[pirate]

is an enterprise (new?) of y Christian Constant apparently devoted to seafood. I love herring eggs and one of the dishes mentioned was potato blinis with herring caviar. Has anyone eaten there?

[John Talbott]

Yes - please see http://forums.egulle...showtopic=40155 I've eaten there 3 times and loved it.

[John Talbott]

As everyone knows, CC has turned over the operation to one of his trusted lieutenants; I have not re-eaten there but from a scope of the menu and place today, it looks pretty much the same. One hopes and one will see.

[Laidback]

I have been going to Fables de la Fontaine since it 1st opened, transferring my allegiance from the Bistro du Dome as a reasonable seafood place. When it was awarded a new macaron by the great god Michelin this year I was shocked and disappointed, suspecting it would now be difficult to get a seat since it is so tiny. We did manage to get a 2-topper for lunch today with a couple of days notice, and I feel that since David and Sebastian have assumed ownership it is better than ever. It appears that the food is more artfully presented, the service is "souriant", and for the immediate future they continue to be open on Sunday.

[John Talbott]

Laidback, on Apr 6 2007, 12:21 PM, said:

I have been going to Fables de la Fontaine since it 1st opened, transferring my allegiance from the Bistro du Dome as a reasonable seafood place. When it was awarded a new macaron by the great god Michelin this year I was shocked and disappointed, suspecting it would now be difficult to get a seat since it is so tiny. We did manage to get a 2-topper for lunch today with a couple of days notice, and I feel that since David and Sebastian have assumed ownership it is better than ever. It appears that the food is more artfully presented, the service is "souriant", and for the immediate future they continue to be open on Sunday.

Good news indeed Laidback. Thanks.
But what's a "two topper?" Wikipedia says it's an "11' sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. Background. The Topper is a very popular one-design boat with a large international....."

[Felice]

John Talbott, on Apr 6 2007, 12:54 PM, said:

Good news indeed Laidback.  Thanks.

Yes thanks Laidback

John Talbott, on Apr 6 2007, 12:54 PM, said:

But what's a "two topper?"

A 'two-top' is restaurant speak for a table for two.

[Barbara Moss]

I thought this restaurant belongd to Christian Constant. How long in advance do you need to book?

[John Talbott]

Barbara Moss, on Apr 9 2007, 11:26 AM, said:

I thought this restaurant belongd to Christian Constant. How long in advance do you need to book?

So as not to double post, I'll refer you to this thread but it's also discussed in fables.htm' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>Paris Update. The key word here I believe is Partners.
A week should suffice I'd guess.

[Laidback]

Barbara Moss, on Apr 9 2007, 01:26 PM, said:

I thought this restaurant belongd to Christian Constant. How long in advance do you need to book?

I can't give a definitive answer, but we booked on Tues. for that Fri.(Good Friday) with no problem. It was full, but so are many small seafood places on Good Friday.

My best guess, based on gossipy ex-employees, is that M. Constant still has partial ownership; he is still very much a presence. I think that he recognizes good opportunities to leverage himself and will continue to build his little St. Dominique kingdom. I personally don't like the 7:30/9:30 seating policy at Violon and Les Fables, but I usually eat at lunchtime so his nod to business savvy doesn't bother me that much.

[Gabrielle Claudine]

The new team, Sebastian and David, offered a wide variety of entrees and mains. I began with the “deconstructed” gazpacho de tomate fondant, tartare de saumon au gingembre! It seems that liquid “soup” is currently out of fashion, at least at the Fables, because my gazpacho was “jellied” – there was no liquid soup at all, rather, the tomato portion was congealed, as in an aspic. Not to my taste. On top of the “aspic” was a layer of puréed avocado. The whereabouts of the saumon and gingembre remain a mystery. As you can tell, this was not to my taste. The accompanying toast with a basil/oil “spread” was delicious. For my main course, I had a second entrée: the “croustillants de langoustines au basilic.” Four very tasty langoustines had been deep fried and were served with a dipping sauce that seemed to have mustard as a key ingredient. They were delicious, even though I did not connect with the basil that was listed in the ingredients. For dessert, I had rice pudding with apricots – good, but not as wonderful as my gold standard, still on offer at L’Ebauchoir in the 12th arr. The cost of our meal for four was 196 €.

[grace3]

Bonjour de Paris!

Dinner at Les Fables de la Fontaine. It will always have the Constant touch. Cold evening but no wind so walking La Bourdonnais and rue Constant part of rue Saint Dominique was great for window shopping. Spotted a magnum of La Grande Dame but just ignored the widow Clicquot and went to 131 rue Constant/rue Saint Dominique.

Still thinking of La Grande Dame which does not match the pocketbook, we opted for 2 flutes of Demoiselle Parisienne. Hey, any sparkling wine would fill the longing at this point (LOL!).

Mme. J had the huitres speciales Gillardeau numero 3 (we surmised that was plumper and bigger that numero 1...) and that was delicieux. Mme. L had a Bouillon leger d'Ossau Irraty, gambas rotie au lard, creme glacee au piquillo. That was one lovely dish - a round piece of the Basque cheese topped with a large roasted prawn, topped again by an oval scoop of frozen creme of piquillos (a Basque red pepper), all floating in a light bouillon with a slight foam. That could have been dinner but we have to conitnue, n'est-ce pas?

There was something in their menu we have not seen before: "Maigre de chalut, croustillants de topinambours et chataignes, jus au chorizo". We both had to order that one! Maigre is a deep-water fish, a sort of cross between a bass and a sea bream; firm in texture with a deep-sea taste to it. Chalut is a small fast boat that fishermen take for deep-sea fishing. The maitre-d was very pleased to explain to us and he enjoyed coming by every once in a while and making sure les mesdames are alright. With all that, forgot to ask what a topinambour was but it had the taste of patate douce; together with the pieces of chestnuts inside the croustillant (they came like a couple of large nems) made the dish more delightful - salty, sweet, crunchy and slight bitter taste from the green herbs added to the plate. WOW, I'd like to have that one again. a big BRAVO to Sebastien et David(Fables two chefs).

Riz au lait a la confiture de figues, creme legere de pain d'epices pour Mmme. J. It would be a shame to translate that to just plain Rice Pudding, don't you think? Gateau Basque was on offer that night pour Mme. L which, of course, does not need translating.

We have invited the Swiss couple from Bern sitting next to us at dinner for coffee and some of the best caramels (my humble opinion). It is from the new shop of Jacques Genin at 133 ru de Turenne on the 3rd. IT IS WORTH THE SPLURGE!

a bientot et bisous de Paris......

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Topinambour is Jerusalem artichoke.

[Ptipois]

And chalut is merely a trawl.

[grace3]

Thanks to Both for clarification!!