John Talbott's Paris

Sunset in the 18th: A 100% local place; let's keep it that way.

Sunset in the 18th is not a destination resto with stars and table cloths, it's a simple neighborhood place open 18 hours a day which has become a fully booked or occupied sensation in the nabe in just over a month.  The walls may be unfinished (intentionally) but the food is anything but and the wines bio/natural.

We were dining with the charming daughter of one of my oldest friends who goes to theater classes in the area.   Colette started off with cold carrot/cumin soup which I liked but she deemed "boring". Our guest and I had the smoked duck breast slices on top of superb early Spring greens.

Then, Colette and our friend had the herbed gnocchi with broccoli and comte aged 24 months (which our guest loved) and I had the pastilla of confited rabbit that I loved, especially the diced veggie and dried fruit couscous that came with it.

Desserts were a house-made Paris-Brest and an "Eton mess" with rhubarb and Chantilly vanilla; both very tasty.

Our bill, with 1 bottle and a glass of fine Languedoc, no bottled water and 2 espressos was 73 E or 48.66 E a couple.

Reviews of reviews – The week of May 16th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger gave 3/5 dots to the Cevicheria Martel, located in an annex of the previously mentioned Hotel Bachaumont, in the 10th and his colleague Philippe Toinard gave the same to a new French restaurant Au 41 Penthièvre, 41, rue de Penthièvre in the 8th, 01.43.59.23.99, closed weekends, running one 50-60 E for items such as crab, gambas and a sable Breton.

Tuesday in Le Fooding, Aitor Alfonso reviewed the new restaurant of Giovanni Passerini, called the Restaurant Passerini in the 12th.

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants, which included three that gained 2 hearts: the French Jais, 3, rue Surcouf in the 7th closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays, costing 35-55 E for items such as mac ‘n cheese, stuffed artichoke and lamb kidneys; the Sardinian Filomena in the 6th; and the Brooklynesque Little Apple in the 3rd.  Garnering one heart was the German Wunderbar in the 10th and getting a broken heart was the Asiat, Oriental, Yankee, Franchouille 2me Arrt in the 2nd.

Rubin’s Hache Menu this week covered the Brazilian Maloka in the 9th which he says to go to.

Alice Bosio, Colette Monsat and Hugo de Saint Phalle wrote about the new tables in the Batignolles:
Les Poulettes Batignolles
975
Umi
Biotiful Batignolles
La Table de l’Ebeniste
La Fabrique des Bouchons
Les Mousillions
Lucky Luciano

Also Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned and reviewed Sunset in the 18th.

Thursday in L’Express Francois-Regis Gaudry reviewed Pascal Barbot’s L’Astrance; and Charles Patin O'Coohoon reviewed the previously mentioned Rae’s in the 2nd.

Sunday, in the jdd, Aurelie Chaigneau reviewed and gave 8/10 to the previously mentioned Passerini in the 12th ; gave as her restaurant of the week, the previously mentioned Sunken Chip (6.5) in the 10th and returned to the previously mentioned Beef Club (7) in the 1st.  In the jdd version femina ED reviewed the previously mentioned Nube in the 8th.

Le Bistrot Du Maquis in the 18th: A solid Sunday spot. Shush, don't tell anyone.

Le Bistrot du Maquis in the 18th is one of those spots open on Sundays on the Mont that is devoid of tourists and largely and fully occupied by locals in my octogenarian demographic (one table was speaking Anglo and one was half our age).  Chef Andre Le Letty has been around the pike, having put in time with Robuchon (pictured with him above, above the counter) and at Ledoyen, the Ritz, the Tour d'Argent and l'Anacreon.  His wife, Tchin or Shuquin, is one of the most welcoming hostesses on the hill and thus, the service, is always tops.

I was the only one having a first but the fraicheur of cucumbers with crab was almost spicy like a good gazpacho with chilled shredded crab - ab fab,

For mains, the two ladies had the excellent maigre with asparagus and St Pierre with carrots and I had their ever-super veal kidneys with cabbage and a lardons/mustard sauce.

For dessert, Colette had the parcooked strips of rhubarb with vanilla ice cream (good), our friend had an assortment of fine cheeses and I had an over-the-top soup of apricots with pistachio ice cream.

With a bottle and glass of lovely Graves, a Chateldon and three coffees, our bill was 165.50 E or 110E a couple.

Virtus (ex-Clande) in the 12th: Plus ca change, plus c'est...................

When we last dined at Clande, formerly Clandestino, the genial chefs, Chiho Kanzaki and Marcelo Di Giacomo, cautioned us that it would soon become Virtus, since the prior chef, Masayuki Shibuya, was taking the name with him to a new place in Montparnasse.  Thus when we approached 8, rue Crozatier in the 12th today (09.80.68.08.08) it seemed totally unchanged except that the neon sign - Clande - was unlit and faced the interior.

Our friend the wine maven started off with the declinasion of tomatoes with burrata; two of the rest of the table had the beignets of white asparagus which was par-cooked (intentionally), thus making it almost crisp; and Colette satisfied herself gazing at what she identified as a lovely horse chesnut tree across the street, full of pink flowers.

Our male friend had the bavette d'aloyau, which I assertively stated was a region of France but was really an area (cut) of beef - he declared it the best piece of beef he's ever had; the women had the maigre, which I authoritatively stated was a white fish whose name derived from lean in some way which got me a 1/4 point; and I had a superbly crusted pork chop which I aggressively stated was caramelized, but I suspect was not.  I loved it. Colette did not rave about her fish with two kinds of mushrooms.

Colette had the ciboulette, strawberry and vanilla sorbet and the two men shared the excellent cheese with another two glasses of wine.

With a bottle of very good Burgundy and 4 coffees, don't un double, and no bottled water, our bill was 201 E or 100.50 E a couple.

 

Atlanta: Downtown Eats: Alma Cuchina, the Commerce Club, Twin Smokers, Sear and (?) the Horseshoe Steakhouse at the Airport.

Alma Cuchina was a place, like all the others I went to this trip, in downtown due to a congress I was attending.  I  would call the food about standard for Mexican food outside if Texas and New Mexico. 

It is in the ground floor of the building in which I had lunch another day at the Commerce Club, a businessperson's club I would also describe as standard.

Twin Smokers is a BBQ place just adjacent to the Convention Center, which shocked me by revealing a policy of no alcohol before 12:30 PM on Sundays but got back in my graces

by serving up a 1/2 pound of brisket with so many sauces of such varieties of heat.

Sear was another place I was obliged by business to eat at: the Caesar salad seemed dressingless and the chick stone cold.

In the Atlanta airport I realized I'd get no food on my Southwest flight so I chanced upon a steakhouse I think was named Horseshoe or suchlike and by George the steak and boxwine constituted my best full meal of the trip - go figure!

Paris Photos; No locks at last.

Reviews of reviews – The week of May 9th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger gave 3/5 dots to Rae’s in the 2nd, where a Japanese chef cooks fusion food from pasta to sandwiches to crème catalan.  His colleague, Philippe Toinard gave the same to a tea room plus Un Dimanche a Paris, 4/6/8 cour du Commerce Saint-Andre in the 6th, closed Sunday nights, Mondays and Tuesday lunch, 01.56.81.18.18, featuring tartelettes in the morning and early afternoon and items such as sweetbreads, haddock and a grapefruit/pepper tart afterwards, on menus of 25 and 29E at lunch.

Tuesday in Le Fooding, Tina Meyer reviewed La Louve, an Italian bistro in the 9th.

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants, which included four that merited 4 stars: the previously mentioned Les Arlots in the 10th; the Argentinian restaurant Loco; the ramen-focused Kodawari in the 6th; and Korean Jules et Shim in the 10th.  The Portuguese dinette Donantonia in the 10th received only one. 

Rubin’s Hache Menu this week covered Les Bols de Jean in the 2nd, opened since September, where the tele-chef Jean Imbert serves various dishes in pastry “bowls.”

In that spirit, Colette Monsat and Alice Bosio wrote about and rated the best loaves of bread and deemed Anthony Bosson of L’Essentiel in the 13th the winner and Landemaine in the 11th #2.

Also Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned Le Petit Keller, 13 rue Keller, in the 11th, 01.43.55.90.54, closed Sundays and Mondays, finding the food OK but the presentations lacking.

Thursday in L’Express there was a review of the Brazilian Coffee Shop in Nice.

Paris Pix: Because there's no 's in French

Paris Pix: Greenish Gown

Reviews of Reviews: The week of May 2nd, 2016

Monday-Tuesday in A Nous Paris there was a review (3/5 dots) of Champeaux under the Canopee in Les Halles, reviewed here 8 days ago.

Tuesday, Le Fooding had a review of the Restaurant Isak X Café Marché in Nice.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin’s Hache Menu covered Une Affaire de Famille in the flea market Saint-Ouen where he says one might go on a weekend.

And, in his reviews of 5 new places this week he gave 3 hearts to one of the best Chinese restaurants in Paris – Chez Tonton in the 6th; then 2 got 2 hearts: the previously reviewed Fichon in the 18th and La Demesure, 43, rue Faubourg Montmartre in the 9th, 01.48.24.49.53 closed Saturday lunch and Sundays where for the 14.50 E lunch formula and carte running you can have items such as lentil salad, mussels with curry and frites and tempura haricots.  Getting only one heart was the Tunisian Comptoir de Tunisie in the 1st and a broken heart went to La Mercerie in the 6th.

Also Wednesday, in Le Figaroscope, Alice Bosio and Colette Monsat wrote up and rated new places that feature brunch:
9/10 Hardware Societe
Hotel Grand Amour
Liza
Brasserie Thoumieux
Uptown
Poppy Paris
Rosemary
Marlon

Also Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned Le Bouchon et L’Assiette in the 17th.

In L’Express, they announced the abrupt departure of Joel Robuchon from La Grande Maison in Bordeaux and Francois-Regis Gaudry reviewed La Villa Gabrielle in Deauville; while Mina Soundiram covered the vegetarian Le Potager de Charlotte, 12 rue de la Tour d’Auvergne in the 9th, 01.44.65.09.63, closed Monday and Tuesday, where on the menu of 25 E one can sample items such as a hard-boiled egg, rice pancakes and roast pear and the Italian Merrigio, also in the 9th.