John Talbott's Paris

La Democratie in the 7th: I'd say it's more "méritocratie" in action.

7.5 La Democratie, 32/34 blvd Raspail in the 7th, 07.67.69.85.33, (Metro: Rue du Bac), closed Sundays and Mondays, opened a while back in the building where just about a century ago a political movement named Sillon and journal called La Democratie were born and housed.  It's in a rare space between a courtyard tunnel and back garden that if a bit warmer it would be wonderful to dine in.  They take great pride in their foods' sources, naming their providers: vegetables from the garden at the Château de Courances, cheese from Marie Quatrehomme, desserts from Hugo et Victor, etc.

There were three of us and we got to sample the fantastic foie gras, succulent snails and oh so tender carpaccio of octopus.

For mains we had the sea bass, tartare of gamberi rossi and boeuf a la cuillere - all which came with their incredibly tasty vegetables.  So far only the beef was "so what?", the rest exceeded the norm.

For dessert we had one chocolate mousse and a cafe gourmand - all from Hugo & Victor.

Our bill, with a bottle of "respect the nature" "bio" wine and another coffee was 176 E or 117.33 E a couple.  dB's = 72.2

Go back?  Certainly.

L'Escient in the 17th: Good products, beautifully prepared, superb service; this place goes on "the list."

Pre: "How do you find these places, John?" I'm asked.  Sometimes, it's premonitions in the blogosphere, sometimes whispers from trusted sources and sometimes I keep hearing about a resto that sounds familiar and yet unknown (to me.)  The latter is the case here; it may be 7 years old with a cheffe who passed thru the House of Ledeuil but since its renovation, it has created a soft buzz that needed to be heeded.

7.8 L'Escient, 28, rue Poncelet in the 17th, 01.47.64.49.13, (Metro: Ternes), closed Sundays, means "wisdom" in English and it certainly is that.   The renovation has resulted in a beautiful display of their wines as well as a look at their original brick walls.

One of us, lucky guy, started with luscious microtomed slices of Jamón Pata Negra Belotta with a tomato-garlic sauce and the rest of us enjoyed crispy gambas with a honey-soy sauce and perfectly lovely greens, really lovely!

Then the table split on the mains: half having the mi-cuit tuna (which was not mi-cuit) and the other half lamb chops (one of which was ordered blue if not raw, haha, which it wasn't) with petit pois.  Somehow because of the great food and superb service we let the cooking order reversals slip by.

Our desserts were raspberries and pureed mangoes, both with perfectly offsetting ices.

Our bill, with 2 bottles of Sauvignon Touraine and Château Ollieux Romanis Alice plus 3 coffees and a tea, was 203 E or 101.50 E a couple.  dB's = 66.5 (calm)

Go back? The food was sooooooo good that we forgave the mixup in preparation.

Reviews of reviews: The week of April 21, 2019

Tuesday in Le Fooding, they reviewed La Bicyclette, (mentioned briefly last week) 5 rue de Chaumont in the 19th, 06.10.40.33.12, closed weekends, where for 16-19€ at lunch one can have items such as octopus salad, tagliatelle and panna cotta.

Wednesday, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 places in Figaroscope giving 3/5 hearts to three: the second sake bistro SOMA Milton in the Marais; a Cheese emporium (80 varieties), Formaticus, 16, rue Brochant in the 17th, 01.42.28.77.36, closed Sundays and Mondays running 8-48E a plate with lunch formulas of 18 and 22E and the French Mediterranean Hebe, 13, rue Frederic-Sauton in the 5th, 01.46.34.08.91, closed Mondays where for 23 and 37 at lunch and 34 and 37 E at dinner one dines on items such as asparagus, duck and lemon dessert.  He awarded 2 hearts to the French/South American Maiz, 54, rue d'Argout in the 2nd.  Finally, one heart went to the Sicilian Corleone in the 8th.

His Hache Menu and Dossier were all about the 39th version of Eataly located on three floors of two building next to BHV.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously reviewed Substance in the 16th.

Finally, Sunday in the JDD Aurelie Chaigneau reviewed the previously mentioned Brasserie Barbes in the 18th (5.5/10); Terra, 21, rue des Gravilliers in the 3rd, 01.45.30.02.58, open evenings but closed Sunday and Monday where for 50-64 E one eats dishes such as asparagus, paparadelle and a choco-cafe dessert (7); and the Kurdish Urfa Durum in the 10th (6).

Les Fines Lames in the 18th: Steak frites on a Sunday anyone?

5.9 Les Fines Lames, 35, rue Lepic in the 18th, (Metro: Abbesses) 01.42.55.95.95, open 7/7 is an incredibly cool place in the midst of a very hot spot - Tourist Central of Montmartre: knives stuck through the tables, bottles of wine on the wall, wine barrels on the ceiling - someone put a lot of thought into this decor of what could have been just another steakhouse.

 

For firsts, the ladies had a velvety pumpkin soup and a velvety cheese sauce over poached eggs - delicious.

Then three of us had their picanha (sirloin tips), cooked every which way,, in my case blue with bearnaise sauce and one the bavette, with regular potato and sweet potato fries.  The beef was just fine but the fries were as they usually are in France, not what was served in Belgium eons ago.

For dessert we shared boules of sorbet and a giant brioche perdu - quite nice.

From their wonderful wine selection on the wall we had two bottles of the Faugeres and our bill with one Armagnac and 4 coffees was 161.40 or 80.70 E a couple.  dB's = 78.4

Go? 'It's not urgent" as the RFC would say, but it's a thought for steak/fries on the Mont on a cold, clammy Sunday.

Quatre Vingt Neuf in the 17th: Would you like your food underly cooked or overly deep fried, Sir?

6.6 Quatre Vingt Neuf, 89, rue Lemercier in the 17th (Metro: Brochant) 01.40.22.96.83, closed Sundays and Mondays, is crying out to be liked - beautiful site, interesting menu, chef-driven food, impeccable service, good wines, reasonable prices - so what's not to like? Well, follow along.

The tempuras of gambas, carrots and zucchini with a terrific piquant sauce were flawless and the bed of spring greens fresh and unspoiled - Oh Boy, off to a good start.

The daily special was sliced beef Thai-style that was so cool, bland and anti-Thai that our hostess came over to see why my colleague (French) and granddaughter (Kiwi-American) left most of theirs uneaten; I meanwhile had sweetbreads that were so over-fried that croustillant might better have been described as "all crust all the time".  The potatoes and butternut squash that came to them saved the dishes though.

The desserts - a chocolate mousse, lemon tart and beignets - were nickel, no complaints here.

Our bill, with a bottle and a half of a very nice Rhone and 3 coffees, was 172 E or 114.66 E a couple.  dB's 68.0 when the Buena Vista Social Club-type music wasn't blaring.

Go back? This was what my old pal Steve called a "U" meal, high at the beginning and end, slumping in-between.  The guy (chef Benoit Huber) knows his stuff so maybe he just forgot the Thai ingredients for the beef and left the ris de veau in the fryer too long today, but I'll wait to see what others think before I return.

Le Saint Sebastien in the 11th: "The new Daniel Rose?" Well, it has certainly the most interesting dishes (esp desserts) of the year.

7.7 Le Saint Sebastien, 42, rue Saint Sebastien in the 11th, 09.53.66.94.35, (Metro: St Amboise), closed Sundays, open for lunch Thursday and Friday and dinner other days has been getting rave reviews in/on the blogosphere since earlier this year and a dear friend said "Don't you dare go without me."  So my oldest granddaughter and I trekked out to the 11th where we entered to an empty space (turns out they were sitting at the very appealing looking resto next door).

Our choices for firsts were an asparagus soup (very good) and an unusual offering - rillettes of ray with herbs (dill prominent among them) on delicious toasted bread.  We went 50-50.

Then we all had a mound of kale, which almost caused me to order the other choice - pleurotes and fava beans - on top of duck done two ways, perfectly cooked breast meat alongside well cooked leg morsels.  NB. I have not photoshopped these to lighten them although it wasn't really that dark.

 

As good as these all were, though, they were nothing compared with the two desserts, called white chocolate mousse and gariguette strawberries and rhubarb.  Well, the mousse was really an incredible fluff and the rhubarb consisted of tasty strips like lattice work - Wow!

Our bill with a bottle of red Loire and their fizzy water plus 3 coffees, was 126 E or 63 E a couple.  dB's = 69.4

Go back?  Most certainly.  As an East Coast American I'm unaware of the Willows Inn on Lummi Island where chef Rob Mendoza hails from, but from this experience it must be a hellova launching pad.

Reviews of reviews: The week of April 15, 2019

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 new restaurants and awarded 3 hearts to the renamed Table du 53 (ex-Passage 53), same coordinates, run by the former sous-chef, costing about 80€.  Then he rated several places 2/5: the curry centered La Chance, the Chinese Bayan, and the Neapolitan Polpette.  Bringing up the rear was the “pretentious” wine bar Bakus.

His Hache Menu concerned the Asian Cheval d’or in the 19th.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the previously mentioned Le Cadoret in the 19^th.

Thursday, in L’Express Styles they reviewed the previously mentioned Bicyclette in the 19th.

Reviews of reviews: The week of April 8, 2019

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin rated 4 restaurants 2/5 hearts – La Democratie, 34, blvd Raspail in the 7^th, 07.67.69.85.33, closed Sundays and Mondays where for about 50 E (weekday lunch menu = 28 E) one dines on items such as a pate en croute, confited veggies and millefeuille; Nord Nord, 80, rue Riquet in the 18^th, 01.42.41.12.95, open 7/7, where for 30-35 E one dines on items such as roast pumpkin, cod and a pavlova; L’Enveloppe, 10, rue Richer in the 10^th, no telephone, that serves envelopy things such as chaussons, raviolis and empanadas for 11 (lunch) and 15 E (dinner) on weekdays; and Bonjour Bonsoir, 43, ave Trudaine in the 9^th, 09.81.94.43.25 closed Sundays and Mondays, where for 35-40 or lunch formula of 16 E one dines on polpettes of veal and lamb and lamb shoulder.  Garnering only one heart was Anco in the 12^th.

His Hache Menu concerned the previously mentioned Marcore in the 2^nd.

The Dossier covered not very new restaurants in the 2^nd: Frenchie Bar a Vins, A. Noste, Le Bougainville, Joia, Daroco, Le Rubis, Hero, Racines, Edgar and Echo.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed Gumbo Yaya in the 10^th.

Thursday, Francois-Regis Gaudry in l'Express Styles also went to Marcore.

John's Top 11 in 2019

As usual, the rules are, only in Paris and surrounds, only meals eaten at new places this year, only at lunch and only supplying the total bill, usually with wine and coffee but not bottled water.

8.1 ERH

8.0 Le Cellier

7.9 Bouillon 47, Marcore

7.8 Rooster, Picotte

7.5 Substance

7.3 Joia

6.7 Affinite

6.5 Wepler, Beslay

Substance in the 16th: "Interesting......Very interesting."

7.5 Substance, 18 rue de Chaillot (cnr Rue de Bizet) in the 16th, 01.47.20.08.90, (Metro: Alma-Marceau) closed Saturday and Sunday opened quite a while back, but another cyber-writer who lets restaurants mellow before trying them, asked me to hold it for her.  All well and good.  We entered and immediately were off to a bad start - they seated us at a table beside a pipe which I couldn't possibly squeeze by; there was no offer of help. (Colette pulled out the heavy marble table for me.)

Then the first amuses arrived and were absolutely tasteless comte and thyme wafers - "Oh, oh. We're in for rough sailing" I thought.  But then the second amuse arrived and the whole meal came alive - smoked potato on a slice of something pickled topped with trout eggs.  My oh my! delicious.

 

For firsts, my colleague in culinary crime had the 39 E menu's perfect egg with salsifis and terrific mushrooms and I had what looked like a tiny ball of tartare of beef sitting in a big lake of jelly - well, it was, but the jellied consume perfectly offset the raw beef and the combination was stunning.

For mains, the ladies went with meat - a bavette with curled potato and mignon of pork with baby artichokes and I had another entree, encornet slices on a puree of white asparagus with black wafers - the combination had a bitter taste until you added in tiny bits of sweet strawberries, then it all balanced out.

With my friend's "menu" came another interesting combination - of tapioca, coconut strips and banana chips - interesting.....very interesting.

Our bill, with a bottle of wine, no bottled water, but 3 coffees, was 152.60 or 101.73 E a couple.  dB's = 79.6 with no music.

Go back?  It's a tough call; the ingredients and flavors were very inventive, but the hustle of the place ruled out a relaxed lunch. Also, it lacked something.  Soul maybe?