John Talbott's Paris

Cezembre in the 6th: Wow the price-quality here in Tourist Town is exceptional.

Cezembre in the 6th is/was a place I loved a few weeks ago and repeated today with a famous blogger/food writer; she and Colette beat me to the place because of the rookie bus driver I had and numerous double-parked UPS/etc. vans.  In any case, our charming English-speaking waitguy had explained the possibilities of the 1-2-1 28 E 3-course "menu" to my companions and they briefed me on it.  The primary choice was the main - merlu (hake) or chicken - and predictably I went for the meat and they, the fish.

So, we started off with Chef Anthony Hamon's superb Breton version of langoustines on an intense parsnip puree with shitakes, chives and teeny tiny slices of chorizo.  Then it was onto the Merlan (hake) on a dense yummy risotto and chicken with a dense-intense veal sauce.  Finally came poached pear bits with kiwis, caramelized peanuts and salted caramel ice cream.

Our bill with no bottled water but 2 bottles of wine (a Loire and Rhone), great bread and fine coffee, was 146.50 E for 3 or 97.66 E a couple.

Jaïs: Chef Mimounun certainly picked up a few tricks from Eric Frechon.

 
So apparently the Nazis are firmly in control again and determined to block all our nearby streets.

Jais in the 7th (a reminder: I list coordinates in my first review but upon return do not) had much the same carte as a few weeks ago but I didn't mind.

Our good friend from Provence and points west ordered up a complex dish of mac and truffles while I had Japanese clams (albeit raised in the Bay of Brest) with the best cream sauce of the century; ooooh boy, lots of bread was put to good use soaking it up.

Then our friend had the mi-cuit tuna with a ginger vinegar sauce; Colette had a beautiful, well-cooked rouget in a puree that was not more than ordinary with a large squash blossom; and I had wonderful chunks of lamb sweetbreads with a fantastic tasting mix of peas and bacon.

Our friend then had figs with ices; Colette had lemon meringue cake and I had the Norwegian omelette aka baked Alaska which I considered the top.

Our bill, with 1 bottle of Chateldon, 2 bottles of wine, three kinds of good bread and 3 coffees was 214.50 E, or 143 E a couple.

Tomy & Co.: Boy, is Tomy off and running in the 7th - as good beef tongue and duck dishes as I've ever had.

8.0 Tomy & Co, 22 rue Surcouf in the 7th, 01.45.51.46.93, closed weekends (Metro: hummm, better off using the #28 bus) has been open for but a week in the old space occupied by the Le Petit Bordelais practically cheek to jowl next to the excellent and also newly opened Petit Tonneau and Jais.  The design and décor are terrific and within minutes we were greeted by the chef and his charming chef wife (they met cooking at Roland Garros and fell quickly in love) with some bubbly and good spirit.  There is a 25 E lunch "menu" as well as menu-carte of 3 courses for 45 E.  We went with dear friends, the distaff member of which is in the cooking/tour business.

The two ladies ordered a vegetable salad which was OK but well, frankly, it was vegetable salad; my colleague, previously in my dodge, ordered the gnocchi with truffles which he loved; but I had what was not only terrific looking but spectacular tasting - a rondelle of chopped beef tongue topped with an umbrella of overlapping pickled radish slices.

For mains the ladies went with a wonderful chicken breast with fois gras (just as good as his was at Pirouette) and a daurade grise with vegetables; but again my duck made Apicius fashion with grapes and beets was more than outstanding, it was out of this world.

Our desserts consisted of Tomy's traditional Ossau-Iraty concoction, two scoops of ice cream with tapioca and the outstanding chocolate tart with fresh figs.

Our bill with their filtered water, 2 bottles of wine, fine bread and 2 coffees, was 272 E or 136 E a couple (as at Pirouette, there are supplements).

Go?  Indeed, run before the reviewers prompt a run on it.

La Machine a Coudes in Boulogne-Billancourt: Excellent food if you can get over your fear about eating outside the perpherique.

7.2 La Machine a Coudes, 35, rue Nationale in Boulogne-Billancourt, 01.47.79.05.05, (Metro: Billancourt), closed Sundays and Mondays, is a place my late great friend Paga told me about and I never got around to trying it.  But when Aurelie Chaigneau of the jdd said the new chef, Jean-Baptiste Ascione, a former Top Chef contender was at the piano cooking all French ingredients, farm to table, it was an easy decision to go with my old pal who now lives nearby.

They have a 4 dishes for 32 E or 6 dishes for 48 E and we went for 4 dishes, 3 of them forced, the other fish or meat.  The first two dishes were shredded brebis with black and red radishes and haddock which gave the bouillon a kick; and a soft egg surrounded by shitakes and Jerusalem artichoke shavings with another broth; both exceptionally tasty.  Then Colette had the free-range chicken that was fantastic and my friend and I had the lieu jaune which need salt to push it into the OK range.  Dessert was bits of pound cake, figs two ways, and two ices - also good.

Our bill with a bottle and a half of wine, their filtered water. their bread (I think) and watery coffee, was 104 E a couple.

Go? be forewarned - the noise level is very high. the tables are too close together, but everyone is having a good time.  I hope I can talk you out of your propensity to eat "downtown", and go to the toilettes where you'll spot an antique phonograph.

Some Left Bank Art in the Afternoon.

Ze Kitchen Galerie: It just keeps getting better and better.

 

Ze Kitchen Galerie in the 6th remains one of Colette and my favorites and we were delighted to share our enthusiasm with two folks from the old neighborhood autumning in Paris.  Despite our living 7 clicks away, this has always seemed to us to be our neighborhood cantine where one always encounters a warm welcome, delightful service and ever-surprising food from a 3-star chef (don't worry, the Michelin will eventually catch up).

Said chef started us off with a light cold cucumber soup; then I moved on to octopus with a nifty spicy sauce; and then we were all treated to another soup, this of coconut milk, girolles, beans and lemon grass.

Our mains consisted of a lovely piece of cod, succulent strips of lamb and squid slices with tempered vegetables sprinkled lightly with salt - truly delicious to the nth degree.

Desserts consisted of the innovative presentations of figs, plums and white chocolate with wasabi "cigarettes".

Our bill, with their filtered water, plus 3 glasses of wine and one of beer (all offered) and 3 coffees, was 106.25 a couple.

Sept 26, 2016: Trump, the Kaiser and the Nazi's are back in Paris.

I swear that all these photos were taken Sept 26, 2016, the day of the first Trump-Clinton debate: A Trumpesque waiter painting, the Kaiser poster saying "When you want to fool the world tell the truth" and the Second Nazi Occupation of Paris, 75 years later by a film crew - what these have to do with each other I'll leave up to you.

Reviews of reviews – The week of September 19th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard reviewed and rated (4/5 dots) the previously mentioned Jean Chauvel/3B in Boulogne-Billancourt and Jerome Berger reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to the previously mentioned Jouvence in the 12th.

Tuesday, in Le Fooding, Matthieu Jauniau-Dallier reviewed Abri Soba, a Japanese soba shop in the 9th.

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Hugo de Saint Phalle, Alica Bosio and Colette Monsat described the new places to eat shared dishes:
Elmer (St Pierre)
Thoumieux (mixed grill)
Passerini  (saddle of lamb)
Mamma Primi (cacio e pepe)
Antoine (sole)
Desnoyer (cote de boeuf)
Gallina (roast chicken)
Bouillon (canard de Challans)

Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants; awarding 3 hearts to Pierre Jancou’s Achille (previously described) in the 11th.  He gave 2 hearts to 3 places: IMA, an Israeli-type salad bar open only for lunch in the 10th; Gallina, a neo-rotisserie next door to IMA, at 37, quai de Valmy in the 10th, 01.48.03.47.22, closed Mondays and Tuesdays serving  (for 15-30 E) roast chicken, mac and cheese and beautiful cocktails; and Juvia, 105, rue du Fbg-Saint-Honore in the 8th, 09.66.82.41.08, closed Sundays where for 40-50 E one dines on items such as a terrine maison, detox salad and Thai soup.  Garnering only 1 heart was the Dim Sum Cantine in the 2nd.

For his Hache Menu he went to the ex-Savoy chef Clement Leroy’s Table du Connetable in the Jeu de Paume in Chantilly.

Thursday, in L’Express Charles Patin O'Coohoon reviewed the already mentioned Tondo in the 12th and Mina Soundiram reviewed the previously mentioned trattoria Mamma Primi in the 17th.

Sunday, in the jdd, Aurelie Chaigneau reviewed (7/10) the previously mentioned Juvia in the 8th ; the Vietnamese Bo bun place James Bun (7) in the 17th ; and returned to La Cantine du Troquet (6.5) in the 15th.  In its version femina, Julie Gerbet reviewed the previously mentioned Tondo in the 12th and La Fontaine de Belleville, 31-33, rue Juliette-Dodu in the 10th, open 7/7, 09.81.75.54.54 costing a la carte 10-20 E for true French brasserie food.

Le Moulin de la Galette in the 18th: Serendipity: the surprise of the week or "Fortune favors the prepared mind."

Backstory: As Colette and I were climbing the Mont to our destination, the Bistrot de la Galette, we were shocked to see a guy on a ladder pounding the caulking out of the door, with shattered glass all over the place.  We stood there watching until Madame (not Debray, she's long gone) came out and explained that the bistrot, along with several other places had been broken into last night with the loss of a bit of money but a postponement in its opening today. 

I turned to Colette "Now whatdawedo?" I said.  "Ah, ha, I just read in your Pariscope that the Moulin de la Galette, just down the street, has reopened under new management and staff; let's try it?"  "Wasn't that place awful?" "Yes, but the reviewer, Johanna Alam, says it's been converted from a "usine a tourists" to a nice place by an ex-Michel Rostang chef named Anthony Detemmerman."  "Worth a try, eh?"

6.9 Le Moulin de la Galette, 83, rue Lepic in the 18th, 01.46.06.84.77, open 7/7 (Bus: Montmartrebus) has a new "look" about it, even with the old Montmartre posters, photos and drawings.  The menu is limited but OK for us (there are menus at 23 and 29 E at lunch except for Sundays.)

I started with a perfect egg in a creamy onion sauce with an ample portion of beautiful girolles.  Two kinds of good bread helped soak up the remainders.

Colette had one of the best pieces of cod of the year with a slightly citrusy flavored sauce, tomatoes and fennel two ways; and I had a luscious pintade rollatine, a bit under-cooked as asked for, with radishes and turnips.

For desserts, we shared a millefeuille of caramel beurre sale and fresh figs with gingerbread - dishes we thought were not up to the food that preceded them.

Our bill, with a bottle of Cotes de Bordeaux, no bottled water but 2 coffees, was 118 E.

Go back?  Without question.  It's one more rare exception to the rule of never eating on the top of the Mont.

Ken Kawasaki in the 18th: 28 flavors just like the late great HoJo's, except they're Japanese-French ones.

Ken Kawasaki in the 18th blew me away two weeks ago and I was eager to return with Colette.  The primary difference was the noisy brocante outside today; the huge number of courses and flavors remained.

As before the courses came promptly but not hurriedly:
- An amuse bouche of a "sandwich" of pork and pistachio pate
- House made bread and olive oil tinged with Japanese lime
- A tofu pureed soup with Japanese chives, ham, pumpkin cubes and other seasonal vegetables
- Two duck "meatballs" with sliced bok choi and tomatoes
- Cold ginger soup
- A beautiful square of St Pierre with grilled vegetables such as a standout mushroom and parmesan wafers
- Sliced beef filet with potato and vegetable "chips" and tiny dollops of raw wasabi and algae salt
- A "parfait" of banana and orange sorbet and cheese fluff
- Several types of chocolate mignardises and ristretto.

Our bill, with a bottle of wine and two coffees plus their bottled water (4 E) was 123 E (Colette had the St Pierre; I had both the fish and beef).