Chez René

[Laidback]

I had read that the classic old bistro had changed owners after 50 years. Don't be too alarmed; the changes seem not to have affected the cooking. After a couple of months of trying new and old restaurants every day, I find myself craving traditional cuisine and Chez René is about as traditional as it gets. I can't imagine a better coq au vin than I was served today; big chunks of sturdy-boned, skin on, chicken served in a heavy metal pot with a sauce bubbling with flavor; no tricked-up "improvements", just classic mushrooms, bacon chunks, onions and red wine. The quantity is generous and the extra sauce lends itself well to be sopped up by the hearty bread. Ms. L. had the cuisses de grenouille and was almost able to polish off the huge, piping hot serving. They are lightly floured and pan fried in butter and garlic with parsley, so rich that our usual lght dinner this evening was not even a consideration. If you or yours doesn't like garlic then steer clear of this dish, but you will have to search far and wide to find a better, more classic coq au vin than I was served today.

[John Talbott]

I had read that the classic old bistro had changed owners after 50 years. Don't be too alarmed;

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Ah, I'm afraid that was I/me and I must most respectfully disagree, my friend, I was most disappointed with this old favorite. I always considered their coq au vin the classic for Paris but the day I went, maybe an off day, the sauce was pathetically watery and the rilettes so what. But it was the service/delivery of plates/etc that probably tilted my judgment.

In any case, from my last week's eating, my confidence in Parisian/Parisien cuisine is restored.

[Laidback]

Fortunately I must have hit it at the right time, our waiter was an old timer and almost too friendly, lamenting to our host, a Parisienne of a certain age who has been in the area since 1954, that the cuisses de grenouille now came from Turkey, but that the coq au vin was traditionelle, and this day it was about perfect; the sauce rich and flavorful with out the vinegary-ness that sometimes one encounters and with just the right amount of nice, thick little chunks of lardons that didn't overwhelm the combination of flavors. I think you would have approved. However the mousseline sauce served with the asperges blanches was lacking lemon and pepper to the point of being a distraction, and Madame Host complained that the cuisses de grenouille were too beurré, which to me is not necessarily a fault; she did polish off the entire serving though.