John Talbott's Paris

Jacques Faussat with a little help from Geoffrey Rembert, in the 17th: Pretty fancy cooking.

Jacques Faussat in the 17th is a delightful place to have a last meal before heading off elsewhere.

The chef and his sommelier started us off with glasses of a lovely Chardonnay with amuses, potato and celery puree and pieces  of quenelle-like fish in a light sauce.

Our entrees were terrific langoustines and mackerel; our mains sweetbreads and the chef's grandmother's famous flamed fowl (today's fowl was delicious pigeon!); and desserts praline soufflés (wonderful, as before) and cooked pineapple.

Our bill, with the white wine offered, plus a bottle and glass of red, and coffees, was 292E or 146.50E a couple.

Coretta in the 17th: A perfect Sunday lunch? I'm not sure how it could be better.

Coretta, 151 bis Rue Cardinet in the 17th is one of "the favorites" readers keep plying me for that I've never revealed to anyone else in the universe.  Sorry, but the internet doesn't work like that.  We entered and were warmly welcomed by husband of the team that makes this place sing - Matthieu Marcant.

We were eating again with Heidi Ellison, who was on a day "off" having written Coretta up before on Paris Update and were more than happy to be treated to some champagne and an amuse of cream cheese wrapped in a slice of rutabaga, if I heard correctly.  For an entree I couldn't resist a lobe of foie gras with winter vegetables with a wonderful rich broth.  Then my female companions had lieu jaune and I the sweetbreads with the crusty outside and soft inside - both with more February veggies.  To top it off we all shared two portions of their caramel brioche - which in chatting with M. Marcant we learned derived from a dessert served by Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Mercer Kitchen on Spring Street.

Our bill, with a bottle and glass of wine and 3 coffees, was 169E or 112.66 E a couple.

Jacques Faussat in the 17th: "That was a really good meal." Indeed it was.

Jacques Faussat in the 17th is one of those places with a plain front in back of which is an elegant restaurant serving star-level food.

Chef Faussat started us off with three amuses: jellied beets, puffs and a soup of potatoes and celeriac, then Colette had a veloute of vegetables, our friend had a perfect egg with autumn sauce and I was treated to a piece of gravlax with chopped winter fruit (unpictured).  Our mains were beef and the chef's famous cognac-flamed partridge with its innards and foie gras and such.  For dessert, Colette got a praline soufflé on her "menu" while we indulged in the mignardises.

Our bill, with a bottle and 2 glasses of wine and 2 coffees, was 205E or 136.66E a couple.

 

Mova in the 17th: Do you think this is what Sebastien Demorand meant by bistronomie*?

Mova in the 17th is one of these places that I think Sebastien Demorand of Zurban, Le Fooding and Master Chef fame, had in mind when he coined the term 'gastronomie' in 2004 (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastien_Demorand) "Grande cuisine servie en petite quantité comme dans un bistrot" according to Wiktionnaire.

 

It has a 2-2-2 menu-carte and we started off with a veloute of sweet potato and incredibly coriander flavored beets with fromage frais.

Then we split again,, half the table going for the succulent chicken with roasted cauliflower and the other half cherishing the mackerel with confited celery with a passion fruit vinaigrette.

We ended, except for coffees, with rice pudding, almond and praline as well as creamy  lemon tart with crumble and meringue.

Our bill, with 1.5 bottles of wine, was 134.50E or 67.25E a couple.

Mova in the 17th: Do you think this is what Sebastien Demorand meant by bistronomie*?

Mova in the 17th is one of these places that I think Sebastien Demorand of Zurban, Le Fooding and Master Chef fame, had in mind when he coined the term 'gastronomie' in 2004 (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastien_Demorand) "Grande cuisine servie en petite quantité comme dans un bistrot" according to Wiktionnaire.

 

It has a 2-2-2 menu-carte and we started off with a veloute of sweet potato and incredibly coriander flavored beets with fromage frais.

Then we split again,, half the table going for the succulent chicken with roasted cauliflower and the other half cherishing the mackerel with confited celery with a passion fruit vinaigrette.

Le Petit Gris in the 17th: Looks traditional; but anything but; Yankees stay away!

Le Petit Gris in the 17th.  Let's dissect my headline.  1st - The dishes on the carte (menu) look traditional; cromesquis, snails, frogs legs, ganache, etc.  2nd - But they are prepared with new twists: the snails are not in butter and parsley but in the cromesquis, the frogs legs are not sautéed in butter and parsley (beginning to get the picture?); and the chocolate is not in a cream but a bar.  3rd - No American (read Yankee) would be caught dead here, it's 100% French. MFFA: make France French Again!

Colette being indisposed, there were 3 of us, who respected the menu's caution that we should share dishes intended for 2-3 persons.  So from Left to right: cromesquis of snails with chorizo, potatoes darphin (very yummy), frogs legs, filet of beef Wellington (with an astonishing pastry), filet (not quenelles) of brochet and a "finger" of chocolate in nuts.

Our bill, with a bottle of San Pellegrino and Cotes de Ventoux plus 2 coffees, was 110E or 74E a couple.

PS. The repetition of "but" is to annoy other English Major graduates of Cambridge Community College.

Papillon in the 17th: Best "recovery" meal of the Year 2020.

Pre: So, here we are, toodling off to Jacques Faussat in the 17th for what I intended to be another great pintade and we get a phone call from my former co-moderator saying "They're closed, no delivery of food was made, where do we go?"  I enter panic mode, "ah, there's a bistro there on Wagram, and l'Escient, and Chez Fred, oie oie."  "Calm down," says Colette, I don't but when our guest enters the Kapten, the two women say "Papillon'".  Of course, Papillon.

Papillon in the 17th, right next to the Garde Manger, run by his partner Laura Portelli, ex-Vole Verre, now having spawned Pique Nique, was opened in 2016 by Christophe Saintagne, ex-Crillon, and was most welcoming to us despite our not having been in quite a while.  One glance at the "menu" in blue and carte in white and we were off and running.

Our friend had the 38E menu which began with a tasty lot of root vegetables with parmesan and greens.

Then she had the menu duck raviolis with mushrooms and an intense broth; Colette had barbue with an olive sauce and I had the meal of my dreams (Gold Standard = Chez Catherine), strips of wild Colvert duck with a sauce made of its innards - the best.

To wind up, Colette had a delicious pear and ice cream dessert, our codiner had various citrus fruits with sauce "like a vacherin" and I waited for the madeleines which I knew would be coming straight out of the oven.

Our bill, with a bottle and glass of fine Bordeaux and 3 coffees, was 174E or 116E a couple.

We began the New Year just fine.

 

Coretta in the 17th: What a fabulous meal from such a friendly couple.

Coretta in the 17th has been our “to go” place on Sundays when Colette is in town and the welcome we got today from Matthieu Marcant and Beatriz Gonzalez, past the brightly painted windows, was as friendly as ever.

After starting us off with some celebratory champagne and their fabulous bread and butter, we had the amuse of courges, coconut and chips (from here on, photos are courtesy of Heidi Ellison of Paris update who rescued me after my camera pooped); then macaroni with foie gras and truffles!!!! and gravlax.

Two of us then chose pressed venison with an intense sauce and Colette had quail - all with appropriate vegetables and herbs.

We finished with a melange of mango sorbet, passion fruit and meringue bits and their classic brioche with caramel and ice cream.

Our bill with a bottle of Graves Merlot, 3 coffees and truffles, was 178€ or 118€ a couple. 

 

Anona in the 17th: elegance itself.

Anona, in the 17th, is a place we’ve come to think of as the epitome of elegant cuisine and today was no different.

The celery water came in tasteful cups, the butter looked like it was made for the royal family, the amuse was in bowls that were clearly handcrafted and our friend's veal tongue was tender and again served on an elegant plate.

For mains, our friend had the lambs leg with many different carrots, Colette had scallops with other veggies and I had a slice of Colvert duck with an intense hazelnut sauce with tiny potatoes and squash.

For dessert our friend ordered the baba, which unfortunately seemed to be soaked in warm water before any rum was added but the tasty nut cakes served on a scooped out wood “canoe” made up for it.

Our bill, with their fizzy water, a bottle of Tire Bouchon and 3 coffees was 164€ or 109.32€ a couple.

Le Petit Gris in the 17th: Much more than a cute little bistro with no pesky Yankees.

Pre: As I entered this cute little bistro in the Pereire area of the 17th two subjects I'd seen on the web popped into my head: one, where do you find neat little bistros which are known only by the locals and two, where do you find French comfort food.  Well, welcome to the Petit Gris:

7.6 Le Petit Gris, 67 Rue Rennequin in the 17th, 06.11.34.69.91, closed Sundays and Mondays (Metro: Pereire) has its carte divided not into the usual three parts: Entrees, Plats and Desserts but Terre, Mer and Vegetal and Sucre for sure.  I knew the chef Jean-Baptiste Ascione not as much from his appearance on TopChef, a show I found much too long, but his stint at the Machine a Coudes in B/B which I really enjoyed.

One look at the carte told me all I wanted to know - go for the comfort food - in this case, escargots with a spicy sauce which had just the right proportions of salt and pepper; coques, which went on endlessly with a fine salty sea broth; and a ganache of chocolate 75% with caramel sauce.

My bill, with a half-bottle of wine and coffee, served in an ultra-cool heavy-as-lead cup, was 46E or 92E a couple.  dB's= 77.4

Go?   Wny not venture where the Anglos have not yet arrived?