John Talbott's Paris

Tondo in the 12th: If you must go - Eat dessert first.

5.0 Tondo, 29, rue de Cotte in the 12th (in the former Gazzatta space), 01.43.47.47.05, closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesday & Wednesday at lunch (Metro: Ledru-Rollin) has had more anticipatory cyber-buzz than I've heard for a place in quite a while.  Certainly the chef (Simone Tondo) has had a stellar history (Mirazur, Rino, Gazzetta & Roseval) and is much beloved by folks I respect; therefor, going to Tondo was a foregone conclusion.

The lunch "menu" is 3 forced choice entrees and 1 plat chosen from 3 possibilities for 25 E and at dinner 6 forced choices for 60 E; we plunged in to dishes named a tuna (with cherries), tempura of pleurotte with a bagna of garlic, capers, anchovies and parsley and a "Roseval" of mousse with shrimp.  They were OK but barely. 

Originally 3 of us ordered the poularde and Colette the merlu, but I said "let me have the gnocchis" so we can try everything - big mistake.  It was so utterly unexciting I asked for pepper and parmesan, instead came pepper and salt.  The chicken was somewhat better but the fish also rather bland - the Swiss chard, zucchini and beets didn't add much either.

I was about to give up on Tondo and Tondo until dessert came - both the clafoutis and orange cake were superb (in a note in atabula.com it says Mari-Jo, the ex-patissiere for Peter Nilsson was responsible for the bread and maybe these desserts as well.)

Our bill, with 2 bottles of A Toi Nous wine, one San Pelligrino and 4 coffees was 198.50 E or 99.25 E a couple.  The noise level was a ear-drum piercing 88.4 dB or what street noise in Gulmandi, India is at 6 PM.

Go?  Not me but if you go count on dessert to save the meal.

Virtus (ex-Clande) in the 12th: Plus ca change, plus c'est...................

When we last dined at Clande, formerly Clandestino, the genial chefs, Chiho Kanzaki and Marcelo Di Giacomo, cautioned us that it would soon become Virtus, since the prior chef, Masayuki Shibuya, was taking the name with him to a new place in Montparnasse.  Thus when we approached 8, rue Crozatier in the 12th today (09.80.68.08.08) it seemed totally unchanged except that the neon sign - Clande - was unlit and faced the interior.

Our friend the wine maven started off with the declinasion of tomatoes with burrata; two of the rest of the table had the beignets of white asparagus which was par-cooked (intentionally), thus making it almost crisp; and Colette satisfied herself gazing at what she identified as a lovely horse chesnut tree across the street, full of pink flowers.

Our male friend had the bavette d'aloyau, which I assertively stated was a region of France but was really an area (cut) of beef - he declared it the best piece of beef he's ever had; the women had the maigre, which I authoritatively stated was a white fish whose name derived from lean in some way which got me a 1/4 point; and I had a superbly crusted pork chop which I aggressively stated was caramelized, but I suspect was not.  I loved it. Colette did not rave about her fish with two kinds of mushrooms.

Colette had the ciboulette, strawberry and vanilla sorbet and the two men shared the excellent cheese with another two glasses of wine.

With a bottle of very good Burgundy and 4 coffees, don't un double, and no bottled water, our bill was 201 E or 100.50 E a couple.

 

Le Clandé in the 12th: "My the blend of flavors and ingredients is quite something."

 

 

Le Clandé, ex-Clandestino, pre-Virtus is a place I ate at in the fall of 2012 several times when it was touted as a pop-up - well it's grown-up and is a big-time resto now, but next month will emerge chrysalis-like as Virtus in the same space with the same chefs as today - Chiho Kanzaki and Marcelo Di Giacomo, while the former chef Masayuki Shibuya, ex La Gazzetta and Bigarrade,  flies away to the Left Bank with the Clandé brand. 

Colette and I were eating with a full-time friend but part-time ex-pat, who seized on the 3-beet salad with fresh goat cheese, which was really tasty, while Colette had an equally powerfully tasting veloute of broccoli with mascarpone cream with citrus, and I had innovative "beignets" of asparagus with a classic Béarnaise sauce, which, naturally, I thought was the winner.

Then Colette had the pork filet mignon (with terrific veggies) which was tenderness itself while our friend and I had the mushroom risotto with both cooked mushrooms and sliced raw ones, very very good.

To wind it up, Colette ordered a wheat crumble with apples and caramel beurre-sale; our friend had the sacher biscuit (a mi-cuit chocolate like fudge) with meadowsweet ice cream; and the chefs, thinking I might go hungry served me a puree of passion fruit with coconut yogurt and coconut.

With a bottle of nice Langedoc, a bottle of fizzy water, superb bread and 3 coffees, our bill was 136.50 E or 91 E a couple.

The Square Trousseau in the 12th: "Nothing special, nothing great.....what do you expect from the Costes?" "Let's talk American and French politics."

5.0 The Square Trousseau, 1 rue Antoine-Vollon (but on the Square Trousseau), 01.43.43.06.00, open 7/7, (Metro: Ledru-Rollin) is a place Colette and I and our best friends in Paris used to eat at, 20, no make that 30, years ago.....and then we stopped.  Why?  Who remembers?  This week however, a usually reliable food critic said it was the best meal he had in Paris recently.  Alright, that's enticing.  So the French friend I've known the longest and I went - she and I both looked at the menu and thought "it's pricy and the starters sound more interesting than the mains, soooooo"

 

We ordered two starters apiece: she began with a nice tartare of bar, cut thickly and I had an onion soup that was not my dreamy remembrance of those served in the days before they tore down Les Halles.  Then we both had fried calamari, with a strange batter but a wonderfully spicy sauce; and shared a tarte tatin, made really "old school, old boy" well.

Somewhere along, I looked out the window and saw myself, 10 years from now peddling a mediocre painting and taking handouts and restaurant tickets equally.

Our bill, with a bottle and 2 glasses of wine, good bread and salted butter and 2 coffees, was 121 E.  The dB level was 96.2, which is off the charts, in power mower territory.

Go?  I'm afraid not, not for the good service, old décor or tarte tatin.

Clandé in the 12th: Another revelation in this "hot" area.

7.1 Clandé, formerly Clandestino, 8 rue Crozatier, in the 12th, 09.80.68.08.08, closed Sundays and Mondays (Metro: ahem, Reuilly-Diderot I guess) is under new chefs: the diminutive Japanese Chiho Kanzaki, ex-Mirazir and Manresa (Los Gatos) and the hefty Marcelo Di Giacomo, cooking French food that is pretty damn good.  I first ate at Clandestino in the fall of 2012, when it was supposed to be a "pop-up" and my several meals there were never short of terrific; ironically, no longer a pop-up but a well-decorated establishment, Clandé will move in April to the Left Bank.

My friend, a former food critic in Paris, started off with a velvety soup of vegetables and I had a stunning soup-like egg, cream and lentils with chorizo bits.

My friend then chose the bavette, beautifully undercooked, with creamy polenta, and I had a spectacular risotto with mushrooms.

Before dessert, our gracious wait-guy, who was serving the entire room, took time to brush our table off with what looked like an artisanal brush and dustpan, but no, it was from BHV - beautiful.  And our quince dessert, which we were not charged for, was equally as beautiful and divided into two cups.

Our bill, with a bottle and 2 glasses of wine, fine bread and outstanding coffee, was 100.50 E.

Go?  Absolutely, once the music was turned down it became dB tolerable, and the food and service were wonderful.

Les Caves de Prague: Everyone but me loved it, but then I looking at the billing name, no wonder......

6.0 (everyone else) 4.0 (me) = 5.0 Les Caves de Prague, 8, rue de Prague in the 12th, 06.31.01.12.21, open for lunch Tuesdays-Saturdays (Metro: Ledru-Rollin) is a place chosen by others I agreed to for various reasons.  It's apparently sort of a franchise/cooperative where 2 chefs cook at lunch, then after 4 PM it's open for tapas and drinks.  It looks like a normal wine bar, except nicer.

OK, so here goes the dishes we had:
- a mushroom siup with bacon (quite tasty the bacon on a bland soup)
- a tartare of veal (didn't sample)
- some mackerel (offered)
- encornet with bok choi
- a bouillon (that J insisted I rave about)
- a boeuf bourgignon (I thought was made from the wrst cuts of beef with a thin sauce unlike Collete's in both respects)
- a milk chocolate mousse (OK)
- but a chocolate cake (that was to die for).

Our bill for 4, with almost 2 bottles of wine, 4 coffees and good bread, was 111 E or 55.50 E a couple.  Only when I got home and looked at the bill did I notice it said "Youpi & Voila."  So that explains my tepid reaction to the food here versus my 3 friends' enthusiasm; it was a repeat of Youpi & Voila, where I was the outlier too.

Dersou in the 12th: Not what I'd expected, but then....

 

Dersou, 21, rue Saint-Nicolas in the 12th, 09.81.01.12.73, closed Mondays, open Tues-Sat for dinner which has paired cocktails and runs 90-130 E and weekends for lunch which runs more like 50 E, (Metro: Ledru-Rollin) is a place I initially avoided due to the sticker shock and sense it was Japanese food which I don't normally "do" in France, but Rubin's 4 heart rating eventually got under my skin.  The outside is this almost now required signless gunmetal, the menus are hung on clothespins and the interior has jammed-together wood tables, chairs and stools for 25 persons, all of whom were Asian for most of my meal.

The carte consisted of about 5 mains, then 6-8 "sides" and finally 3 desserts.  Most of the language I needed translated/explained but finally settled on (OK) cold soba with a 69 degree egg and cold sliced duck breast; sides of great palourdes with harissa and so-so minced lamb croquettes; and super excellent coffee.

With no bottled water but some wine by the glass and the best breat (nut bread) of the year, my bill was 54.50 E.

Go?  Well, it sure was no 4 heart meal, it sure was uncomfortable and loud (75.1 dB), it's way to hell and gone, and I cannot imagine howthe cocktails the barman was vigorously shaking would go with the food, but then.....

L'Amarante in the 12th: Christophe is back - big time!

7.4 L'Amarante, 4 rue Biscornet in the 12th, 09.50.80.93.80, closed Wednesdays and Thursdays, (Metro: Bastille) is the new place Christophe Philippe has settled at after abandoning his wonderful eponymous Christophe in the 5th December a year ago.  I went with the French friend I've known indirectly since our student days, a woman who I know loves good, real, French food.  We perused the menu and decided on the same things - dangerous, if one is uncertain hands, but we felt confident.

We started off with veal brains, beautifully crisp on the outside, moist on the inside; moved on to the veal sweetbreads, beautifully crisp on the outside, moist on the inside; and terminated with a chocolate mouse made with a mousse and chocolate chips from São Tomé & Principe, just mighty fine.

Our bill with a bottle and glass of wine, no bottled water and OK bread should have been 101 E a couple but for various reasons was totally all fouled up and we wound up paying 5.85 E apiece, so we'll need to revisit soon to repair the error.

Go?  As we were getting up to go I said to my old pal - "pretty good place, eh?"  And she said "pretty normal food,"  which for her is the highest compliment possible.

 

Paris Peche in the 12th: A good safe harbor from the storm at the Marche d'Aligre.

6.0 Paris Peche, 79, rue Crozatier in the 12th, 01.43.47.45.47, closed Mondays, is a place I've cruised by for months to and from Will and the Marche d'Aligre, but I was too timid (me timid? I know) to do more than look around until someone vetted it.  Well, this week Figaro deemed it worthy of inclusion in its summary of new fish places, so I went. 

Well, of course I ordered up some oysters, in this case 6 Fines de Claires from Brittany, which were quite nice, especially with the over-the-top bread and butter.  Then I had a 300 gm filet of sole grilled with buttery sauce that was on the edge of rubbery but quite edible.  Finally I ordered a pannacotta with caramel, expecting it in a bowl not a bell jar, but you know, it was not half-bad, indeed it was astonishingly good.

My bill, with a pot of Chardonnay, no bottled water, but a coffee, was 63.50 E.  dB level 71.6 dB.

"Anything amiss John?"  Well, yes, now that you ask.  On entering I faced this large case of various fishy things and got myself some fish soup, croutons and rouille which my lovely wait-lady put in a sack and billed me for.  As I was packing up to depart another wait-person said "Wait a minute" and despite my waving my paid bill to him, ran over to the other staff to make sure I wasn't shop-lifting them.  Tacky, I'd say.

Go?  If at the Marche d'Aligre and in need of a seafood fix, yes, but avoid any appearance of thievery.

Will in the 12th: Wonderfully refreshing food.

Will, the restaurant in the 12th, was wonderful fun a few weeks ago and when a couple who are food aficianados indicated they were going, Colette and I eagerly signed on.  And, it was every bit as refreshing as before.  It's located by the Marche d'Aligre near the district where household furnishings are sold and some of the items in windows make one want to renovate.

For firsts we had three different cold fish preparations that each had a burst of flavor from lemon grass, cilantro or Thai spices - a carpaccio of maigre with raddishes, crab meat with papaya and a tuna ceviche with lime.  All were so refreshing and perfect for summer.

For mains, we had the confited salmon with fresh almonds and ginger, the fish of the day (merlu) and gambas with eggplant, tomatoes, Granny Smiths and citronelle.

For dessert we had the panna cotta, Eton mess and tout choco, all of which were also refreshing and delightful.

Our bill with two bottles and two glasses of wine, no bottled water and 2 coffees, was 241 E, thus 120.50 E a couple.