Agapé, Paris 17th

[daemon]

My friend and I had the 39€ lunch menu ( Amuse, entree, main course, dessert)+extra entree, extra cheese, and extra half dessert (not that the menu was not enought just because we could not get enough!)

I'll keep it short :

Raw " tete de veau"+citrus caviar : amazing

parsley soup 2 ways ("head to toe") :creamy, earthy, light : stunning !

john dorry w/oyster espuma and noirmoutier potatoes : misssing the point but very nice still

cheese course by Anthony : as always, perfect

dessert : hot banana+ rosemary icecream : unlikely but stunning pairing, thepugnacity of the rosemary balancing so well the roasted banana sweetness

conclusion : not cheap, but IMHO, the 2008 good surprise in paris so far.

Agapé 51 rue Jouffroy d'Abbans 75017

menu from 39 to 110euro/PP.

[John Talbott]

conclusion : not cheap, but IMHO, the 2008 good surprise in paris so far.

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Daemon: Great report but could you define "not cheap", eg what was your bill?

Also when Colette and I went by last week, the wine list was not posted; what sort of numbers are we talking about?

Thanks.

John

[daemon]

John

My friend and I ordered the 39euro lunch menu but also a lot of other stuff ( extra entree, cheese, dessert), 1 bottle of wine, 2 glasses of white wine, 2glasses of red, 1 café, and 4Rhums = ± 260euro bill, which could have been 160 without the rhums ( yes quite expensive but yet very good).

so i'd say, at lunch 2 would pay±130 ( if reasonnable about wine) and ±200 for dinner

[Chocolate & Zucchini]

Funny - my friend and I had lunch there on the same day. We also ordered the 39-euro lunch menu, but our amuse and dessert were different from yours, Daemon (or perhaps the one you mentioned was the extra one you'd ordered?):

Bread: Mini baguette from Poujauran + Bordier butter, sweet or "smoked" (they'll soon switch to regular Poujauran pain de campagne as these miniature baguettes are too time-consuming to make)

Amuse: Fennel soup with black olives, lard-topped crouton (fennel + olive is a winning combination; the overall result was a tad salty for me, especially when you factor in the slice of Colona lard)

Starter: Parsley root soup, herb emulsion (great flavor, would have wished for a crunchy element in there somewhere)

Main: Saint-Pierre (John Dory), oyster foam, grenaille potatoes from Noirmoutier (a well-executed classic -- well, apart from the foam; the lunch menu has you pick fish or meat -- meat that day was lamb)

Dessert: Sweet carrot soup, blood orange sorbet (excellent mix of spices in the soup, and I would have bought a liter of that sorbet if it were for sale)

Coffee: you get a choice between Ethiopia, Panama, and I forget what the third was (7 to 8 euros), and it came with a fresh mint ganache and a passionfruit caramel from -- you've guessed it -- Jacques Genin.

A fine meal overall -- good value, pleasant atmosphere, friendly and efficient staff. I do think the chef might balance the lunch menu a little better: however good each of them was, that was a lot of soup for one fixed menu!

I'll add that the business card lists a website, which is not working yet but might in the future (who knows, this is France after all): http://www.agape-paris.fr.

Clotilde.

[robyn]

Who is Anthony (he of cheese course fame)? Robyn

[John Talbott]

Who is Anthony (he of cheese course fame)?  Robyn

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Hummmmm, perhaps "Bernard Antony, Maître Affineur Fromagier, Vieux-Ferrette?"

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Absolutely. A three stars in his own right, the ultimate genius of cheese. Worth a trip in my opinion -- definitely requires a trip if you want to go, as Vieux Ferrette is very far away from anything, except maybe Basel, Switzerland.

He keeps his best cheeses for Passard and Ducasse only, Ledoyen to a lesser extent (Senderens used to be in the list, when Lucas-Carton existed). Obviously (based on my meal there) Piège (at les Ambassadeurs) does not have access to them.

Edited April 2, 2008 by julot-les-pinceaux (log)

[daemon]

Absolutely. A three stars in his own right, the ultimate genius of cheese.

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exactly, I believe he is the only one to offer vintage Comté like the 2003' we had yesterday.

[Ptipois]

He keeps his best cheeses for Passard and Ducasse only, Ledoyen to a lesser extent (Senderens used to be in the list, when Lucas-Carton existed). Obviously (based on my meal there) Piège (at les Ambassadeurs) does not have access to them.

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And I think he keeps the very best for Jean-Georges Klein at L'Arnsbourg, as I noticed the day before yesterday as I munched on the very best vintage Antony comté I ever had.

[olivier]

Absolutely. A three stars in his own right, the ultimate genius of cheese.

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exactly, I believe he is the only one to offer vintage Comté like the 2003' we had yesterday.

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That's what I thought until a few weeks ago.

Unless I've been lied to, I am pretty confident that I bought some '03 Comté at Fromagerie Quatrehomme about a month ago. It was excellent, but I've never tasted the one offered by Mr. Antony, so I can't compare.

Last time I went to Quatrehomme (ie. last Saturday), they only had the 2005 vintage, though.

Edit: just to say that although I've been lurking there for a few months, I'm new on the eG forums, so hello all.

Edited April 3, 2008 by olivier (log)

[Laidback]

We went to Agapé last friday with the prettiest of the hosts on this forum and I will allow her to post her impressions of the meal which was the €77 menu. The food was so good that we forgave the disjointed service and reserved again today for lunch. The outside appearance is standard street appeal:

but the interior is nicely done and the linens, china, glass and silverware are beyond reproach. The 3 very affable servers immediately remembered us and knew what we had ordered before...ego salve. They did lose a few points by asking where our "daughter" was today. All products were from name brand suppliers: Bordier butter both salted and blended with seaweed, mini-baguettes from Poujauran, meat from Hugo Desnoyer, cheese from Antony; you get the idea.

They were again practically complet and again the food was light years ahead of the service, which was even more friendly than before, but even more discombobulated. We ordered the €39 luncheon menu...The terrific Condrieu wine arrived and 55 minutes later our entrée had not appeared. Laurent, the main man, finally realized we had been forgotten and offered the parsley root soup

that we had had Fri. night as an extra entrée while our veau cru fumé from M. Desnoyer that we had ordered was being plated. Then immediately upon finishing that, our main courses were delivered. I politely reminded them of our previously ordered entrée and in about 1 min. it was produced with apologies, and was superb.

After the proper delay( not 55 mins.) our main courses arrived; Ms. Laidback ordered the Desnoyer lamb which we had enjoyed Fri. and I had probably the best quality/prepared Lieu Jaune I have ever put fish fork to, served with the ever popular oyster foam with tiny grey shrimp and Grenaille potatoes:

For dessert Ms. L. had the same delicious cold carrot soup with blood orange sorbet as before, whereas I had the best Comté cheese I can remember, a 2004 vintage from the exclusive affineur fore noted. The coffee was served with Jacques Genin caramels and basil chocolates.

In my opinion this quality of product, perfectly cooked is a steal for €39 but tread VERY carefully through the wine, champagne and Armagnac(no Cognac available...points deducted) list or your credit card will melt before your eyes.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Laidback (log)

[John Talbott]

In my opinion this quality of product, perfectly cooked is a steal for €39 but tread VERY carefully through the wine, champagne and Arnagnac(no Cognac available...points deducted) list or your credit card will melt before your eyes.

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Laidback: Tx for the report, but for 3 what was the final bill and how much do the wines run? I am going with another cheapie next week and have gastric distress already.

[Laidback]

In my opinion this quality of product, perfectly cooked is a steal for €39 but tread VERY carefully through the wine, champagne and Arnagnac(no Cognac available...points deducted) list or your credit card will melt before your eyes.

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Laidback: Tx for the report, but for 3 what was the final bill and how much do the wines run? I am going with another cheapie next week and have gastric distress already.

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John our grand total bill for 3 was 503€.

22€/glass for Billecart Salmon champagne

12€/glass- verre vin rouge

139€ bottle of 2006 Condrieu Chaillées de l'Enfer Vernay

7€/cup of café du Panama

8€/bottle of Saint-Géron water

I thought that the food cost was fair and the wine list exhorbitant, but who am I to say? The Condrieu was the best any of the 3 of us had tasted, much superior to the 85€ Condrieu 2006 from Gaillard we had for lunch.

Perhaps you should start on proton pump inhibitors already.

[pierre45]

With great anticipation John Talbot and I had lunch last week at agape.

WE had the parsley root soup.the st pierre with oyster foam ,Desnoyer lamb and for dessert, the cheese plate and the carrot soup/orange sorbet.

The above selection was the 39 E luncheon.At some point I asked John so what's the fuss all about.? Its a pleasant place with food that is forgotten the minute its eaten.I mean its not bad ,but its just neutral .ITs fine if this is a spa and one wants to feel that they have not eaten.Actually I was hungry a few hrs later .Even the wine a coteaux de

roussillion,recommended by the maitre D ,did not have much character.

I have to say that there were quite a few resonably priced decent wines on the list contrary to our preconception.

This restaurant is a good example as to how beauty is in the eyes of the beholder

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Unless I've been lied to, I am pretty confident that I bought some '03 Comté at Fromagerie Quatrehomme about a month ago. It was excellent, but I've never tasted the one offered by Mr. Antony, so I can't compare.

That guy on rue de Lourmel has older Comté. Anyone remembers his name?