John Talbott's Paris

Arriba by Ramon Freixa at the Platea Madrid & El Jardin del Miguel Angel

Arriba is one of Ramon Freixa's latest ideas, sited like a theater in a huge food court at the Platea Madrid, (a take-off on Milan and Bolona's Eatily) 5, Goya near Colon.  I arrived at 1 PM and was told it didn't open til 1:30 so I repaired to the food court after noting the Picasso bullfight drawings, some of which I have copies, around the bar.

There I sat and sipped some fine sangria while watching more Security folks pass by than Barack Obama has and a huge screen show a loop of what it said were live shots of the Madrid Fashion week, with their models choreographed by the Minister of Silly Walk, John Cleese, I suspect, which I had passed a few hours ago; prompting my observation that the difference between attendees at a fashion event and a medical congress was that the physicians are better looking.

The menu was impressive and the bread roll warm and crusty but it had a strange taste, as did the cod fritter made from the chef's own recipe; ditto the gambas and red rice which also were oversalted; there's something in Madrid cooking that doesn't please my palate.  But the rich and suited folk around me seemed to love it all.

My bill, with no bottled water, but coffee, was 45 E.

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So, I was headed off to a trusted source's tapas bar of of her 10 best, the Miguel Angel, just 4 blocks from my hotel, the Miguel Angel - it was described as "the secret tip of everyone in the barrio: breakfast joint in the morning, white table dining at lunch, after work hangout for young professionals on weekends. But those who really know stop in between 7pm and 9pm, when the mood is mellow and the tables in the alcove are still free. Following tradition every glass comes with a heaping plate of tapas to choose from. Cured ham on pisto with melted goat cheese, or the ubiquitous tortilla Espanola, the options change everyday but the flavor is consistent."

But it seems things have changed; plenty of booze, no food and no fun at least at 20h00.  So Plan B.

El Jardin del Miguel Angel, in my hotel, BTW a very wonderful luxurious hotel, that I had a great deal from Expedia about (across from all things a Starbucks where I had breakfasts [they have different breakfast stuff]).  Well, it was not half-bad; some great olives, wonderful Sauvignon Blanc, amuse of gaspacho (not so great) and salmon pate (pretty great); and a dish of artfully displayed anchovies with toasted "tomato" bread and raw chopped tomatoes like La Gaya used to do on the left bank.

With no water, desserts or coffe, my bill was 28 E.

Le Bouquet du Nord in the 10th & Jose Luis on Serrano in Madrid

5.1 Le Bouquet du Nord, 85, Rue de Mauberge in the 10th, 01.48.78.29.97 (Metro: Gare du Nord) was my fall-back resto choice after I realized that Rosa Bonheur Sur Seine would be impossible to get in and out of due to the women's 6 K La Parisienne. In any case, I arrived early and cooled my heels sipping some fine Bordeaux until the kitchen opened (the wait-staff were super nice in indulging me).

I ordered defensively since I'd never been and reviews on the web were mixed; however, the salad frisee had great chunks of lard and a wonderful dressing that was like Aux Lyonnais circa 1968; the "beautiful St Pierre" was quite ordinary, but the potatoes with sauce were tasty although the trumpets of death were not; and the meringue with the coffee was more than decent.

My bill, with more decent bread than usual at a station joint and no bottled water, was 32.30 E.

Go back?  Probably not although around the Gare du Nord is tough sledding.

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 Jose Luis on Serrano in Madrid was a place several sources recommended me in Madrid where I was for a Congres.  It was quiet enout at 8 PM when I went but in Spanish fashion, was packed when I left.  All I wanted was some wine and tapas and the score was mixed: the wine and chipirons were terrific but the bonito was too spicy and the sausage too greasy.

My bill with a half-bottle of wine, no bottled water and these tapas, was 18.50 E.

Reviews of reviews: The week of September 8th, 2014

Monday-Tuesday, in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to Le Vaisseau Vert, 10, rue de Parme in the 9th, 0149.70.03.55, closed weekends at lunch and Sunday on Monday for dinner, which is another place serving French food with a Japanese chef - running one about 40 E for items such as cannellonis of haddock, an entrecote and carrot cake with munster and espelette.   Philippe Toinard, meanwhile, reviewed and gave 3/5 to Wallace, 90 rue de Cambronne in the 15th, 01.47.34.28.39, open 7/7 and running one 35-50 E for items such as a millefeuille of eggplant and fresh fish and cheesecake.  In addition, the was an article on the canal d’Ourcq that mentioned a new restaurant, Les Bancs Publics at 2, rue de Nantes in the 19th, no telephone given, closed Sunday and Monday nights, where an autodidactic chef serves a 3-course meal for 15.90 E.

Tuesday in Le Fooding, there was a review of the Italian Caffè Stern in the 2nd.

Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin, now doing the Hache Menu, led off with a glowing review of the rather pricy (100-130 E) 16th restaurant – Pages.  His 5 reviews were of the 2/5 heart relocated Le Gaigne, 2, rue de Vienne in the 8th, 01.45.22.23.62, closed weekends where at 42 & 75 E (degustation) or 45 and 70 E ALC one can have cannelloni of ray, barbue and a moulleux and 2/5 Yankee Bronco in the 10th.  Garnering 1/5 were the Ialian Quindici in the 15th and the fisn n chipsish George in the 10th.  A busted heart went to the Italian Mercato in the 10th.

Much of the rest of Figaroscope was devoted to Alain Ducasse and the Dossier by Alice Bosio and Colette Monsat was no exception listing his favorite tables:
Pierre Sang Boyer
Bistrot Belhara
Jin
Coretta
Okuda
Caffe Stern
Frenchie To Go
Foundation Cafe
Brut

Sunday, in the JDD version femina, François Lemarié  reviewed the second restaurant of the Brazilian-Viet Namese couple who run Tempero, this called Tempero Le Comptoir in 13th.  In the main JDD, Aurelie Chaigneau reviewed and rated 5.5/10 the bio Soya in the 11th, called the Italian Viola her discovery of the week (7) and revisited Braisenville (7).

Les Petites Ecuries in the 10th: Coolest toilets of the century, but..........

2.5 Les Petites Ecuries, 38-40 Rue des Petites Ecuries in the 10th, no telephone listed and no reservations taken apparently (Metro: Chateau d'Eau), open 7/7, was on everyone's list of summer terraces - Figaro calling it "La Plus Jungle."  Well, I guess it is - but the jungle  facing the street is replete with folks smoking whose fumes go inwards not outwards, so I moved to the very back.  The carte is suspiciously long on Metro-type dishes and short on what needs to be prepared today.

So, rather than order a hamburger or fish-burger or salad, I decided to go with two starters that seemed to me, must be fixed on site: fried pseudo-Viet Namese rolls with crevettes which had the strangest taste, and a batch of palourdes which had the strangest taste; terminating with a moelleux of caramel with ice cream that had little but no strange taste.

The bill with no bottled water, lousy bread rolls, a half-bottle of rose and a coffee, comes to 78.80 E a couple.

Go?  The only redeeming virtue here are the splendid toilets, otherwise you can cross it off your list, jungle or no.

Wallace in the 15th: How many strikes and you're out? Four?

5.9 Wallace, 90 Rue de Cambronne in the 15th, 01.47.34.28.39, open 7/7 (Metro: Vaugirard) was a place I talked my two friends from the 15th into going because it sounded kind of interesting.  The name alone - Wallace - sounds Brit, and it is, it's in honor of Sir Richard Wallace, the illegitimate son of Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, he of the Wallace Collection in London; but to we Parisiens, he donated all the water fountains one finds all around Paris, one of which sits 20 feet outside the resto.  The front room seats are lounge chairs which would throw my back out in 2 seconds so I repaired to the back room.  The menu was heavy on cocktails, salads and hamburgers, even though the clientele was 100% French businessfolk.

We ordered three firsts, all ordered cold fish with enormous heaps of sliced carrots and such on top.  My friends'  salmon and octopus were OK (the poulpe was really tender but less than tasteful to my pal), but my daurade ceviche was absolutely superb.

Then we waited and waited and waited for our mains.  And waited (like in Casablanca for the plane to Lisbon):

Finally the food arrived and when it did it was not half-bad but we were pissed off and almost had walked out.  The salmon was beautifully sourced and cooked except without the toasty skin (which my friend declared a non-deal) and my 7-hour lamb did have a crusty crust that was quite nice.

To finish up, we shared a cheese plate and apricot concoction, which with two bottles and 2 glasses of wine, no bottled water, great bread and one coffee amounted to 90 E a couple.

Go?  Let's run the numbers:
- uncomfortable chairs
- "out of" three fish dishes (including the special of the day at 12h30) and the house wine
- impossible wait between courses
- incredible wait
+ neat W glasses and decor
+ good food well-sourced and prepared
+ pleasant staff
+ good bread
So in sum: if you want a perfect cold fish & sliced veggie salad and are willing to twiddle your thumbs, Yes!

Le Marsangy in the 11th: It's no longer your grand-folks place.

6.3 Le Marsangy, 73, ave Parmentier in the 11th, 01.47.00.94.25, (Metro: Parmentier) changed hands a year ago (after 25 years) and for the last 2 months has been run by Fred (in the front) and Francois (at the piano).  Fred, having worked in Denmark for 2 years, speaks flawless English and Francois, an autodidact, does some pretty astonishing farm-to-table stuff.  I entered and my bosom buddy, the Real Food Critic, was already chatting up the two with some impressive white bio wine.  Not wanting to seem unfriendly, I joined in.

My pal started us off with a slice of their house terrine de campagne (unpictured) with cornichons and we were on our way.  We then shared a second entree - roasted aubergines, ham and a parmesan wafer that were just right for an end of summer dish.  He then had the lamb with tabouli and I had the bar with a crispy skin and a delightful cumin sauce.

For a cheese, Fred proposed a smoked chevre from Perche which washed down with a bit more wine, was a beautiful almost end.

Our bill, with no bottled water, a bottle of wine and much other wine and coffee offered (because of my buddy) would amout to 91 E a couple.

Go again?  For certain.

Le Vaisseau Vert in the 9th: Where do the ChowHounders go In the Fall?

6.4 Le Vaisseau Vert, 10 Rue de Parme in the 9th, 01.49.70.03.55, closed weekend lunches and Sunday and Monday dinners (Metro: Liege) has yet another Japanese chef, this one trained with Robuchon, who puts out interesting looking dishes one after another.

The amuse was a cake of carrots, munster and espelette that was better in its description than its execution; subtle, maybe too subtle for me.   Then two of us had cold bulots with caviar of eggplant, pistou, anised taragon and tomato jelly - again much too refined for my paleo palate.

Our mains were veal nuggets with potatoes with bacon, artichoke puree and a red cabbage compote and medallions of monkfish with carrots, caramelized onions and diced girolles - all of whi ch sound much more exciting than they tasted except for the girolles.

Desserts were where this guy signs though: even I like the rice pudding as well as the vacharin and chocolate sabayon and the Munster cheese my host ordered up.

Our bill, with a bottle and a half of my cheapo choices, no bottled water and two coffees (offered) would amount to 104.66 E a couple but since my host was treating me for unknown services I did not factor in the Savigny-Les-Beaune.  Thanks L.

Go?  Despite my rating, I'm not sure this place has enough guts to entice Colette to return in a few weeks.  Finesse has its place but too much is too much.  Decibels were 80.7 once I got the waitguy to tone down the speaker over our heads.

Q. Where do the ChowHounders go In the Fall? A. Not here.

Le Machon d'Henri in the 6th: Why do Americans shout in restaurants?

3.0 Le Machon d'Henri, 8 Rue Guisarde in the 6th, 01.43.43.29.08.70 (Metro: Mabillion or St Germain des Pres) open 7/7, was a place rec'd to me by a trusted source that has been around forever but was reputed to have a new chef.  I took one look at the menu (aka carte) and thought: "old school, old boy, old bistro stuff;" "whatemI gonna do now."  My dining partner entered and we spend a while discussing our various infirmities, then ordered.

She ordered up some cervelas with potatoes and I some escargots - the escargots arrived with two escargot forks (a nice touch) but a warning - where was her dish?  It took 15 minutes to get the waitguy to realize he'd missed her order.  In any case, neither dish was a mind-blower, although the bread was super.

Then her petit sale with lentils arrived (not bad) and my lamb chops ordered "bleu" arrived too long sitting under the heat lamps I fear because they were way over-cooked.  My potatoes were OK but no more than that.

Our bill with no bottled water, a pot and a glass of Rhone (I think they comp'd us to more d/t the missed first dish), no dessert and two coffees, was 78 E.

Go?  I await my "trusted source's" opinion on the new chef.  Mine is decidedly negative.

Oh, about the shouting fellow Yankees, "we have met the enemy and he is us." But the place was rather frequented by non-locals.

 

Reviews of Reviews: The week of September 1, 2014

Monday-Tuesday, in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard reviewed and gave 4/5 dots to Le Safran at 51-57 rue de Courcelles in the 8^th, 01.58.36.67.97, open 7/7 but brunch on Sundays, with formulas at 38 and 42 E, menus at 53 and 81 E, serving items such as a cold zucchini soup, leg of lamb and half-sphere of chocolate.  They also announced the opening of Akrame Benallal’s 4^th place, another Atelier Vivanda, this at 20 rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6^th, 0.45.44.50.44, closed Sundays and Mondays

Tuesday in Le Fooding, there was a review of the restaurant Pages, 4 rue Auguste Vacquerie in the 16th, 01.47.20.74.94 (Metro : Etoile Charles de Gaulle)) lunch menus 40 and 65 € and 80 € (at night) serving items that sound more Japanese than French, such as Kobé beef, pintade, monkfish, veal tartare and sorrel ice cream.

Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin, now doing the Hache Menu, led off with a glowing review of the Cantonese restaurant Lilli in the Peninsula Hotel ; then graded his 5 new restaurants (returning to hearts rather than those silly sideways smiles or lips), awarding 2/5 to the Comptoir Canailles, 47 rue Rodier in the 9th, 01.53.20.95.56, closed Mondays mentioning the octopus, cote de bœuf and sable with strawberries. He also gave one heart each to La Belle Epoque, Les Elles & Bob's Bake Shop and a busted heart to Le Jules.

There was also a full page spread written by Sophie de Santis on the Passerelle, 52 quai du Pont-du-Jour in Boulogne-Billancourt, 01.46.20.49.44, open 7/7, serving ham, miniburgers, planchas, etc.

For Figaroscope’s Dossier, they rated the best pains au chocolat, awading the top to Lenotre Bastille.

Sunday, François Lemarié reviewed the well known Yard and Aurelie Chaignard reviewed Shabu Sha, Bagelstein & MG Road.

T. Reeves: Dining Out in Paris: a review

I rarely review books here but Tom Reeves, whom I don't know amazingly because he sounds like a great lunch partner sent me his new book "Dining Out In Paris" with the subtitle - "What You Need to Know before you Get to the City of Light."

The subtitle - "What You Need to Know before you Get to the City of Light." - says it all.  This is a book for the first time visitor who wants to know about hours of service, tipping, definitions and the wide variety of types of places here - bistros, brasseries, wine bars, cafes and so forth.

He gives detailed descriptions of 12 "Top" restaurants, many of which I've never been to, but after reading them, I want to.

The book is a refreshing change from the usual guide-books.