John Talbott's Paris

Papillon in the 17th: Eating in the hands of Christophe Saintange is like watching a hurricane from its center; it's calm inside but bustling outside.

Papillon in the 17th is another place (like Louis), that at full moon, is packed to the gills.  At the start though, 12h20 when we arrived, it was grey, calm Zen, cool; we were greeted warmly by the staff and rapidly by the genius behind Papillon, Christophe Saintagne, described by Pudlo as un "ancien chef trois étoiles de la galaxie Alain Ducasse."  We sat down, got some water and perused the carte and menu.  I was not taken by either but knew, once we ordered we'd be beautifully fed.

 

We both went with fish as our mains, skipping an entrée; Colette with a slice of St Pierre with spinach leaves, red onions and creamy lemon sauce and I had the "menu" lieu jaune with new potatoes and a puree of riquette (wild rocket); meanwhile we're watching the "street theatre" outside, wherein couples and 3-some's approach, look at the offerings posted in the window, enter, are told "they're full, but there are these cool seats next door at Saintange's partner Laura Portelli's Garde-Manger", which they are directed to, where Saintange is cleaning the tables, moving the chairs, setting tables, busing them, serving; meanwhile the restaurant marches on like a smooth running machine.  BTW, Portelli has neat dishes to go on offer and there's nothing better for a light supper.

For dessert, Colette had the raspberries and sorrel ice cream that was rather blah, unfortunately, and I had their great chocolate cake with a great crusty crust.  We ended with their hot madeleines and coffee.

With a bottle and glass of wine, self-filtered water, terrific bread our billwas 110 E (one Euro less than that at our disappointing meal yesterday - Go figure.)

PS.  Our wait-guy remembered my complaints at the noise level on prior visits and assured us the work putting up another ceiling would be done by the time we returned.

Restaurant 24 in the 8th: Fancy, schmancy decor, clientele and prices; but "nothing to write home about" said my French friend.

5.0 Restaurant 24, 24 rue Jean-Mermoz in the 8th, 01.42.56.24.94, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays (Metro: FDR), is a place our guest who is in the biziness asked me how I'd discovered.  Now this is a common question, usually asked with a frown or eyebrows raised or fingers crossed.  "Oh I saw something on the web, then Rubin gave it a rare 3 hearts, so....."  It has the by now standard gun metal grey exterior, luxe interior and a carte whose prices exceed my budget - but the menus are affordable - 28 E for 2 courses, 32 E for 3 at lunch.

The restaurant started off on two wrong feet; our friend had ordered a glass of white wine and it came straight from the frigo with a refrigerator taste plus the daily menu, printed a few hours before, already had a substitution - a beet salad replaced the gravlax all three of us desired - Colette bravely and grumpily ordered it saying "two vegetarian entrees, not good."  Our friend asked for her wine to be replaced and then she and I ordered the asparagus.  But first came a refreshing but blah gazpacho.  And then unexciting asparagus - but wait - Colette got salmon, after all.  Our friend said the equivalent of "wha" and negotiated another order of salmon and we soldiered on.

All three of ordered the daurade royale with artichokes, which were boring and the poached peach was much the same.

Our bill with a bottle and 2 glasses of wine, a small bottled water, good warm bread and butter and 3 coffees was 168 E 3, thus 112 E a couple.

Go?  Not until I hear some rave reviews other than Mr. Rubin.

Louis in the 9th: Watching magic being made.

Backstory: For months I've been telling Colette that I was losing it; names at parties; dishes a few days ago; tennis match opponents years ago - and always I've gotten a response - "Me too." Well today, it happened to us both.  We got on Bus #95, transferred to bus #80, got to St Augustin and I said "Whoops, we're not where we're supposed to be." "Get off." Wandered about, got an Uber, texted frantically, changed directions twice, got home."  "We don't have a reservation today." "No." "Yikes."  "Ok, call Louis."  Forelock tugging, call, would you have two seats?" "Only at the comptoir." "Phew."

So here we are at Louis at the counter facing the chef, his co-chef whose head bumps up against the metal vent and the plongeur/aka onion slicer/aka man-about-all-duties, watching everything.  What a treat, hasn't happened since I was at Dominique Bouchet, when I was relegated to the same position and watched DB plate everything and oversee the kitchen and oversee the front of the house - the same with Stephane Pitre; it was truly an experience watching magic being made.

Here, you put yourself in the hands in the chef; there are two "menus" and once you are piped aboard, you're gonna love it.  So first came the trio of amuses with EVOO; then a soup with a toasted slice of lemon - (Quick break - Chef leans over and says "You sure you don't want this lobster thing that's the best I've ever done?" What'd'm'a'gonna say?)  "Sure Chef."  And it was indeed pretty damn good.

Then came out the main course - two perfectly toasty-crusted pieces of line-caught lieu - meanwhile in our face - the beat went on.

And then dessert of pannacotta, strawberries and apricots and some very fine prune (offered) and an opportunity to chat with the chef. 

PS Other places are suffering from the bombing, strikes and recurrent French malaise, but not Louis - he was packed to the gills today, including a basement full of chefs from all over.

Our bill, with 1.5 bottles of wine, no bottled water but 2 coffees, was 97 E a couple.  Man oh man, can this guy cook!

Reviews of reviews – The week of June 20th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, there were two compendia; the first of restaurants that have “green” terraces:
L’Hotel Providence
Le Lumen
Le Mandarin
Café de l’Homme
Margherita
L’Asile
Le Kiosque
Animal Kitchen au Point Ephemere
The Peninsula Paris
Le Flow
Le Paillote de l’Opera
Bateau El Alamein
Le Moulin de la Galette
Le Tresor
Le Restaurant du Palais Royal
La Gare
Cinq Codet
Café A
Le Vegan Bar de l’Hotel du Collectionneur
Il Cottage
Le Perchoir Gare de l’Est
And others at museums and gardens and a popup.

A Nous Paris also ran a summary of “best of” food places:
Rice Trotters
Bul
Soon Grill
Dilia
La Cave du Paul Bert
Desi Road
La Maison du Sake
L’Escargot 1903
Le 42 Pasteur
Sushi-B
B-Boyz
Ose African Cuisine
L’Epicerie Vegetale
Matthieu Bijou
La Caravelle des Saveurs

Tuesday in Le Fooding, they reviewed the Caffe dei Cioppi and Daroco, both Italian, and Chardon in Arles.

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin did not review his usual 5 new restaurants, but rather gave his summary of his tables for summer (including in parens his alternatvies):
Daroco (Salsamenteria di Parma)
La Tour d’Argent (Alliance)
Le Flow (Taisho)
Les Arlots (La Cave Paul-Bert)
L’Orangerie (le jardin du Plaza)
L’Avant Comptoir de la Mer (le Fichon)
Tondo (Dilia)
L’Anthocyane (Virtus)
Le Petit Keller (Jules et Shim)
Les Oreilles et la Queue (Loco)
Passerini (Les Sardes du Filomena)
Manko (Cevicheria)
Plume (Cantine de l’Embuscade)
Loulou (Le Louve)
Marzo (Zazza)
Chez Tonton (Tang Xuan
Kodawari (L’Ippudo)
Maloka (Bistrot Paradis)
Mamo (Le George)
Grand Hotel Amour (Hotel Panache)

Thursday, Emmanuel Rubin also had a descriptive as opposed to an evaluative piece on L’Espadon in the renovated Ritz Hotel, corrordinates well known.

Sunday, in the jdd version femina was another list of restaurants with terraces, that included:
La Gare
La Grande Cascade
Clos Belle Juliette
Buddha-Bar Hotel Paris
Taisho
Fables de la Fontaine
Moulin de la Galette
A la Folie
Frank
Jardins du Palais Royal
Moncoeur Belleville

And, in the jdd itself, Aurelie Chaigneau reviewed three places: the well-known Pierre Sang in Oberkampf (8.5/10), Le Boeuf Volant, 6/10, 4, rue Marlotte in the 17th, 09.50.78.61.39, closed lunch and weekends, with 35 and 70 E menus consisting of items such as oysters, beef of all varieties and forms and gorgonzola, and replacing the Zinc Caius, the Italian I Ghiotti in the 17th (7/10).

Klee and the Beats at the Pompidou: How exhibitions should not be displayed.

Somehow Colette convinced me to go to the Pompidou, which normally she avoids and I like, for two shows.

Going through both special exhibitions on the 6th floor, I realized that in the 40 years since 1977, the curators have never learned the lessons acquired in other museums how to direct people to view an artist's progression - granted the original Wright NY Guggenheim where viewing such is obligatory is the model; but even at the Met or Prado or Orsay, they lead you through the process not force you into a mouse maze where you never know which way to go.

So, anyway, I loved the Klees, which were drole and clever, but then I went to the exhibition on the "Beats."  It was a mess, as I guess the "Beats" were.  But I lived through that era and the curator of this show - one Philippe-Alain Michaud wasn't born until 1961, so he was 10 when Kerouac died.  And his assemblage is weird.  For example, at the end of the exhibition, one finds this:

Reading the catalogue one is supposed to see the roots of the "beats" in the wake of WWII.  Because Ginsberg was in college then?

But I do have a great Allen Ginsberg story.  I was sitting in the lunchroom at Rockland State Hospital when a young resident from India said "I just admitted the craziest guy, he's delusional and says he's the most famous poet in America, ha ha ha." I asked "what is his name?"  You know the answer. 

La Bourse et la Vie: Daniel & Marie-Aude may be in New York at Coucou but we're here.

La Bourse et La Vie is a smoothly running machine and I had no fears of it not putting out as good food now with its two principles in New York City as with them here.  But first some scenery - I'd never seen either the copper owl on top or cool art on the NE corner of the Bibliotheque Nationale Richelieu - both worth a view.  Then on to the "menu," la carte and the plats du jour, all of which were tempting.

Our friend from the Marais had two appetizers, the first white asparagus with one of the most tasty vinaigrettes of my eating life; Colette had quail escabeche which didn't work for me; and I had sliced duck hearts with a heapload of peas and almonds.

For mains, our friend had the duck hearts, Colette had a fine piece of merlu and I had the daily special, a plump hunk of veal liver, underdone to my liking.

The ladies both ordered their great chocolate mousse and I had a worthy part of the double portion that the chef cleverly sent out.

Our bill with a bottle and glass of wine, no bottled water but 3 coffees, was 143.50 E or 95.66 E a couple.

Coretta in the 17th: Warm welcome; fine food; dazzling day.

Coretta in the 17th, has replaced Clamato as our go-to Sunday place, not because Clamato failed us in any way but because Coretta is so convenient and one can reserve and not stand in line.  We were a tad early but our genial host insisted that we come in, sit down and have a coupe while awaiting our guest from the 20th.  He also shared with us a fascinating menu that the reigning chef Beatriz Gonzales (whose first place, Neva Cuisine, we also love) put together with a chef from Guadalajara, Mexico (it's on the left) the 10-16 June this year.  But alas, we were too late, but hardly disappointed with our choices.

We started with some tongue pleasing amuse bouches followed by a cupful of fried pied de cochon balls that were moist and with their tartar sauce, almost hard to stop eating.

For mains, Colette had the turbot with artichokes and zucchini and our friend and I had the sweetbreads, crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, with mushrooms and an extremely pleasant sauce.

To finish up we had a pre-dessert of strawberries with fluff and almonds; a cannelloni of red fruits; two giant brioches (unpictured) witrh ice cream and caramel sauce (which we were encouraged to take half home for breakfast, which we both did); and delightful mignardise with a glass of digestif (offered as was the champagne).

Our bill, with no bottled water but a bottle of wine and 3 coffees, was 182.60 E, thus 121.72 E a couple.

Bouillon in the 9th: star quality food for Rough Guide prices.

Bouillon in the 9th is a place we've found to be very reliable in its inventiveness, quality of products (as in Joel Thibault) and tastiness (if there is such a scale).  It's on a street that bustles with young couples and kids, grannies and grandies and same sex couples, not to mention a green front of a store called Pinocchio.  The menu is a feast of possibilities but we quickly homed in on ours.

So here's how it went: Colette asked me to ask our genial waitguy how many fried zucchini blossoms came in an order - "3 or 4" he said, she nodded and I ordered one portion.  It arrived and I gave her half; she suddenly waved to the waitguy; "Bring another, please" she said; and graciously shared half of those with me.  Do I need to say they were light, tasty and well, beyond heavenly.

For main courses, Colette chose the line-caught turbot with artichoke hearts & a puree of artichoke hearts (divine) and I had the pigeon with peas and a puree of such (very fine) with great pieces of lettuce.

For dessert, Colette chose the strawberry quarters and rhubarb slices with intense strawberry "water" and I had a compressed pain perdu embedded with cherries  (which the waiter asked me about since it was a new presentation) with verbein ice cream.

Our bill with a bottle of Magellan and glass of more fruity red for the desserts, no bottled water, but 2 coffees, was 135 E.

Mensae in the 19th: Good, very good, consistantly good and pleasing to the soul and palate.

Mensae in the 19th always reminds me the two other meanings of mensa - a bunch of brilliant people and a reasonably-priced restaurant for Italian students - because it's a combination of both - a place serving brilliant food at reasonable prices.  And so it was again today.

 

As firsts, Colette had the poulpe snacké with various herbs and flowers and I had the steak tartare (cut by hand) which was really spicy (as I like it) with other various herbs and flowers.

We both had fish for mains: she the cod with fennel and me the lieu jaune with tiny zippy clams that set off the fish beautifully.

As careful readers may know, I'm not a great fan of rice pudding but Colette is and so I ordered some up today to share and with the crumble the chef used today I could become a convert.  It was terrific.

With no bottled water but pichets of red and while wine and two coffees, our bill was 103 E for another fine meal.

6.0 Sens Unique in the 18th: More than a neighborhood fish-oriented bistro; not yet a destination.

6.0 Sens Unique, 44, rue Damremont in the 18th, 01.42.23.04.63, open 7/7, tapas at 6 PM, brunch Sunday (Metro: ah, no, Bus #95) is a place I've been going to off and on since it opened in 2011, last time in 2013.  In 2014, a new chef, Frédéric Lyard, ex-Plaza-Athénée, etc., and digging deeper, apparently Agapé Bis and Damien Dussac, ex-Gagnaire, etc., arrived and the food has moved up a notch. 

As an amuse the chef sent out a mascarpone of haddock, mild but not over-smoked as with toasts; then Colette had a tomato gazpacho with whole baby tomatoes that was very tasty and I had croustillant of cod that was juicy like cromesquis, also superior.  Then we had as mains, the carpaccio of Serrano ham with sliced melon and strawberries and I had a superb piece of crispy-skinned (beautifully salted) lieu jaune with vegetable noodles.  For some reason neither photo came out.

 

To wind up, Colette had poached cherries with delicious whipped cream and I had a café gourmand with quite decent coffee.

Our bill with tap water, another coffee and a bottle of very drinkable rosé was 71 E.

Go back?  Yes, despite it's location in the Bermuda triangle of transportation, it's on a street of gold for food - Gillardeau at Au Bon Port, Delmontel, Lahrer, Virginie, etc.  And you can get a bagel and a chuckle too (see advert below from the bagel shop)