John Talbott's Paris

Chantoiseau in the 18th: A star is born (on Montmartre no less!)

7.5 Chantoiseau, 63 rue Lepic in the 18th, 01.42.51.39.95 closed Mondays and Tuesdays (Metro: Lamarck-Caulincourt/Abbesses) opened Wednesday and already it's clearly a big hit on the Mont. Two brothers, Nicolas et Julien Durand chef and one of their wives, Julia Soto, covers the salle; among them they've put in time at Servan, Capitaine, Gagnaire and the Georges V, which is pretty impressive. I often say a restaurant and carte look the same as a thousand other places - that's not the case here!  The décor is sleek, modern bare stone and wood (which they themselves stripped down and redid) and the menu offers many items which you usually see only one of which elsewhere.

We started off with 4 warm gougeres with comte, sorry, I couldn't help myself); a saupiquet of mushrooms, coques, mussels and enoki with honey, lemon and sapin vinegar and superb Utah Beach oysters with lemon, coriander and ginger.  A wonderful start.

For mains, Colette had scallops with heliantis, sarrasin (buckwheat) and I had chevreuil which was young enough to be easy to chew, with white and red cabbage.  Another wow course.

For dessert, Colette had the millefeuille and I a tart of agrumes; both fitting ends to a superb meal

Our bill, with a bottle of biodynamic Languedoc, 2 coffees and the mignardises, was 146E.  db"s = 80.1  BTW the bread was superb.

Go?  Not since L'Arcane have we seen such cuisine up here! Julia's welcome was so inviting.

Le Fusain in the 18th: another wonderful meal of good products with excellent preparations.

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  Le Fusain in the 18th, is another one of these glorious unsung places, known only to the locals, even on Montmartre.  Well, I'll gladly keep the secret.

  

   

  

  Of the five of us two chose 1sts: a perfect egg in a sauce of Jerusalem artichoke and big slices of superb sashimi with shredded pickled beets that were  as effective as wasabi in bringing out the flavor of the salmon.

  

  

   

  

  Then we went our separate ways with:  perfectly sourced and cooked scallops with cauliflower and truffle oil, a filet of daurade with black rice risotto, and ballottines of chicken with quite delicious mashed potatoes with a lake of cepes sauce that was yummy beyond belief.

  

  

  For desserts we had the three-layered banana cheesecake and a chocolate bomb atop ice cream; both wiped-the-plate clean quality.

  

  With a bottle of Brouilly on the shaky table (my fault) and three coffees, our bill was 174E or 69.60E a couple for a first-rate+ meal.

B.O.U.L.O.M. in the 18th: This all-you-can-eat for 29€ place is a hoot.

Pre: All my faithful readers have been following me as I've followed Julien Deboue from Afaria (where he had an elegant dining room, but you got the good stuff at a table for 6-8 outside the kitchen) to Dans Les Landes with its yuge long chalkboard of Southwestern “tapas” such as chicken hearts, to A. Noste with (again) an elegant upstairs but the good stuff was downstairs at long tables, would not be surprised that he has taken over the dreadful local place - Chez Frezet - notable for having a Baltimore chef - and again there is a front room cafe but after the bakery,

the receptionist hands you a basket full of bread she just sliced and ushers you into, TA DUM, 

7.5 B.O.U.L.O.M (translation - bakery where you also can eat), 181, rue Ordener in the 18th (Metro: not really), open 7/7, 01.46.06.64.20, is more than a buffet all-you-can-eat for 29€ joint, it’s an experience, a frigging hoot, a cross between an high upper class French Bar Mitzvah and an epicurean airplane hanger. You cannot understand it until you’ve been.

I entered the cafe/bakery a bit early and like 7 other strivers, was instructed to wait until it’s official opening. When people started streaming in off the street with scooters and kids, ahead of us, I waved my cane and after proper vetting on la Fourchette, was ushered in with a huge basket of freshly sliced breads.

There ensued the introduction.  “Have you been here before?, are you familiar with the drill?, do you have a clue what’s going on?” “No, no, and no.” “Ok, so over there are cold firsts, back there is the water, up 2 steps are the cooked items, and here’s the wine list.”   Cool.

So I hobbled over to the first serve yourself buffet - OMG, leeks, oysters, bulots, shrimp, chorizo, sausage, duck rillettes, you name it.  Oh I’m full.  But gotta do the hot items - pork ribs, beef cheeks, frites, purée of celery “may I help you to the table?”  Out of the corner of my eye I saw a cheffe making something - an omelet maybe? - no, pain perdu - wonderful, and with caramel sauce.  Just then, a very young chef has a saucepan full of duck sausage he’s offering.  I’d forgotten it was Deboue’s specialty.  No, I can’t, not after dessert.  Aie yie!

The bill, think about it, for 20 plus items that I had but maybe 45 in toto offered, I could have had, with a bottle of wine, for a couple, would come to 94€.  Db’s were high, though, blew out my decibel meter.

Go?  If you have a family of 6 full of picky eaters and want to crash after walking up and over Montmartre, this is your place.  I loved every bit of food.

So, here people bused their dirty dishes and I guess like all those people hiding behind your TV screen, some plongeur reaches up and snares them.

Chez Val in the 18th: “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.” Sez Lee Childs’ Jack Reacher.

Pre: So today, December 5, 2019, was the day of the Mother of all French Strikes and I was all set for a day of misery.  However,  I awoke to the sound of a leaf blower in the garden, children buzzing before school, and the electricity and internet worked.  But, ever the pessimist, in anticipation of just such a strike day, I decided to eat nearby, but where?

Then I recalled that one fine afternoon I was walking home and almost stumbled over a strikingly beautiful, very thin young woman painting a sign on the sidewalk around the corner from my building.  “What’cha doing?”  “Lettering a sign for my restaurant.”  “What sort of food?”  “French.” “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

5.7 Chez Val, 57, rue Montcalm in the 18th (Metro: Jules Joffrin), closed Sundays and Mondays, 09.72.85.49.51, reminds me of the Samovar, on West 94th in NYC or the original Spring in the 9th - one person taking orders, cooking the food, serving 20+ persons, tallying the bill, all effortlessly.  The carte is a simple 3-3-3 one for something like 20€, the wines about the same price.

So to start, my friends who live up the Mont had the perfect egg with petit pois and cream of tomato soup, and I had 3 lovely beef croquettes.

Then one of my pals had the filet of lieu with a purée of something and two of us had filets of pork, with vegetables.

To finish we shared portions of chocolate mousse and creme caramel.

Our bill with a bottle and glass of wine and no coffee (we forgot) was scooped up by one friend, but looked to me upside down to be something like 80€ something for three, thus, let’s say 60€ a couple.

Go?  If you live or rent in the neighborhood, this is a fine local find.  It sure beats banging heads with the black casseurs.  And the bread is superior for the nabe.

RIWI in the 18th: what a difference a gracious hostess makes!

Pre: (1) I make great fun of my dear friend and fellow blogger Randy de Paris for insisting that we judge restaurants by the ”total experience” not just the food and (2) I ate at RIWI’s big sister, Les Tantes Jeanne, run by the Kurdish (you remember them, our “allies” we let the Russians, Turks and Syrians go after) chef Octave Kasakolu with Randy and JJ and we had such different experiences I rated it 4-5.5.  Well, back to the future, except for our spectacular hostess.

6.7 RIWI (which means fox in Kurdish), 40 rue Veron in the 18th, 01.44.85.21.80, open 7/7 from 8-1:30 AM, (Metro: Abbesses), opened recently and despite my mixed experience next door at Les Tantes Jeanne, I was game to try it, although hesitant also because it touts its cocktails.  My friend and I were very warmly greeted coming in out of the rain and more than nicely relieved of my cane and our parkas by the only woman in the place. 

My friend started with razor clams, which were not drowned in garlic olive oil but beautifully cooked in butter and I had a tuna tartare on a very nicely dressed fresh green salad.

Then he had a pork rib with a honey sauce while I had grilled mackerel - BUT we both really enjoyed the white beans that sat conveniently between us much better than our “standard” dishes.

We ended up sharing an absolutely superb Paris-Brest with a crispy crust to die for.

Our bill, with a bottle and glass (offered) of Saumur picked by my codiner, a wine guy and 2 coffees was 112.80€ with not much music/noise and better than ok bread.  

Then I called a car, when that guy cancelled, I called another company, he cancelled. At this point Madame, the hostess/wait lady turned Manager and English speaking CEO, taking charge and my iPhone and got me a G7. Whew!

Go?  Randy-buddy, you’re right, it is the “total experience” and the impression the take-charge lady here  made on me moved this restaurant’s place in the firmament of Montmartre places way up.

Solstice in the 5th: Very pleasant but a bridge too far for we North Right Bankers.

Solstice in the 5th is a place I visited a month ago with a friend who lives and works nearby and it was a treat for us both.

Today there were 4 of us, all from way North of the Right Bank.  After the amuse of mullet ceviche with chervil and a wonderful offsetting puff, we had corn purée with fine corn soup over it and marinated trout, which somehow my camera missed.  The choices for main courses were either maigre or leg of lamb, both very pleasant.  For dessert we all ordered slices of mandarins with its mousse.

The restaurant is very attractive and we appreciated the fact no intrusive music intruded on our conversation.  Our bill, with a bottle and glass of wine and 4 coffees, was 238€ or 119€ a couple.

Le Bistrot du Maquis in the 18th: The perfect autumnal afternoon affair.

Le Bistro du Maquis, 69, rue Caulincourt in the 18th is not only in the neighborhood but serves surprisingly good food on Sunday afternoons in Montmartre.  We entered when it was rainy and almost empty and exited in the sunlight with an almost full house.

Looking over the carte, Colette came up with a brilliant idea - share the sauteed girolles before going any farther - and to our surprise Chef André Le Letty sent out two portions, which were simply superb.  Then my dining companions both had the bar with a shellfish sauce flavored with saffron and I had the merlu with more delicious girolles and a peppery shrimp-based sauce - both with fall vegetables.  We ended up with a baked apple and roasted figs - both with off-setting ice cream.

Our bill, with a bottle of fine Bergerac and 3 coffees, was 160E or 106.66E a couple.

Sanguine in the 18th: very nice food and very easy prices.

I went back today to Sangrine in the 18th with Colette and the French friend we’ve known the longest and dived into their 3-3-3 22€ menu with gusto, having:

- jellied terrine of pigs feet with carrots

- oysters in a coriander and chopped cucumber sauce

- what they called moussaka which was a strips of 7 hour lamb with eggplant topped with béchamel sauce with terrific green salad.

poached peaches and a chocolate mousse.

    

With a bottle of Brouilly and 3 coffees, our bill was 72€ or 48€ a couple.

 

Sanguine in the 18th: My 4th day in a row where unknown places serving fine food were packed with locals.

Pre: People ask me how to find a small, intimate bistro which is “undiscovered”, where there are no Yankees (in Paris that means Americans, not descents of Gettysburg’s 20th Maine or 15th Massachusetts) and where there is real food, neither Metro nor frou-frou).  Well, I have some tips.

6.5 Sanguine, 41, rue du Ruisseau in the 18th, 01.42.64.35.19, closed Sunday and Monday (Metro: Jules Joffrin), opened in June in a spot that's had a troubled history, bad feng shui?  Maybe.  I’ve been on a roll this rentree and so when I heard about the shutdown of the entire Parisian public transportation system today, i remembered that a new place in the nabe had opened that was a tough walk from home, but doable.  So I telephoned last night. “Will you be open tmrw?,  Of course, I’d like to make a reservation.”  Smart move, because by the time I got to coffee, every seat, inside and out, was filled.

The menu/carte is simple, 3-3-3, 22€ for three dishes, wine starting at 28€ a bottle.  I liked it already. The host, perhaps owner, was terrific and handled the tables inside and out flawlessly.  I started out with 3 giant oysters (the ardoise said #2 but they were bigger) with chopped cukes and coriander; then had the crispy skinned grondin with fall veggies in a bouillabaisse sauce; and finished up with a lovely chocolate mousse topped with blueberries.

My bill, with a 1/2 bottle of Morgan and a coffee, amounted to 38€ or 76€ a couple.  Db’s = 82.1. Handicapped accessible with a big step up.

Go?  I’ll be coming back; this is the kind of place that will never get NYT/Figaro/Michelin notice.  It’s just one more glorious find in a far away neighborhood.  Which is fine by me.

Alix & Mika in the 18th: Best frites in years; nifty, neat, quick Montmartre meal.

5.8 Alix & Mika French Cut Lovers, 37, rue Lamarck in the 18th, 01.73.71.19.90, closed Mondays and Tuesdays and open Wednesdays to Fridays only for dinner but weekends for lunch and dinner, (Metro: Lamarck-Caulincourt) is located right between the old and new sites of L’Arcane.  It’s been open 2 years but I only noticed it recently when prowling around.

The carte is really simple: Tartares of beef, veal, mixed meat, salmon, tuna, white fish, mixed fish, grains - in French, Italian, crusty, poke, Mexican, Greek, Nice, forest, oriental, Southwest, tropical and Romesco styles with accompaniments.  I figured I’d go with the basics - bio beef with fries.  And I hit the jackpot: the beef was perfectly sourced, cut and presented and the fries, rarely good south of Belgium, were cooked twice in duck fat and really good.  For dessert I had the cafe gourmand with a wonderful chocolate cake, panna cotta, and speculos mix with Illy coffee.

My bill with two glasses of Languedoc and a celebratory cognac, was 51€.  Db’s = 79.4, accessible albeit on an incline.

Go?  For my readership, probably not; but for young families in the area, it’s a hot spot.