Odeon) is in his old Pinxo Rive Gauche spot which I liked a lot but I guess the business model didn't work out in this crossroads of Yankee college students, visitors from all continents and  Rue de Buci market devotees. It has a refreshingly red (as opposed to gunmetal grey) awning, faded wine bottle windows (La Tache, eh?) and an open kitchen, here called "California."

At first I thought the offerings while not wallet-busting (20 E for 2 courses, 25 E for three) were fussily complicated and uninteresting, but when they served some wonderful olives and toast with pesto and parmesan along with a Red Graves, I thought things would go very well, and they did.

My first was called a salad frisee with calamari but the wait-person apologized for the substitution of chipirons and since in the Basque country the two words are often used interchangably, as far as I was concerned, the dish, with just enough zip from the espilette, was ideal.  Then I had ordered the 7-hour lamb but was urged to take the cocotte of the day - a lovely half of daurade with crisp skin and flesh that with the chopped olives and sliced lemon suggested, was most tasteful.  For my finale I had the camembert with a nut crust that was not runny but ripe, and salad, very very nice.

To finish I had an Illy coffee that came with a wonderful biscotto and - what is this? - a grappa - they know who I am and my taste for a caffè corretto, but no, it was just old plain water.

A bill for a couple who had two 3-course lunches, a bottle of wine, no bottled water and 2 coffees would come to 84 E.  By the way the warmed/sometimes toasted bread was quite good.

Go?  I realize, being the 5th of Dutournier's joints, despite its location in Yankee Visitor Central, with no pesky fellow Yankees but plenty of pesky fellow Franciliens and a dB level of 71.2, despite being full, 

Jérémie in the 16th: Perfect, almost too perfect.

7.0 Jérémie, 33 rue de Longchamp in the 16th, 01.47.04.96.81, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Monday (Metro: Bossieres, Iena or Bus #30) has been open since March and was at the top of my list, which coincided with the list of my friends who live just down the street.  I suggested it and the male member said "I'll drop by and reserve, I've been looking in and it looks good, it's in the old Passiflore space and the chef comes from the Violin d'Ingres" or something like that.  Exterior - the required 2014 gunmetal, interior - cool, wine - an extraordinary Auxey Duresses - what could be wrong?

My hosts let me inspect the carte (40-65 E) and lunch menu (30 and 40 E) on which the latter's crustacean vichyssoise and poelee of chipirons, chorizo and picquillos I could be quite happy with but said - "You're our guest, would you mind if we had the degustation menu, would that be too much?"  Would I mind?  Would I mind?  What a great idea.  Test the Chef Jérémie Tourdjman?  Sure.

Here goes, with:
Starters of a tomato soup and chevre on toast - sublime
Croustillants of gambas with a pureed avocado with chopped tomato topping - gold standard
Pieces of crispy skinned daurade with pureed and halved artichoke hearts - perfect
Slices of Pyrenees lamb with crispy-skinned/mushy interiored eggplant - more than acceptable
Slivers of Brie de Meaux and a salad - great ending, but then
Tranches of chocolate cake with a very innovate crust - very tasty.

The bill John, ah yes the bill?  Well, see, my friend was paying, we were celebrating Ascension Day (does one really celebrate such?) and we weren't counting calories or glasses. 

Go?  This ranks just outside my top ten for the Spring 2014, it's quite good.  And it's quiet - 81.2 dB if you want to talk.

Le Bistrot Quai in Neuilly: where the runners all have on day-glow wear, the women all are beautiful and elegant and have wedding rings, and they drink wine not beer at lunch.

6.1 Le Bistrot Quai, 6 bvd General Leclerc (you'll remember him as the guy who won WWII while all those others guys - Patton, Montgomery, Taylor, Bradley, Ridgway, Gavin, Eisenhower, etc., were just putzing around) in Neuilly, 01.47.45.24.57 (Metro: Pont de Neuilly), open lunch only on weekdays.  It has the by-now required gunmetal exterior, mismatched plates and chairs, a few overstuffed, and a carte that could either be Metro or the real thing.  One will see.

As an amuse gueule I schmeared some anchovy schmaltz (I believe) on some very decent bread and got some pushback from the anchovies.  Then I confronted the raviolis of queues de boeuf which needed more than their port sauce - anchovies?, nah, didn't work, salt?, yah did the trick.  Then the special of the day, 7-hour lamb, just on the edge of muttonhood, but with mustard not anchovies, quite acceptable (with a ton of vegetables).  For my finale, I decided to go with the Illy coffee and a strawberry "soup," madeleine, macaroon anf weird croustillant of chocolate and banana (Chef that doesn't work and smacks of lazy Metro habits).

I had a quite nice 50 cl pot of Chiroubles but if a couple were to have a whole bottle, two 3-course "menus", no bottled water and 2 coffees, the bill would come in at 91 E.

Go?  I don't know if my Yankee reader/friends stay in either Neuilly-Sur-Seine or La Defense, but if so, I'd recommend it.  And the sound level, fully full was only 77.2 dB and the bathroom art cool.

L'Aller-Retour in the 3rd: Where the deuce do you come up with these surprisingly good places?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.6 L'Aller-Retour, 5, rue Charles-Francois Dupuis in the 3rd, 01.42.78.01.21, closed Sundays and Mondays (Metro: Republique), is a place that crept by me upon its opening although I see in retrospect, good notes in L'Express and Figaro from critics and readers.  So how did I tumble on it?  Easy: Each month I get together with the person I've known the longest in Paris (since 1957) and since she still works, I have to find a place near her Marais cabinet.  My place of choice today told me the chef was ill so a quick search turned up Aller-Retour as in Round Trip or steak cooked quickly on one side and the other, in this case as a meat joint, its reference was clear.  Gun-metal exterior. deep railway car interior with two groups of 6-8 and a comptoir that was zinc, in this case on the front not top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The place was jammed with locals, with good reason; the formulas at 11.40 E for one dish and a glass of wine or 12.50 E for one dish and coffee was a crowd-pleaser for folks working nearby but my friend and I went for the carte which was a bargain as well.

Eschewing the largely beef carte, my friend ordered the magret de canard with fried potatoes and I had the duck hearts on skewers with a most filling green salad.  I topped the meal off with a strawberry tart which was clearly made in house.

Our bill, with no bottled water but one of Marcilliac and 2 coffees was 66 E.  dB level despite all the seemingly loud talk around us, was only 83.2 dB.

Go?  People want to know (1) where the French go and (2) where to eat in the Marias - L'Aller-Retour is the answer to both questions.

Chez Graff in the 7th: A surprising revisit with a changed menu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.9 Chez Graff, 62, rue de Bellechasse in the 7th, 0145.51.33.42, (Metro: Solferino) closed Sundays. My dining partner, another blogger but a bigger eater and tour guide than I, asked "Why are we here?" Ans. "Because I read they had a new "carte" which might be better than I had a year ago" and you Dear Reader, can stop reading now because it certainly was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend looked at the ardoise and said, this gelee of tomato, beets, strawberries and cherry tomatoes looks interesting, and it was; and I thought the ceviche of bar would be just fine, and it was, but even more so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For mains my friend chose the salmon which he deemed "too fishy" but I thought was fine while I had filets of St Pierre that I couldn't eat all of, so shared some with him.  Both came with lots of veggies and mine had a nice pea sauce with peas to dip the St Pierre in.  For dessert we more or less shared three mini-Paris-Brests that were certainly not from Metro.

The bill? - with a bottle of wine and two 25 E 3-course meals as well as 2 coffees, the bill would be 84.40 E a couple.

Go?  Well some Yankees have found it and the ladies in the Ministries certainly have, so why not you? Especially after trekking thru the Orsay.

Reviews of reviews: The week of May 19th, 2014

Monday-Tuesday, in A Nous Paris, there was a review of the previously mentioned Blue Valentine in the 11^th, as well as Philippe Toinard’s review and 3/5 dots to the aforementioned Le Tourbillon in the 17^th and Jerome Berger’s 2/5 dots to the Restaurant A.T., coordinates also given before. 

Tuesday in Le Fooding the good news concerned an Italian delicachette called the Restaurant Naturellement in the 15th.

Wednesday, in le Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 restaurants, awading 3/5 lips to 3 places: Jeremie, 33, rue de Longchamp in the 16^th, 01.47.04.96.81, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays with lunch menus at 30 and 40 E and the carte costing 40-65 E for items such as crisp gambas, sweetbreads and iced vacherin; the previously mentioned Dix-Huit in the 17^th and the Italian Cuisine Locatelli & Fratelli in the 9^th.  Garnering 1 lip were Bloom in the 11^th and Nest in the 1^st. 

The Dossier this week was written by Colette Monsat, Alice Bosio and Hugo de Saint Phalle and concerned neo-brasseries including:

Ma Cocotte

Eclectic

Lazare

La Cantine de la Cigalle

Le Café Francais

Monsieur Bleu

Pigalle

and also: Le B.O., Le Café des Concerts & Le Flandrin 

Finally, Emmanuel Rubin’s Hache Menu covered Le Petit Retro, 5, rue Mesnil in the 16^th, 01.44.05.06.05, croquet monsieur, sardinettes, kidneys, fries and the patisserie of the day – “Trot” he says, for a 40-60 E meal. 

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update updated her readers on Le Sot-l’y-Laisse. 

Sunday, in the JDD Aurelie Chaigneau gave 7/10 to the hamburger joint Le Ruisseau, 65 rue de Ruisseau in the 18^th, 01.42.23.31.23, closed Sunday night and Mondays costing 12-14 E for said burgers; her discovery of the week (7.5) was the previously mentioned Les Deserteurs; and her return to was the Japanese Sanukiya (6.5) in the 1^st.  Her compatriot, Francois Lemaire, in the version femina, visited the aforementioned Café des Abattoirs in the 1^st.

Chez Ma Belle-mere in the 12th: "Pas de chichis, pas de froufrous/une cuisine simple autour de produits frais....."

OK, so I'm given the assignment of planning for a Sunday lunch and I need a place for 4 lovely French and Yankee female colleagues and one cool husband and last week I see in A Nous Paris that there's this chef, Bruno Glegan, who since the end of March has succeeded Henri Seguin at Le Pressoir, changing its name but still cooking farm to table products with no bullshit at a joint now called Chez ma belle-mere (which recalled my Mother in law's cooking where I always got a square meal with no frills, so how bad can it be?).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.8 Chez Ma Belle Mere, 257, ave Daumesnil in the 12th, 01.43.44.38.21, open 7/7 (Metro: Michel Bizet or Tramway T-3, which is "the" way to go), is, I agree, to hell and gone.  I'm a tad early and used some of the time to go across the street and get some of the last Gariguette strawberries from the street market vendor for dinner.  Then I come up to this place that looks like a 1000 other bars/bistros/brasseries in town with a huge outside seating area, an impressive menu and a wine list that looks like I can score well - which I started off doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had idly look at the wall lettering while reading my JDD, but one of my most surdoué friends on installing herself at the table looked at them more closely and reeled off their translations "What are you doing on All Saints' Day?", "Say that and I say nothing" and "I don't like my daughter in law"  Woof.

As so often happens, the other 5's first dishes far outranked mine: soups of bio carrots and sumptious chopped mushrooms with a poached egg, a superb huge, never-ending platter of cheese and charcuterie (I assume from Chez Christian Parra) and my pathetic leeks with a weird mayo sauce.  But I'm ever hopeful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our mains brought the game up another notch: super half-cooked slices of fresh tuna, superb foie gras (a starter served as a main) and crispy, crunchy calamari with chorizo with a dusting of espilette with creamy Basmati rice, really, really good.

At this point, we were tremendously satisfied, yet hankered for that last blast, so ordered one dish of chocolate mousse for the table.  The guy placed it in the center of the table with 6 spoons and said the French equivalent of "Dig in."  All 6 of us being physicians, said or motioned to the waitguy -"Wait a minute, we want separate plates, this is unhygienic."  "Nope - dig in!"  "OK."  3 hours later I'm still OK.

The bill - with one "cocktail sans alcool" (where did that come from?), 1.5 bottles of wine, no bottled water, decent bread and 4 decent coffees, was 187.80 E for 6, thus 62.60 E a couple.

PS Owners, we cheated you out of 80 centimes which someone will deliver, sometime, sorry.

Go?  Well, my 5 guests loved it and I thought if it were in my nabe I'd be back soon.  It's got some good stuff and with a dB level of 74.1 dB in the midst of hustle & bustle, it's a find.

Le Brigout in the 2nd: "The Perfect Meal*"? No, but an honorable one.

Backstory 1: I was walking down the Rue d'Argout a few weeks ago and saw Le Brigout and popped in, asked how long they'd been open (2012) and snagged a card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.5 Le Brigout, 54, Rue d'Argout in the 2nd, 01.45.08.05.23, closed Mondays (Metro: Sentier, I suppose, or #85 bus), is one of those places I keep meaning to go to, but never get around to.  Except for today.  The daily carte is quite interesting and on weekdays they have a 24 E formula, so it's reasonable. The outside is the requisite gunmetal grey and the inside like a medieval castle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started out with a half-portion of a fish salad - tender, that is not soggy recently thawed, crevettes and think salmon slices previously half-cooked, avocado, grapefuit, cherry tomatoes and copious amounts of mesclun, then:

Backstory 2: Yesterday I was complaining that I couldn't find a place that served a good half portion of a good Cotes du Boeuf.

a good half portion of a good Cotes du Boeuf. cooked blue with decent enough frites of the house but a parsley butter that was overkill; and a moelleux of chocolate with caramel and whipped cream.  All were above average and very well sourced and cooked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had a long wine list but the ardoise showed their wines of the month/moment and I went with the Pinot Noir from Burgundy.  For a couple with said bottle of wine, no bottled water, 3 dishes and two coffees, the bill would be 100 E.

Go?  This is another neighborhood place I wish were across the street from my digs.  An added plus was hearing Neil Young (even at 83.8 dB's) come on, a reminder of that night at the Fillmore East in 1970 when he strolled on with C, S & N to sing - was it - "Teach Your Children (Well)" or "Wooden Ships"?  Any way good times after Viet Nam.

*Backstory 3: "The Perfect Meal"?  I was reading it and my genial wait-guy thought he might like to as well so took down all the info.

Innovative, inventive food - all coming from "strangers" at Dix-Sept, Yard, AT, BAT, Kigawa, Le Servan, Le Pario, Au Passage (Bones), La Table de Cybele.

As I exited Dix-Huit in the 17th today, where the young Philippine chef Aaron Isip (ex-Apicius, Drouant, Ze and Pan) is cooking up a storm with a 24 E 3-course menu that has intriguing combinations of seafood, meats, vegetables, herbs, nuts, seeds and sauces, I asked myself where the inventive, innovative cooking in Paris was coming from in terms of their chefs' origins (realizing that I've been blown away previously at the Japanese-cheffed places Sola, Kei, Les Enfants Rouges, Abri, Aki, le Concert de la Cuisine, etc.,)  and it looked like this:
Dix-Huit - the Philippines
Yard - Australia
AT - Japan
BAT - Israel
Kigawa - Japan again
Le Servan - the Philippines again
Le Pario - Brazil
Au Passage (now Bones) - Australia again.
La Table de Cybele - from the US of A
I'm not dismissing the interesting French folks at places like Sur le fil, the Bistrot du Maquis, Maison de l'Amerique Latine, Bon Georges, L'Envie du Jour, Will, La Faille, etc, but the infusion of new outside blood is a good sign I think.

PS I'm not talking about "fusion" or "ethnic" but French-French food.