Tante Louise

[julot-les-pinceaux]

I did not find a thread so I'm creating one, knowing that the powers to be are watching and will make order if necessary.

We had a meal at Tante Louise last week that was phenomenal -- at least my meal in my judgement. I started with their classic foie gras poelé, that is just perfect with a powerful jus the, the Loiseau way, brutally pan-fried. And then I had one of the best sweetbreads I had in a long time, pan-fried in butter, perfectly crispy around and melty inside, cooked to perfection without any of the grainy texture and offal taste that result from overcooking the sweetbread (often happens when they are braisé).

I also have great memories of their rognons cuits dans leur graisse, that I had several times and deem the best rognons in town.

The place is a middle range restaurant, comfortable with distant enough tables but no fine dining by any stretch.

We made the night even better by having desserts across the street at Senderens, but I should probably tell that story in the appropriate thread. Let me just say that desserts and accompanying wines at Senderens these days are every bit as good as they were in the Lucas Carton days, truly wonderful. I hope it lasts, since, I believe that it all depends on the pastry chef.

[John Talbott]

I did not find a thread so I'm creating one, knowing that the powers to be are watching and will make order if necessary.

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Quite so, Julot; for example, my love affair with the Tantes occurred prior to Bernard Loiseau's death in 2003, well before my love affair with the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters started and the only one I've noted here was Tante Marguerite. Thanks for the report; BL lives on.

[robyn]

We dined with Julot - and very much enjoyed the restaurant too. It was quite perfect for our first evening in Paris (when we were very tired - and not up to either a bustling place or high end fine dining). Very comfortable room - cozy and visually appealing - good food - pleasant service. Reasonably priced as well for what the place is - and what we ate and drank - about $85 (not euros) per person.

The desserts at Senderens were fabulous - and we enjoyed them not only that evening - but at our subsequent dinner at Senderens.

Perhaps our only area of disagreement is he said it was a 10 minute walk from our hotel to the restaurant - and it is not a 10 minute walk as far as I'm concerned. Then again - I am much much older than Julot - and our walk to the restaurant allowed me to buy some macaroons at Dalloyau to enjoy with coffee the next morning - and to window shop on the rue du Faubourg St-Honore on our way to the restaurant.

I must say - one of my few regrets about our trip is that there is only so much I can eat in 8 days. So I had to pace myself. Which meant probably eating half of what I would have liked to eat. The other regret is the weather was somewhat bad. We even got caught in a hail storm one afternoon - which I suspect is quite unusual for Paris. Robyn

[julot-les-pinceaux]

My bad about the walking. But by now you know what you were not certain of then: that we would never have found a cab at that time anyway

[robyn]

No harm done. Had we taken a cab - I would have missed the macaroons from Dalloyau .

I will note for the sake of people planning trips that many hotels - restaurants and the like pay cabs so they can call them for you and they will show up. But - at crowded hours - and when the weather is bad - you may wind up with a cab already showing 6-9 euros on the meter when you get in because the cab has been called specially for you and has traveled to where you are from another part of the city. In fact - I was talking with a woman who lived in Paris while we were waiting to change planes at Atlanta - and she personally pays a cab company an annual fee so it will send a cab to her apartment when she calls.

IOW - people should be prepared to do a lot of walking (bring very comfortable shoes). And note that I am not a wimp. It's just that after 4-5 hours of walking around sightseeing - when I find yourself 3 miles away from my hotel at 5 pm - I like to be able to get into a cab to get back to the hotel - and I found that impossible almost every day we were in Paris. Robyn

[PhilD]

.... you may wind up with a cab already showing 6-9 euros on the meter when you get in because the cab has been called specially for you and has traveled to where you are from another part of the city

...I like to be able to get into a cab to get back to the hotel - and I found that impossible almost every day we were in Paris.

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All cabs in Paris put the meter on from the point they are called, this happens if you, your hotel or a restaurant call them. Cabs are tricky to hail in Paris, and one of the reasons is that they can't/won't pick up from the street if they are near a cab rank. There are quite a lot of cab ranks around Paris, and good maps have them marked. Even if the rank has no cabs waiting they are usually the best place to stand to get a cab. One word of caution, drivers park their cabs overnight on the ranks so what looks like a full rank may simply be a line of parked cars...!

I would recommend getting buses. They are fast and frequent (take the same tickets as a metro so buy a carnet) and of course you see a lot of the town. Many stops have electronic signboards that show when the next one will arrive (which are accurate). The RATP website can be useful for route planning - http://www.ratp.info/touristes/

When we went out for meals, especially on a Saturday when cabs seem to disappear, we found buses to be very reliable mode of transport.

[julot-les-pinceaux]

Anyhow, back to those sweetbreads -- they're here:

[porkpa]

Why bother with cabs at all? I always either walk or use the metro, even when going to a 3* restaurant. You are never far from a metro stop in Paris. Although the metros are not the most classy form of transportation, they are almost always quite functional and safe.

[grace3]

Today, we were amidst the Embassy people; several business lunchers; shoppers and two visitors from the good U.S. of A. The setting is an old classic Burgundian Bistro on the rue Boisy d'Anglas.

The service was good, food was classic (just like your Aunt's which is what we expect from Tante Louise, oui?) and the people watching was excellent!

Little bites of saumon fumee and creme fraiche accompanied our coupe de champagne which we continued to drink with our entrees, Mme. J having the "Marbre de rouget et pommes de terre larde". This is a terrine of fish and thin slices of potatoes larded so the appearance is marbelized. Mme. L had the "Ravioles de Royan au jus de poulette, creme de champignons. This are very tiny raviolis filled with cheese and mushrooms, finished off with creme if mushrooms and light chicken stock.

With the plats principal, we had glasses of Santenay (1er Cru) which has been bottled for Bernard Loiseau. That went well with "Supreme de volaille poche, legumes au bouillon" for Mme. J and a "Blanquette de veau a l'ancienne, riz pilaw" pour Mme. L. These are classical french dishes sthat do not need translating.

For dessert, we had "Clafoutis de noix de macadamia et poire" and "Panna cotta aux fruits exotiques". With our coffe, came a plate of mignardises - pates de fruits, mini financiers and caramels (unfortunately not in the class of Jacques Genin caramels...)

The sun was shining and it is a good afternoon to walk and see some of the stalls at the Champs Elysees Marche de Noel. We were at the opening of the Saint Sulpice Market which is much better than the one in the Champs Elysees.

a bientot et bisous de Paris.....