John Talbott's Paris

Le Maquis in the 18th: A neighborhood bistro that I hope won't be ruined by its heralding in Le Fooding.

 

6.0 Le Maquis, 53, rue des Cloys in the 18th, (Metro: Jules Joffrin), 01.42.58.87.82, closed Sunday and Monday lunch, is just what everyone in my neighborhood here desires - a friendly place, serving decent food, at affordable prices (16-18 E at lunch) with no pesky Yankees - yet, although Le Fooding's rapturous review may change that.  The guys running it come from Chateaubriand, Le Verre Vole, Les Deux Amis and Il Brigante - impressive, no!

We split the 2-2-2 carte right down the middle, my blogger friend starting with a lentil salad while I had the cervelles de canut (it took us a minute to realize canut was not some exotic mammal but cheese curd.)  Quite ordinary but quite good.

Then my dining partner had the mussels with spring potatoes and I the poitrine de porc with string beans and spinach: again the best of the ordinary.

For dessert, my friend had slices of grapefruit and I had a chocolate cake, again, must I say it? the best of ordinary (now I know why another friend calls his resto the Bel Ordinaire.)

Our bill, with a bottle of Loire from a producer my pal knows, plus 2 coffees, was 71 E.  dB's= 83 when the kids out of school for the Ascension Day pont weren't screaming.

Go again?  Hey, it's in the nabe.

The Oyster Club in the 4th: Oysters Anyone?: Have I got a deal for you, and in that food desert, the Marais.

Pre:  So, I have this friend who bicycled with me the length of the Loire in 1953, but now both of us are mobility challenged so I try to find places to eat near her cabinet in the Marais, which is a challenge.  But I hit on this bright blue place with tattered chairs, wooden utensils and a cool decor -

7.2 Oyster Club, 15, rue de Jouy in the 4th, (Metro: St Paul), telephone (faggedaboudid, it's a messagerie and they neither respond nor reply) closed Sunday night and Mondays, advertises itself as all about what's fresh in the ocean today and is an offshoot of a similar place in Dinard - both under the flag of the Boutrais Family.  Despite the unwelcoming telephone, the staff is super-welcoming and English-speaking, as shown to a Japanese couple who jiggled their legs throughout and managed to eat seafood with their left hands while playing with their cellphones with their righties, never talking to one another.  Young'uns!

My friend and I both had 12 Cancale oysters (17 E) which were superb, followed by fricassees of palourdes (equally) and then one baba au rhum, the cream of which went superbly on top of our coffees.

Our bill, with a bottle of Chardonnay (sulfites added) and 2 coffees was 101 E.  dBs once it got rolling, were 84.0

Go back?  In a flash, even without Mick or Keith.

Chez Michel in the 10th: Not all Japanese chefs are created =.

6.0 Chez Michel, 10 Rue de Belzunce in the 10th, 01.44.53.06.20, (Metro: Gare du Nord), closed weekends, has a new chef - one Masahiro Kawai - who has worked with/for Thierry Breton and Yves Camdeborde but if memory serves me correctly, has preserved much of Thierry Breton's Breton-influenced menu.

As such, he started us off with bigorneaux (periwinkles) which came with a nicely spiced butter; then my co-diner had shredded crab with avocado and jelly with toasted Breton crepes (quite nice too).

Then my friend had 4 yuge decorticated unshelled langoustines on top of gnocchi with tomato sauce and I had what they called a bouillabaisse facon chez Pierre which was not a thin fish soup with dollops of rouille but a creamy rouille soup with three large pieces of lobster, clams, asparagus and daurade.

 

For dessert, my friend had a nice Paris-Brest and I a Breton crepe wrapped around vanilla ice cream with almonds, confited apricot halves and a rum raisin sauce.

With a bottle of wine (with sulfites added), sparkling water and two coffees our bill was 114 E (NB. This is one of those places where the "menu" looks cheap/reasonable (29 E for 2, 35 E for 3 courses) but over 40% of items had supplements.  dB's = 93.9 (a bunch of drunk Frenchmen celebrating the Ascension and a screaming toddler helped).

Go back?  Not quickly.

Yoshinori in the 6th: "Wait a minute, you were just here" "Yes, but I got new intel and the 'chef has matured' altho' the wines went up.'

Pre: As I approached Yoshinori today I said to myself "Wait a minute, I was just here" (I checked, it was in 2017) "but someone told me something had changed for the better.  OK, we'll see."

7.0 Yoshinori, 18, rue Gregoire de Tours in the 6th, 09.84.19.76.05, closed Sunday and Monday (Metro: Odeon, St. Germain des Pres) is just as Zen as it was two years ago with a very cool exterior, decor and cutlery.  I've post two menus, one a legible example, the other illegible but from today.

As amuses we got some olives in EVOO which we sopped up with bread and some barnacles which we devoured.

My friend from FoodandSens started with a lovely tartare de veau while I had bonito tuna with parcooked but agreeably soft green asparagus; both with lots of sea and land growing plants and herbs.  About this point my friend said "This is better than before, the chef has matured" and I agreed.  My intel was correct.

Then she had the lieu jaune and I the crispy-skinned echine de porc, both again accompanied by plenty of tasty and off-setting greens.

After sitting for a while (the delivery of plates by the two guys in the kitchen has not speeded up in two years), we decided to share a dessert, not the rhubarb/strawberry on the carte which we lusted after, but strawberries, ice and meringue which was an acceptable substitute.

Our bill with three glasses of wine (rather than a bottle because they were outrageously priced - 60-70E to start), one bottle of Chateldon and 2 coffees, was 123 E.  dB's= 79.4

Go?  I think one should once.  Yes.

Reviews of reviews: The week of May 20th, 2019

Wednesday, in Figaroscope, Emmanuel Rubin reviewed his usual 5 places rating two as 3/5 hearts: the previously mentioned Bicyclette in the 19th and Celine Pham's (ex-Fulgurances) Tontine in the 11th, serving Viet-Asian food.  Getting 2 hearts were Garcon!, a gastro-cafe, in the Cafe Trama space at 83, rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6th, 01.43.22.68.13, closed Sundays and Mondays, where for 30-40 E one dines on items such as palourdes, a Croque-Monsieur and tarte tropezieme.  One heart each went to the Yankee Hells Chicken in the 2nd and the Sichuan Sucrepice in the 5th.  His Hache Menu concerned the cinema-bar-resto Beau Regard in the 6th which has 80 covers.

On Thursday, in L'Express Styles they reviewed 3 places: the previously mentioned Tigermilk, Guilo Pizza and Le Maquis, 53 rue des Cloys in the 18th, closed Sundays and Monday lunch, where for 16-18 for lunch and 33-37 E dinner one dines on items such as grey shrimp, cod and a Paris-Brest (that intel from Le Fooding).

Catching up with Sophie Brissaud of FoodandSens, on May 10th she announced that the well known Chez Michel's piano was now under the command of the Japanese chef Masahiro Kawai.

 

Marso et Co. in the 13th: Tomy Gossett scores again with a "Balade autour de la Méditerranée" (Le Point)

6.6 Marso et Co., 16, rue Vulpian in the 13th, 01.45.87.37.00, (Metro: Glaciere) closed weekends (hey he's a family man who has a wonderful wife and two kids named Hugo and Marceau whence commeth the names of his places) keeps on rolling along.  I never knew his work at Taillevent, le Meurice or Boulud, but I certainly recognized his talent at Pirouette and have been following him ever since to Tomy et Co., Hugo et Co., and now here.

Tomy really spread out the welcome mat to mix a metaphor, starting us off with glasses of Proseco, roasted green peppers, focaccia, Trás-os-Montes sheep cheese with quince marmalade and hummus which my friend who is Armenian and knows his way around the Mediterranean, expounded about, noting the differences between those in various Middle Eastern countries, this with mint, petit pois and nuts.

We both started off with the best-in-show poulpe with orange slices and fennel, cooked just right and tender as can be; then my friend moved to a cod brandade and I a mackerel salad, neither of which blew our socks off; ending with Pasteis de nata de Belem and chocolate which I haven't had since another friend introduced me to them in Newark's Ironbound.

 

Our wine was a lovely white Montlobre but the coolest thing was a miniature milk bucket it was kept chilled in.  Our bill?  Ah our bill.  I have no ides.  A kind fellow sitting next to us not only lent me a pen but picked up the check - all we know is he was Herr Kelly.  Thanks Sir!  dB's = 86.3

Go?  If looking for a Mediterranean spread, indeed, but it's not French-French.

The Brasserie Bellanger by Victor et Charly in the 10th: 1 € for deviled eggs? Wow, who can ask for more?

Pre: So I read about these guys, Victor and Charly, I assume they are guys, but in California, every customer is a guy.  Anyway. they were opening a brasserie that was not a brasserie as I know it but a place serving "culture food."  Hummm, culture food.  To me that means stuff like spelt and hemp and kale.  But no, it was touted (https://fr.newtable.com/restaurant-brasserie-bellanger-4612.php) as traditional dishes, like ?uf [sic] mayo, at ridiculous prices - say 1 €.  So it's Sunday, I'm plain out of inspiration, why not?

5.4 @VictoretCharly Brasserie Bellanger, 140, rue du Faubourg Poissonnièr, telephone (well, that's a whole other story), open 7/7, reservations - faggedaboudid, Metro: Gare du Nord, is everything that its publicity and instragram and Facebook and Twitter posts imply - it's chaotic, totally full, hip, cheap and fun.  Fine dining it is not - but real napkins, good wine and serviceable service it has.

So, for firsts, we started out with a salad frisee (5 €) and 2 oeufs mayo (2 € each, up from 1 €) spelled ?uf on the addition, I swear to Buddha, perfectly proper.

Then my friends from the boroughs had overcooked sausages with great mashed potatoes (13 €) and I had a quite decent and wonderfully spicy tartare of beef with the usual pathetic fries cooked once not twice and not in duck or goose fat, oh well (13 €).

For dessert, we went nuts (6-8 €) and had a chocolate mousse, lemon tart and Paris-Brest, thinking of the Giro in the snow, however.  All were quite good.

With a bottle of Badoit (8 €, whoa, that's way out of line with their image, but...), 2 bottles of non filtered but sulfur added wine (26 €), pretty ordinary but super looking bread and 2 coffees (5 € the two), our total was 132.50 or 88.32 € a couple.  dB's = 84.0

Go?  I'm sure going to tout every one of my backpacking grandkids who flop at my pad, here.  Without liquids one could exit for 21 € a person.  Incredible.

 

La Cantine de Meme in the 17th: "Astonishing, inventive, tell your readers it's good John."

6.6 La Cantine de Meme, 11, rue Brochant in the 17th, 01.58.59.36.91, closed Sunday and Monday (Metro: Brochant) is in the middle of the greatest burst of new restaurants outside the 11th, all of which seem to be teeming with customers.  Lots are new-new but other older places have been rebranded and renewed, which is the case here.

My friends arrived a bit before me and my Chinese-American 'pain in President Xi's neck' friend declared that she didn't like any of the starters so let's share a portion of a tempura of asparagus with crispy veggies and yuzu with piment-flavored mayo - wow, what a great idea!

For mains they both had an extremely complex, tasty risotto made with crispy spelt, morilles and smoked duck breast and I had a perfectly wonderful piece of rouget with courgettes cooked every possible way imaginable - stuffed blossom, puree, sliced and in a ratatouille. 

The desserts were equally complex: a"pina collata" of pecan cheesecake with confited pineapple and lime fluff and strawberries with almond crumble, basil and balsamic vinegar.

Our bill, with ordinary bread, two bottles of their filtered water (one left untouched) and two glasses of a Crozes-Hermitage (website indicating "bio") and 2 coffees from Uganda, was 137 E or 91.32 E a couple.  dB's = 86.8

Go back?  My friend is eager to have my wife visit.

Reviews of reviews: the week of May 13, 2019

Tuesday, Elena Di Benedetto in Le Fooding reviewed Chinaski, 46, rue Daubenton in the 5th, closed Monday and Tuesday, 01.73.74.74.06, where for 16-35€ one dines on asparagus, extra fresh, raw chinchard or Tarn pork.

Wednesday Emmanuel Rubin in Figaroscope wrote up 5 new places, giving 2 hearts to Tomy Gosset’s newest location, Marso & Co. 16, rue Vulpian in the 13th, 01.45.87.37.00, closed weekends, where a lunch menu is 20, menu-carte 35 and carte 35-45€ for items such as chorizo brochettes, farm chicken and panna cotta; Trois B. 48, ave Jean-Jaures in the 19th, closed Sundays and Mondays, 01.42.00.22.01, lunch formulas 15 and 18, 25-35€ at dinner for boulettes of everything from pork to beef; the South American Tigermilk in the 2nd; and the third Daily Syrien Veggie in the 10th.  Meriting one heart is Aux Crus de Bourgogne in the 2nd.  His Hache Menu covered the new resto in the opera, Garnier, Coco.

Wednesday as well, Heidi Ellison in Paris Update reviewed the already mentioned Bicyclette in the 19th.

Margaret Kemp in Bonjour Paris reviewed the Fabrique de Bouchons, 17, rue Brochant in the 17th, 01.58.59.06.47, closed Saturday lunch, Sunday and Mondays, where one pays 20€ for 2 courses or 23 for three.

John's Top 18 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.

8.2 L'Office

8.1 ERH

8.0 Le Cellier

7.9 Bouillon 47, Marcore, Bicyclette

7.8 Rooster, Picotte, L'Escient

7.7 St Sebastien, Vermillion, Willette

7.5 Substance, Democratie

7.3 Joia, Clown Bar

7.1 Nord Nord

7.0 Fulgurances

8.1 ERH

8.0 Le Cellier

7.9 Bouillon 47, Marcore, Bicyclette

7.8 Rooster, Picotte, L'Escient

7.7 St Sebastien, Vermillion, Willette

7.5 Substance, Democratie

7.3 Joia, Clown Bar

7.1 Nord Nord

7.0 Fulgurances