6.5 La Cantine de l'Embuscade, 10 rue du Grand Prieure in the 11th (Metro: Oberkampf) 01.71.24.58.44, closed Saturday lunch, Sundays and Mondays is an off-shoot of the wine bar L'Embuscade but despite its heritage and name, it looks much more like a bistro than either a cantine or wine bar. The décor and calling card are from a nifty design by Ingrid Kauffmann, whom I'd never heard of, but will watch now.
There is no carte but the 21 E for 3 dishes (17 for 2) "menu" suited me just fine: but first out came 3 breads, I only had room to try two but they were first rate. Then came a mackerel which showed the chef's background (at Passard's) since it came with abundant veggies; eggplant, pickles and a palate of black and white sauces alongside. Then I had a filet mignon of beef which was perfectly cooked, again with many veggies (eggplant, cucumber, shallots were they?) and fruit (apricots). It was a challenge to get them all on the fork simultaneously but well worth the end result once in the mouth. For dessert I went with the crème brulee of mint which was a bit chilly and had an inconsistent texture, but it was plenty good.
The front-room hostess gave me more information about the wines than necessary but it being 90-100 degrees today depending on where you stood, I shot for something sensible. A half bottle plus tap water and a coffee resulted in a bill of 39.50 E. dB = 80.4 although not my choice of American music.
Go? You bet. If nothing else the price is right as the old TV show said.
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