John Talbott's Paris

John's Top Paris Restaurants in 2016

John's Top Paris Restaurants in 2016
8.5 Papillon
8.4 L'Arcane
8.25 Elmer, 3B
8.0 Anthocyane, L'Inconnu, Loiseau RG, Tomy & Co., Montee
7.9 Cleo
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7.8 Radis Beurre
7.6 Alliance, Cezembre
7.5 Pierre Sang on Gambey, Fulgurances, Auguste, Ken Kawasaki, Belle Maison, Quinsou
7.4 Anicia, Jais
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7.3 Sequana, Chez La Vieille
7.25 Le Boeuf Maillot, Jouvence
7.2 Mamagoto, Dune, Mersea, Machine a Coudres, Rainettes

Cambodia: some reflections

Cambodia represented another totally different place than 50 years ago.

Pol Pot's bloody reign is still on everyone's lips and people like our guide who walked 300 miles to Thailand and safety as a 5 year old will never forget hom.

The food was not particularly exceptional.

But the temples were and the I don't think I'll ever forget the power of Mother Nature who moved through the jungle breaking them apart with giant teak trees.

Indochina 50 years later: Viet Nam, is this really the same place?

Ok, reality check- I served in the Viet Nam War from 1967-68, the first 9 months in Long Binh, with a lot of consultative trips to Vung Tau, Da Nang, Nha Trang, etc, the last three months in Sai Gon, separated neatly by/with the Tet Offensive, but that's another story, the heart of my book which has undergone 20 starts and 3 revisions and shows no hope of being finished before I depart Earth.

Anyway, I returned last week after 50 years absence, and it seems like a zombie movie or tv fast forward, it is zero/nothing like I recall.  It's a totally different place and nothing is familiar.

Let's start with the food, the focus of this blog.  I recall grilled fish straight from the river, pho with a few ingredients but intense flavors and crappy wine.  Now, however, every dish is what I call Aspenized, overprepared, overingrediented and overpresented, the simplicity is gone.  And the drink lists are longer than Taillevent's 40 years ago.

One pho I had today, at Pho Hung in Sai Gon, was basic and simple and reflective of those of past eras, before the Vietnamese who moved to France and America decided to "improve" on this peasant dish.  Otherwise, I hate to say it, but one meal blended into another, whether high or low table, expensive or cheap, group or intimate.

Except, except, the coffee, which is astonishing, where was this coffee 50 years ago?

On the other hand, what I saw in Ha Long Bay, Hoi An and Sai Gon was dazzling and fresh and unexpected.  The rice paddies, which I flew over time and again, then, pockmarked with bomb craters, are from the ground, now, fish ponds or duck pens.

And the Vietnamese, whom even we doctors, treating them, viewed with suspicion, are welcoming, humorous and quick witted with we Yankees.

Finally, let me circle back to it's being a different country.  Entering Sai gon I felt I was in a totally different place; from a Mekong village then, it had become a new version of London on the Thames now- billboards, skyscrapers and rational traffic.  New multistoried buildings, brightly painted buses and Mercedes showrooms.  Unbelieveable.  Really unbelievable.

Thank you Viet Nam, like Germany and Japan before you, you've shown that fighting the USA can work to your advantage.

Reviews of reviews: the week of December 19th

Tuesday, Le Fooding's Julie listed places for New Year's Eve: Papillon, 6 Paul Bert, Aux Plumes & Daroco.

Thursday Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned Jouvence & Brigitte.

Reviews of reviews: The week of December 12th.

Monday-Tuesday, in A Nous Paris

Tuesday, in Le Fooding, Golven Le Polles reviewed Matthieu Moity's new venture after ten years of cheffing in many places, Iratze, 73 rue Amelot in the 11th, 01.55.28.53.31, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, costing over 51€ for items such as poitrine de cochon, duck and various desserts.

Wednesday, in Le Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin rated the best restaurants of 2016:
Divellec
Abri Soba
Tomy & Co
Papillon
Bambou
Chez Le Vieille
Quinsou
Passerini
La Table d'Espadon
L'Orangerie
La Table d'Hugo Dsnoyer
Les Avant Comptoir de la Mer & du Marche
Clover Grill
Roger La Grenouille
Belle Maison
Akrame Madeleine
6 Paul Bert
Istr
Ken Kawasaki
Osteria Ferrara

Also Wednesday in Paris Update, Heidi Ellison reviewed the Cafe Philippe.

Thursday, Mina Soundiram in L'Express reviewed the pizzeria Bijou in the 18th.

Indochina 50 years later: Bangkok, Thailand

We're solidly in Southeast Asia after 24 hours transit.
Bangkok is everything we recall from my R&R from Viet Nam 50 years ago, horrible traffic, ultra-friendly people and narrow two way streets with one lane and few sidewalks, full of trucks, cars and motos - but with hundreds of sky-scrapers and magnificent food.
We ate lunch at a street food street called Sol Charoen Krung 49 at a stand unnamed across from Tealicious where we had a chicken stir fry with rice and rice noodles with shrimp and calamari, plus a beer from down the alley and an espresso from across. Total 180 B = $5. Wow.
After a lovely visit to an almost empty Museum of Contemporary Art it was time for dinner at the number one selection of Tomy & Co's wife's brother who lives here running the Vogue lounge, Namsaah. The widely touted confited duck Spring roll was superb, the pork short ribs with sweet and sour sauce and apple kimchi was most excellent, but the roasted banana on a crepe base with caramelized creme brûlée was an over-the-top, best use of banana ever, dessert. With a lemon-lime flavored gin and tonic, bottle of Chilean Cab and a small bottled water, our bill was 3,024.89 B or $84.33. An incredible find and no wonder Thomas Deledalle rated it tops for us.
Day 2 in Bangkok started off slowly with another of what is deemed the best breakfast buffet in Bangkok, at the lebua at state tower, giving one everything from kouignaman to sushi, at least according to my guy who would live here more if he could.
In any case, we had another unexpected tour of the city by taxi when a rookie driver had no idea where we were lunching and exposed us to every unknown neighborhood en route to the original Mango Tree restaurant, not the one we'd asked for on the water, but nevertheless the food was exemplary - a shrimp Thai salad and green curry on shrimp, which with a big bottle of Singha and two espressi and a small still water was 3000 B or $xx.
For dinner we went to the mothership of the 12-branch Blue Elephant, whose Paris outlet we ate at in 1992. It's in a 1905 "house" and has been beautifully retrofitted so one seems to be eating modern Thai cuisine in an ancient setting. After 3 amazing amuses, we had sautéed scallops with organic lemongrass and grilled sea bass with a mixture of divine chopped and minced veggies. With a small bottle of still water and bottle of local Chenin Blanc our bill came to 2,483.47 B or zzz dollars.
Come back? To any of the 5 places we ate at without hesititation.

Reviews of reviews – The week of December 5th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to the previously mentioned Roger La Grenouille in the 6th and Jerome Berger gave the same to the below mentioned Le Bar des Pres in the 6th.

Tuesday, in Le Fooding, Matthieu Jauniau-Dallier reviewed the Clover Grill, 6, rue Bailleul in the 1st, 01.40.41.59.59, closed Sundays, where for 61 E plus one can dine on items such as sushi, prime angus and cocktails.

Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants rating each 2/5 hearts; Da Graziella Pizza in the 10th; Le Leborde, 44 rue Laborde in the 8th, 01.53.04.08.92 closed weekends, where for 35-50 E one dines on items such as smoked salmon, black Angus and chocolate mousse; the sushi/cocktail Bar des Pres in the 6th; the previously mentioned Bonhomie in the 10th; and the previously mentioned Cleo in the 7th.

And Emmanuel Rubin also went (in his Hache Menu) to the pork place run by Yves Camdeborde - Avant Comptoir du Marche in the 6th.

Figaroscope’s Dossier rated top places to get magret de canard; the top 3 were A. Noste, Afaria & Canard & Champagne.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellision in Paris Update went to the Japanese-Peruvian La Vague in the 10th.

Thursday, in L’Express Styles, Charles Patin O’Coohoon reviewed the previously mentioned the Petit Varenne in the 7th.

In addition, L’Express picked its top 10 of the year :
Osteria Ferrara
Mokonuts
L’astrance
Abri Soba
La Famille in Uzes
Mersea
Apothacaires in Lyon
Petit Varenne
Brazilia in Nice
Darico

Reviews of reviews – The week of November 28th, 2016

Monday, in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard reviewed and gave 3/5 dots to the previously mentioned Le Petit Varenne in the 7th and Jerome Berger gave a similar rating to Montee, 9, rue Leopold Robert in the 14th, 01.43.25.57.63, closed Sundays and Mondays where for 40 E (lunch) and 80 E (dinner) one has items such as a brandade de morue, scallops and pork.

Tuesday, in Le Fooding, they reviewed the well-known 6 Paul Bert which now has cooking two chefs who come via Noma in Copenhagen.

Wednesday in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants; awarding 3 hearts to the above mentioned 6 Paul Bert and two hearts to the Chinese Pagode de Cos, the Italian Biglove Café in the 3rd and the Café Colette, 74, rue Daguerre in the 14th, 01.43.25.63.55, open 7/7, where for35050 E (lunch formula 22 E) one dines on items such as calamari with aioli, saddle of lamb and chocolate mousse Kiss; garnering one heart was L’Echappee Belle in the 11th.

And Emmanuel Rubin also went (in his Hache Menu) to the well-known Chartier in the 9th, which after 120 year still charges you only 15-25 E.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellision in Paris Update went to the previously mentioned Quinsou in the 6th and liked it.

Thursday, in L’Express Styles, Francois-Regis Gaudry also reviewed Quinsou.

Le Petit Sommelier de Paris in the 14th: A Classic Bistro in the shadow of Montparnasse Tower.

5.1 Le Petit Sommelier de Paris, 49 Avenue du Maine in the 14th looks from both its outside and inside like a classic red-toned bistro of old and its menu does nothing to alter that impression with oysters, boeuf bourguignon and cotes de boeuf.

My friend, a noble Cantabridgian, started off with some lovely foie gras, then moved on to a steak tartare, done aller-retour, which I had a weird tasting boeuf bourguignon (later I recalled it was flavored with verbane) and we finished with a chocolate tart and a café gourmand.  All decent but not innovative.

Our bill with 48 cl of Chinon and another coffee, was 103 E.

Go?  Nah.

Bonhomie in the 10th: "I guess we're going to get beets" my friend said.

 4.9 Bonhomie, 22, rue d'Enghien in the 10th, 09.83.93.86.31 (Metro: Chateau d'eau, Bonne Nouvelle) open 7/7, was a  place I read about that sounded lile a "normal" place that I and my camera would like; so I invited a food friend and met him there.

Well, after taking a picture of the outside, inside and three menus (blue, red and green - I kid you not - all of which seemed to start with chopped beets which I assumed would be blue, red or green) my camera and I recorded each dish but both of us were unwilling or unable to transfer impressions of all the vegetable ones, of which there were many or much, to my blog.  Thus what you have is what I liked in this sea of vegetables, which started with chopped beets, warm cauliflower and warm bread:  a slice of root vegetable my friend got, the poulpo and then cod I got, and the bean soup he ended with.  All were vegetarian, which we are not and I won't be for quite some time.

Our bill with a bottle of vino verde and 2 coffees, was 75 E.  dB = 85.8.

Go?  I sincerely hope my camera and I have dissuaded you.