The Week of January 24th, 2005 Saturday, Francois Simon, Le Figaro ’s crack critic, writing in “Croque Notes” authored an article entitled “Pierre Gagnaire: a continent apart.” Several times he used the number 1000, stressing not only Gagnaire’s range but also number of offerings, at the price of the customer’s leaving the table stuffed. While giving Gagnaire a great deal of praise and utilizing words or phrases such as brilliant and replete with fireworks, Simon notes that the bar was too sauced and the orange dessert overdosed with sugar. His bill for two was 588 Euros with a “small” wine and shared dessert. Jean Miot, Saturday in Le Figaro ’s “Propos de Table” wrote an article on the food fusion “Summit” in Barcelona this week. I’m including it here because it tells who from France participated, to wit: Gaston Lenotre, Pierre Herme et Daniel Giraud, as well as Antoine Heraah from Le Chamarre , who’s considered to represent a prime French example of fusion cuisine (he’s from the Ile Meurice). (FYI, Miot also says that Madrid-dwellers consider the best nearby restaurant to be El Bohio , 25 km on the route to Toledo, run by the 38 year old Pepe Rodrigues, a student of Martin Berasateguy, and mentions his pot-au-feu with extra-ordinary flavors, pig’s ear, bull’s tail and langoustines. Saturday, also in Le Figaro , Alexandra Michot published an interview with Dominique Bouchet , of the eponymous restaurant located at 11, rue Treilhard in the 8th, 01.01.45.61.09.46, already mentioned in the Digest. He says he hopes to equal the quality of cuisine at the Crillon , using 90% of the same suppliers, without the necessity of charging as much. Following the formula for new restaurants used by new chefs in her article summarized below, Michot says Bouchet offers only five each - appetizers, fish, meat courses and desserts. In addition, he serves wine by the glass, carafe and bottle. Monday, Alexandra Michot and Laure Gasporotto wrote an article in Le Figaro entitled “The recipe for new restaurants,” using the opening of Auguste , 54, rue de Bourgogne in the 7th, 01.45.51.61.09 as an example. They says that restaurants tend to be open the same hours, aim to fit the niche between chic bistrot and “semi-gastronomic,” have short menus (3-5 starters, mains & desserts apiece) with great ideas and dishes that change with the seasons (thus they are not only savory and continually test the chef’s inventiveness but they’re cheaper) and they seat 30-50 in order for the chef to have contact with the diners. The decor is soignee but not sophisticated; the service relaxed but professional; the staff like the chef are of good provenance. The wine list is broad, reasonable and it’s available by the glass. They are champions of a good price-quality ratio. Now to the place they used to anchor this article, where the 32 year old Gael Orieux, ex of the Meurice opened his first place on his own exactly a week ago, assisted and encouraged by his ex-boss and mentor Yannick Alleno, who holds two stars. Wines start at 14 Euros; he uses practically the same suppliers as the Meurice; and meals include beef and onion raviolis, leek cannelloni and pure chocolate souffles. At the opening lunch, several critics were already there and by the next day he’s modified his prices to include a formula with an appetizer and main or main and dessert for 35 Euros and wines for 4-5 E a glass. A good decision, say the writers, because that day, practically everyone orders the formula. This week’s “A Nous Paris ’s” Jerome Berger gave a compendium of soup places that included: Zoe Bouillon 4/5 blocks (stars), 66, rue Rebeval in the 19th, Metro Pyranees, 01.42.02.02.83, closed Sundays, soups 4-8 Euros, a la carte 10 Euros. Le Bar a Soupes 3/5, rue de Charonne in the 11th, Metro Ledru-Rollin, 01.43.57.53.79, closed Sundays, soups 3.60-5.40 Euros, formula = 9E, a la carte 10 E. Bar a Soupes et Quenelles Giraudet , 5, rue Princesse in the 6th, 01.43.25.44.44, Metro Mabillion, closed Sundays, soups 5.20-6.90E, a la carte 15 Euros. Ching N’ling Noodle Bar 3/5, 6, rue Gomboust in the 1st, 01.42.61.77.47, Metro Pyramides, closed Sundays, soups 6.50, formula 9.30, a la carte = 15E. Soup & Juice 2/5, 54 av Kleber in the 16th, Metro Boissiere, 01.47.04.38.49, closed weekends, soups 4 & 5E, formulas at lunch 6-8.50 E, a la carte 10 E. A bit farther back in the “Coups de Coeur du Mois,” i.e., the Best of the Month they select Le Curieux Spaghetti Bar , 14 rue St-Merri, Metro Hotel de Ville, 01.42.72.75.97. A small blurb in “A Nous Paris” 10-16 January notes that the following places will train part-time cooks: Ze Kitchen Galerie, Lenotre + l’Hotel Plaza Vendome. I was wondering how to include a useful compendium of restaurants under 30 Euros authored by Sebastien Demorand in Zurban that I missed last week because it was not in the usual “Tables” section, but this week’s Figaroscope ’s “Dossier” published another list of reasonably priced places, so here they are side by side: Zurban Figaroscope Juveniles L’Autobus Naniwa-ya Le Mesturet L’Ambassade d'Auvergne Le Pamphlet Les Enfants rouges Le Pre Verre Fleurs de thym Midi-Vins Frascati L’Affriole Le Pre Verre Bistrot Paul Bert Breakfast in America Les Jumeaux Le Timbre La Regalade Aux Charpentiers La Cerisaie Chez Germaine Aux Marches du palais Kokohana L’Hermes Autour du vin Les Allobroges L’Alsaco Le Coin de verre Le Verre vole Le Temps au temps Les Craneuses L’Ebauchoir Chez Regis L’Ourcine Le Café du commerce La Table Lauriston Duret Mandarin F. Landeau Le Petit Chavignol Asuka Au Bon Coin Lao Siam Bar fleuri Chapeau melon Le Boeuf gros sel Le Baratin Also in Zurban, Vanessa Zocchetti revealed that Pierre Herme, noted patissier, will give 5 days of classes lasting 35 hours costing 1800 Euros for a limited period of time – open to professionals only. She hopes they will occur again - open to all. In his usual space Wednesday, Sebastien Demorand in Zurban reviewed on his main page: the Mediterranean-oriented (i.e., Spain, Marseilles, the Camargue) Les Don Juan, 19, rue de Picardie in the 3rd, 01.42.71.31.71, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, Metro = Republique, in a cute, trendy looking loft-type setting, formulas and lunch menu, 11.50-14 Euros, a la carte = 30 Euros, where he talked of the pimentos of piquillo stuffed with basil(?)-infused squid, lamb and beef with anchovies. In his “Casseroles” he covered three French places (unusual for this internationally-minded critic): a sort-of brasserie L’Autobus Imperial ex-Royal Mondetour, 14, rue Mondetour in the 1st, 01.42.36.00.18, closed Sundays, Metro= Les Halles, (the photo shows gorgeous furniture) formulas at 12.50-16.50 Euros and a la carte about 30 Euros, serving impeccable squid and great, tasty desserts; the trendy looking but retro cooking Le Resto (he plays around with the name a bit like Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on first,….etc.”), 10, rue de Castellane in the 8th, 01.40.07.99.99, closed weekends, Metro Madeleine, a la carte about 35-40 Euros, where he thought the lentil salad with sausage was better than expected but the salmon worse and in sum says only go if you’re passing by; and the relatively-new La Cabane, 96, rue de Levis in the 17th, 01.46.22.51.50, closed Monday nights, Metro Villiers, with formulas and lunch menus at 14-21 Euros with wine, a la carte 22-36 Euros, where it’s shellfish, esp. oysters from Noirmoutier, all the way. If you’ve not had enough, Demorand also reviewed a book “Gouts et tabou 2005” which seemingly deals primarily with restaurant toilets; it cost 19E if you’re interested. In Figaroscope’s “C’est nouveau," Emmanuel Rubin et al gave three hearts to a place I’ve already mentioned several times in prior weeks and above: Dominique Bouchet, 11, rue Treilhard in the 8th, 01.01.45.61.09.46, closed weekends, Metro Miromesnil, serving what they call “old French food” for 50-60 Euros a la carte; two hearts each to Chez Euzebio, 11, rue Hegesippe-Moreau in the 18th, 01.44.70.05.42, closed Sundays and Mondays, Metro La Fourche, serving tapas and paellas, Les Don Juan {Ed Note: which someone misspelled in the print version}, 19, rue de Picardie in the 3rd, 01.42.71.31.71, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, Metro = Arts & Metiers, serving lamb stew with dates for example, and La Gare, 19, Chaussee de la Muette in the 16th, 01.42.15.15.23, Metro La Muette or RER Boucainvilliers, open everyday {Ed. Note: this wonderful looking place is just across the park from the Marmottan} with a new chef ex-Plaza, but prices are 1/3rd there, for example, the formula is 15, menu-carte 27-32 Euros, open every day {caution: brunch on Sundays,} serving things such as a good tartare and generous fries; and finally a broken heart to a Chinese/Thai place Le Dragon in Neuilly-sur Seine. Thursday, Pierre Charles in ParuVendu, in yet another free newspaper that seems to be making a run on A Nous Paris had several fairly up to date restaurant recommendations (coordinates can be found in this or prior Digest posts); this week: Le Cinq Mars, Le Curieux Spaghetti Bar, La Can Tin’h, Le Music Hall, + Le Café Moderne and he reminds us that Bruno Chartier has moved from Le Guilvinac to Le Saint-Amour, that the first female maitre d’hotel at Le Train Bleu has moved to the Grain de Sel, that the fairly recently opened resto at Roland Garros will now fall under Savoyard Marc Veyrat’s hands, that Bon has a new chef and team and that Restaurant Michel (in the 16th, not the 11th) will henceforth be called Aux Marches du Palais. Thursday-Friday in Le Monde we had a bounty of food news. First, Jean-Claude Ribaut wrote a very thoughtful comparison of two of the premier three-star chefs in Paris - Alain Passard and Pierre Gagnaire – almost in answer to Simon’s tribute to Gagnaire five days before. I cannot do justice to it, so I urge all of us who have dined with both masters to read the original, while it’s still up and free. For a cheap guy like me, who ate with both when the dollar was king and they were both young, the idea of “80 euros” for starters and “143 euros” for mains is off-putting, but hey, someone’s paying it. Ribaut’s task sounds much like Craig Claiborne’s then seemingly excessively expensive $4,000 dinner at Chez Denis, but then I’m showing my age. On the other page, Ribaut’s “Toques en Pointe” covers several places. First he reports on the place I noted above: Auguste, 54, rue de Bourgogne in the 7th, 01.45.51.61.09, closed weekends {Ed Note: I’ll report my take on it next week,} where Gael Orieux, ex-Yannick Alleno at the Meurice opened his homage last Monday to the father of modern cooking - Auguste Escoffier; in sum - it sounds great (endives with smoked ham, pink tuna with ginger and an “unctuous” chocolate souffle), the menu at lunch is 35 € and a la carte : 55 €. Second is La Truffe noire, 2, place Parmentier in Neuilly-sur-Seine, 01.46.24.94.14, closed weekends, already well reported, where the new guy, Patrice Hardy, ex-Martinez, chef at Ladurée, the one on the Champs-Elysées, and at the “fleeting” Korova, now plays with truffles {well, give me a better translation}, the dinner truffle menu = 97 €; menu is 36 € and a la carte, 55 €. And finally he writes up La Lucarne aux Chouettes in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, 03.86.87.18.26, closed Sunday nights and Mondays (Americans take note; this is the ruined building Leslie Caron, of “Gigi” fame breathed new life into); Ribaut calls the food simply and tasty, lunch menu = 20 €, menu-carte = 38 €. OK. On Saturday Le Figaro devoted two pages to things gastronomic. Most prominent was a story on the “8 lines of page 382” of the Michelin Red Guide for Benelux that jumped the gun on rating a not yet opened resto in Belgium; an event that had ramifications here in Paris, despite its involving the Benelux edition, coming after a very strong critique of the guide’s practices. Indeed, Francois Simon’s “Croque Notes” led off with some comments on the scandal. Then, though, he discussed what seems to be his new obsession, people calling on his direct phone line to give him good and bad news; a 15 Euro menu near Vonnas, the lack of good places in the 16th and the opening of Auguste. Then he details five errors Robert Parker and Joel Robuchon made in their infamous trip to Japan; (1) including to many people (20); (2) opening the wine at the last minute; (3) opening the wine vertically with a plan old tire-bouchon; (4) having Joel R smell the wine before it had a chance to “breathe,” thus allowing the smell to go from “putrid” and “dead” to “perfection” and (5) to carafe the wines, thereby “breaking their intimate structure.” {Ouch! and Wow!} There was also in interview with Jerome Gangneux, ex-Apicius, of the trendy place called 6 New York, which is its address, in which he says the Michelin scandal reveals that “annexes” of places, which the Ostend Queen was, are judged differently than the mother-ships and rarely seek stardom. Finally, aside from a piece on chefs’ Congresses, the “peg” being the recent “SIRHA,” already noted above and elsewhere on eGullet.com, the 9th World’s Cup for Pastry was won by the French team consisting of folk from the hotel Plaza Athenee, Pic, + a pastry shop in Thonon-les-Bains. In the JDD’s Version Femina this Sunday, Astrid De T’Serclaes wrote up an Italian place Cibus, which has been around for a while. In the regular newpaper, Alain Dutournier chef at Le Carre des Feuillants selected his three favorite affordable restos: Fish, la Boissonnerie, l’Alcazar + le Train Bleu. Resonating with Jerome Berger’s article, summarized above, in “A Nous Paris,” Yann Philippin in JDD discusses the return of soups to the menus of great places like l’Arpege + Guy Savoy but even lowly restos like Le Bar a Soupes and notes that sales are up almost 6% and Campbell’s accounts for 45% of the market. Edited by John Talbott Feburary 1st to eliminate redundancies. 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