John Talbott's Paris

Aux Bons Crus in the 11th: Old boy, old school, down home, comfort food at its best.

6.8 Aux Bons Crus, 54, rue Godefroy Cavignac in the 11th, 01.45.67.21.13 (Metro: Voltaire), closed Sundays has garnered great buzz and is located on a street named for an antiMonachiste active in the 1830 revolution, I thought you’d want to know that.  It describes itself as a truck stop place with big “Les Routiers” signs, checkered table clothes on tables so jammed together you need a helicopter to get to the banquette, with waiters who have rugby level beards and food that is straight from the 1950’s. And really straight food - no froufrou, no seeds, fancy herbs, no pretense.  But it’s jampacked with locals, anglophones need not apply.

I arrived without my camera to find my eating partner already installed looking at the huge carte with every imaginable truck stop item, some in black, some in red - the difference? Who knows.  Not even our waiter.

We both started with a classic - a salad frisée with a perfect egg, just the right amount of vinaigrette, real lard and young fresh frisée sprouts. 

Then he had a steak tartare and I the entrecôte cooked blue, with Bearnaise sauce, with an extra of fine frites.  Once again, pure classics, no bullshit.

To finish I insisted we try the chocolate mousse and it too was perfect as was the Madeleine, really perfect.

With the equivalent of two bottles of wine (they have it in carafes as well), no bottled water but one coffee, our bill was 94€ for two.  Db’s a bit high at 87.2

Go?  For those seeking meat and potatoes without a lot of new inventions, just like the Bouillon Pigalle, this place delivers.  All the chowhounders seeking nonadventuresome meals shouldheed this.

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Reviews of reviews: The week of April 23, 2018

Monday-Tuesday in A Nous Paris, they reviewed two places already mentioned here: the buffet themed BOULOM in the 18th and the Brazilian Itacoa in the 2nd.

On Tuesday in Le Fooding, Aitor Alfonso reviewed the neobistrot Pianovins, 46, rue Trousseau in the 11th (in the former Deserteurs space) 01.48.06.95.85, closed Sunday and Monday, where for 30-49 at lunch or 49-64 E at dinner one has items such as white asparagus, pork belly and clafoutis.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope, reviewed 5 places, giving 3/5 hearts to Sellae, 18 , rue des Wallons in the 13th, 01.43.31.36.04, closed Sundays, where for 19 and 22 E at lunch and 50-65 E at dinner one dines on items such as mussels and chorizo, pintade with morels and chocolate mousse.  His other 4 were all 2 hearts : Paris Paris, 74, rue du Faubourg St Denis in the 10th, 09.81.86.68.08 open 7/7 where for 30-35 E or brunch weekends for 24.90E one has items such as leeks, pork ribs and profiteroles ; the Bistrot Pergo, 137, ave de Malakoff in the 16th, 01.43.06.07.85, closed Sundays costing 35 and 45 E for langoustines, steak au poivre and pear clafoutis ; Cru, 10, rue Edouard-Lockroy in the 11th, 06.25.96.92.45, closed weekends costing 25-35 E (lunch menu 18 E) for items such as tuna rillettes, ceviche of mackerel and a pear verrine ; and Carre, 5, rue Rambuteau in the 4th, 01.44.54.92.73, closed Mondays where for 15 and 20 E one has a menu of French bread with Japanese and French items such as a croque Monsieur, ham and fruit.  Rubin’s Hache Menu this week covered the above mentioned BOULOM in the 18th.

The Dossier this week by Alice Boston, Colette Monsat and Hugo de Saint Phalle reviewed new Latin places in town: Oka, Patchanka, Itacoa, Margus, Bar de Biondi, Bombilla and Oxte.

Also on Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned creperie Brutus in the 17th.

Thursday in L’Express Styles, Charles Patin O'Coohoon wrote up The Dude, (a tribute to you know who) 84, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th, 01.45.89.40.24 with lunch formulas at 19-24 € and a la Carte : 35 €, Brunch : 25 €, closed Sundays and Mondays serving items such as tuna, pork belly and good cheese.

Finally Sunday, in the jdd, Aurelie Chaigneau covered three places already mentioned here: Les Residents (7.5/10) in the 17th,  Hotel Bachaumont (7) in the 2nd and Brutos (7.5) in the 11th.

Jacopo in the 8th: nice food but why did they cheat us out of 8€? My original title was “not bad, not bad at all.”

Prequel: I read about Jacopo opening a few weeks back and having loved Thibaut Sombardier’s two previous restos, Mensae and Sellae, knew that even if he just “planned” the menu, it could be very good.  What I didn’t anticipate is having a “bait and switch” pulled on us.

6.7 but, Jacopo, 5, rue du Vernet in the 8th, no reservations “first come, first served”, (Metro: Georges V), open 7/7 was an obvious choice for today, open Sundays with an interesting menu designed by a great Top Chef. I was way early so I ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir, which while overchilled, was almost room temperature when my guests showed up.  However,

For firsts, my two friends ordered tartares of salmon which I saw them ask for salt for and then pour salt and pepper on to no avail.  I tried a bite - tasteless, good product but blah.  But I ignored that, after all, one dish off, so what?  Because my huge artichoke with vinaigrette was splendid.

Having gone through the bottle of Pinot Noir, we all agreed to have another.  A bottle arrived, opened, and was poured without anyone noticing it was not the same.  That's our fault, maybe.

Then the three of us all ordered the meats cooked on a spit: D’s entrecôte was fine and his frites pretty good, my three lamb chops were cooked almost blue as ordered but R’s quaisi de veau was “overcooked, dry and well done.”

For dessert we shared a baba, which was ok.

Our bill, ah our bill.  It arrived, D did the math, we all paid our fair share, but on the bus going home I looked at it more closely. Wow, the second bottle was 8€ more than the first.  In my field, Medicine, if one upcodes, the fines start at $10,000 an incident. Unfortunately in food service, you have to suck it up.

However, taking the cheating into account, a bill for a couple with a bottle of wine should be 107.66€ here.

Go?  Unfortunately, despite the pretty good products, uneven cooking and inept but nice service, the “bait and switch” left a bad taste in my mouth.  Db’s= 80.7

L’Innocence in the 9th: “They’re trying too hard to be innovative.” Busy, busy, busy food.

4.0 L’Innocence, 28, rue de la Tour D’Auvergne in the 9th, (yes, the old Spring space), 01.45.23.99.13, open Friday and Saturday lunch and evenings except Sundays, (bus 85), has been open only a few weeks and is already the darling of the big boys and some of my best and most reliable friends.  So, needless to say, I went with high hopes.  

There is only one “menu” and to be frank, I really see no need to list every dish, since each one consisted of so many ingredients, including vegetables, fruits, cheese, seeds, sauces, bouillons, nuts and flowers and sometimes even some protein, that it’s folly to describe each and everything.  So, here goes a slide show:

 

Our bill is complicated by the fact that my dining partners had no wine but did have one bottled water and one coffee and I had wine and a coffee,

so for a couple at lunch with a bottle of wine and two coffees, I calculate the damage as 108€. Db’s when I entered were 88.0; then 78.6?

Go?  Call me a philistine, an old-boy, a stick-in-the-mud, no-nothing, but please do not pretend that throwing dozens of ingredients on fancy handcrafted plates constitutes fine dining.  It’s frou-frou, busy, and precious food and I’m being kind.

Do you have nothing nice to say John?  Actually yes: the bread was terrific when it finally arrived, the dishes began to be salted after Madame complained, and the delivery of plates and friendly service was noteworthy.

Bulot Bulot in the 18th: Seafood at the top.

7.3 Bulot Bulot, 83, rue des Martyrs in the 18th, 01.42.64.19.09, (Metro: Pigalle/Blanche), closed Monday-Thursday lunch and Monday night, got a rare 4/5 from A Nous Paris and I tucked it way in the ancient memory bank for a day just like today when two friends rolled into town and said “we’d love to get together but we’re eating dinner at Condesa, so just a simple seafood place please.”  Bingo!

I entered to find an oyster shack, as advertised - it actually says “seafood shack,” with maybe 9 stools and 5 covers on the hard raw wood banquette, with pillows though, thank Buddha!  The two counter guys had baseball caps reading P and NY so we Baltimore, Boston and SF fans behaved ourselves.

To start off I suggested a plate of signature bulots which had just the right amount of peppery mayo, followed by a classic fish soup with croutons, cheese and rouille, 6 Gouville-sur-Mer Fines, which were among the best oysters ever (all their suppliers are listed), and a nice lobster salad on an even nicer roll.

For dessert we had to try the pecan pie, of course.

Our bill, with a bottle and glass of terrific Sancerre, bottled water and two espressos was 105€ thus 70€ a couple.  The sound level was so low I didn’t bother to measure the oyster shucking.

Go?  If headed around Montmartre and seeking a seafood feast I cannot think of a better place, and despite its location and “English spoken” sign, we heard nothing but French.

Sellae in the 13th: "Very good food" plus one of the nicest front guys ever.

7.6 Sellae, 10, rue des Wallons in the 13th, 01.43.31.36.04 (Metro: St Marcel) closed Sundays got a rare 3 hearts from Emmanuel Rubin of Figaroscope yesterday and slow learner that I am it took me a while to figure out that it was in the former Variations space and its chef a former Top Chef, was someone I adored at Mensae.  Well, spoiler, he's done it again.

My dining partner, a fellow Viet Nam Vet, except he was a Marine machine gunner and I was a Jewish doctor who can't stand blood (look up the joke reference) said "you order."  No one has ever said that to me.  I shook my head, no no, I could not take the responsibility especially if things went South.  So he ordered the quite fine mussels and I had the dish of the year - mushrooms and snails in a green soup, foam, espuma, sauce called sabayon - my oh my, in heaven and not coming back.

Then he had two tender juicy lamb chops with a stalk of what they listed as romaine, but I said was celery or leeks, and savory and I had two absolutely perfect pieces of pintade with spinach (so there, Colette!) and a ton of morels.  Delish!

At this point we looked at each other - I was full but on a roll, I suspect he was as well - so to hell with diets - he ordered the apple tart (which our incredibly genial waitguy said was "apple pie a la mode") and I had chocolate mousse - OK, hold it right there.  How many chocolate mousses have you or I had in Paris?  A zillion, right.  And they're good, generally, sometimes very good.  This was off the charts - 10+.  Liquid, languid, luxe.

The bill John?  Jeez, claiming he owed me in return for reading my reviews forever and my cowardly service to my country, he picked it up.  But here are some hints.  The wine was 35E, 3 dishes at lunch are 22 E and the carte at night is 50-65E.  We're talking for a 7.6/10 meal.  dB's were equally outstanding, 88.4 dB.

Go?  Nah, it's too far for you, leave it for we schleppers using bus 91.

PS He designed the menu at Jacopo and I'll go in 81 hours.  But who's counting.

Hugo & Co in the 5th: "I cannot decide which is better" said my friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.5 Hugo & Co, 48, Rue Monge in the 5th, 09.53.92.62.77, closed weekends (Metro: Cardinal Lemoine) is the 3rd Tomy Gosset establishment I've frequented since he arrived in Paris.  It's got a bit of funk and punk and a fair dose of soul.

There were four of us and we started off sharing the first-listed dishes marked as to be shared: al dente white asparagus with mimosa vinaigrette and chervil, Iberique sausage with cut up black olives and foie gras on toast with a pear/pepper confiture (I thought it was chutney but so?)  In the midst of eating the only woman present said "I cannot decide which is better" high praise from her, indeed.

 

Then for mains, my kick by the side had the joue de boeuf with crusty parsnip, she had the pork with a curry sauce (which I liked not at all) topped with a bio egg, and the other two of us had what was called merlu fish & chips, albeit warned that the chips were not potato but veggies (not pictured).  Here I felt Tomy and his son Hugo (whom I had met as a babe) fell down.

But the desserts redeemed the meal: ice with gariguette strawberries and tapioca cream, a fromage blanc tart with rhubarb ice a fine rice pudding (unpictured), and tiny madeleines with lemon curd (offered).

The bill, ah the bill, as I promised a cherished contributor to eGullet.  Well the bill was a lot.  But not dissembling, were Colette and I to come, with one bottle of wine, no bottled water but 2 coffees, I come out at 108 E  dB's were hefty = 81 dB.

Go?  I gotta be true to you and myself, I'd rather go to Tomy & Co.

Reviews of reviews: The week of April 16, 2018

Monday-Tuesday in A Nous Paris, Jerome Berger gave 3/5 to Sellae, 18, rue des Wallons in the 13th, 01.43.31.36.04, closed Sundays with lunch menus at 19 and 22 and a la carte at 45 E for items such as tarama, mussels and apple tart; and Alexis Chenu wrote up the previously mentioned lobster roll place Homer in the 3rd.

On Tuesday in Le Fooding, Julie Gerbert reviewed a sandwich place in the 8th Lamee.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope, reviewed his traditional five new restaurants, giving 1 place 3/5 hearts: the previously mentioned L’Innocence in the old Spring space in the 9th; then 2 places got 2/5: the previously mentioned Enfants dues Marches in the 3rd and the cheese-focused Beau et Fort, 37, rue du Faubourg Montmartre in the 9th, 01.45.89.23.96, open 7/7 where for a lunch formula at 15 or 25-35 E a la carte one dines on a perfect egg, cheeses and a Roquefort ice cream.  Garnering one heart only were the Mediterranean Chakchouka in the 9th and the pizzeria Ammazza in the 11th.  His Hache Menu featured the new food space Ground Control.

The Dossier this week by Alice Boston, Hugo de Saint Phalle and Colette Monsat reviewed new brunch places and deemed the best at 8.5/10 – Claus St-Germain in the 6th.

Also on Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously reviewed Capitaine.

Thursday in L’Express Styles, Delphine Le Feuvre gave 2/4 to the previously mentioned La Canonniere in the 11th.

Reviews of reviews: The week of April 9, 2018

Monday-Tuesday in A Nous Paris, Philippe Toinard gave 4/5 dots to L’Ours, 10, rue de l’Eglise in Vincennes, closed Sundays and Mondays, 01.46.81.50.34, where for 45 at lunch or 75 and 105 E at dinner, one dines on items such as oyster raviolis, mackerel and poached foie gras; while Jerome Berger gave 3/5 to L’Innocence, in the old Spring space at 28, rue de la Tour d’Auvergne in the 9th, closed Sundays and Mon-Thurs lunch, 01.45.23.99.13, where for 23-35 at lunch or 49 E at dinner one has items such as feta tempura, cod and chocolate crumble; Alexis Chenu wrote up the previously mentioned Bulot-Bulot in the 18th.

On Tuesday in Le Fooding, Philippe Lafon wrote up Instincts in St Jean de Luz.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope, reviewed his traditional five new restaurants, giving 3 places 2 hearts each:  Le 27 Madame, 27, rue Madame in the 6th, 01.45.48.69.57 closed Sundays and Mondays where for about 40 E one dines on items such as ham, veal and a moelleux of chocolate; Le Caulincourt, 62, rue Caulincourt in the 18th, 01.42.59.42.55, closed Sundays a Mondays, with lunch menus of 18 and 20, a la carte 30-40E for items such as asparagus, porcelet and a lemon meringue biscuit; and the Oriental mezze place, Askini in the 10th.  Garnering 1 heart only was the Japanese-Thai restaurant Bensai in the 8th and getting a broken heart - Little Volney’s in the 2nd. His Hache Menu reviewed the previously mentioned Bravo in the 2nd, a pasta-centered place.

Following that theme, the Dossier this week by Alice Boston, Colette Monsat and Hugo de Saint Phalle reviewed other pasta places: Robert, Faggio Osteria, Les Grands Boulevards, Solina, Epoca, Roberta Bercy Village, Comice and Racines.

Also on Wednesday, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously reviewed Empreinte in Lille.

Thursday in L’Express Styles, Francois Regis Gaudry gave 4/4 to the multiple establishment creator Julien Duboué’s (A Noste was his most recent) new venture, a buffet a volunte in a loft – called B.O.U.L.O.M., 181 rue Ordener in the 18th, no reservations, open 7/7, weekends brunch, where for 19 and 29 E at lunch and 39 E at dinner one dines on items such as grilled sardines, [pork and crepes Suzette;  and Charles Patin O’Coohoon reviewed the Brazilian Itacoa in the 2nd.

Condesa in the 9th: Indira Carrillo is the very definition of a creative, inventive chef whose cuisine is indefinable but good.

Condesa in the 9th is a place I’ve only been a couple of times but its chatty, incredible friendly chef Indira Carrillo changes the menu every few days and the results are astonishing.  Although he’s gone through Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Italian and French kitchens, in his tender 29 years, his food is not "World food" a la Spoon but rather worldly food a la Ze Kitchen Galerie.

Colette and I went with two other worldly food aficionados and we were entranced, once again.  We ordered the four course 38€ menu which of course, turns out to be many more than that:

• a squash seed wafer on top of squash seeds in a beautiful Mexican bowl 
• blettes wrapped around pieces of merlu
• burrata, fava beans and pickled courgettes
• chinchard, asparagus and a rosemary butter-based sauce
• crispy skinned cod with wild garlic, petit pois whole and crushed in a spicy sauce
• crispy skinned duck with carrots and a caraway sauce
• horseradish ice creams with new strawberries
• mignardises in another beautiful Mexican box  (the Chef orders the very pretty pottery dinnerware from New Zealand)

 

 

With two bottles of wine, their water and three coffees our bill was 232€ for four or 116€ a couple for a meal that was unforgettable.