la tradition

[circeplum]

i did a search on this and nothing came up, so i figure it might be a new one on y'all.

was taken to a little joint called la tradition by a native parisian. he warned me that the owners - a married couple, she in the kitchen, he front of house - can often be rude and offhand, but that the food was worth it.

in the event, they couldn't have been more charming (they were showing us pictures of their daughter who works for gordon ramsay by the end of our meal!)

it looks like a bit of a shitehole: grubbyish nets, perfunctory decor. apparently it used to be much frequented by jockeys, hence the comical height of the bar-stools.

there's no menu, no wine list, you're just told a couple of options. after an ace kir, we were brought just about the best foie gras dish i've had: a thick circle of the pressed, pate kind, and an immaculately seared lobe of fresh stuff on a bed of spiced pears. i loved this so much that the owner - unsolicited - brought another plateful.

then scallops, perfectly seared, caramelly, on a bed of fabulous hand-made pasta with fresh spinach and a lemony beurre blanc. my pal's duck was a study in how to do the bird real justice.

at this point, the owner opined that i was clearly a fragile little thing who needed feeding up (!) and brought me a magnificent entrecote on goose-fat roasted potatoes.

fabulous wine, delivered without ceremony or consultation (can't remember it, sorry). magnificent cheeses including a truly evil camembert. a selection of three custardy tarts. a massive bottle of armagnac left on the table. 70 euros for two - just fabulous value.

totally, unreservedly recommended.

m

(La Tradition

2 rue Budapest

75009 paris

01 48743733)

[Gary Marshall]

which arrondissement circe?

sounds good!

gary

[circeplum]

don't know, don't do arrondissements. but it was about a 10 minute walk from the galleries lafayette.

m

[Bux]

which arrondissement circe?

75009 paris, is the 9th arrondissement. Rue Budapest is just east of the Gare St. Lazare and at the eastern edge of the 9th arr. where it borders on the 8th. Rue Budapest is also one block long. St. Lazare is served by three different Metro lines.

[johnkane]

I can echo CircePlum's comments on this restaurant. I turned up with five friends as they were closing at 3:00 pm but the owner ushered us in. He's Portuguese and very proud of his restaurant but with good reason. He showed us his reservations book to impress on us how lucky we were to get in without notice so it may well be worth booking in advance.

He basically chose our meal and wines (offering us the choice of good or excellent! We chose excellent) and his wife coped effortlessly with my own vegetarian diet. Everyone else had his home made pate de foie gras (ptui!), which he supplies to lots of the posher restaurants in Paris, and thick Charolais steaks, washed down with some excellent Burgundies. Desserts, coffees with armagnac (twice each) rounded it off nicely. The bill was uncomplicated - he looked round at our number, wrote six and the multiplication sign (6 x ...), pondered and then wrote in 50. No-one thought the price of 50 Euros per head (all inclusive) was anything less than great value.

Very friendly, little English but you can get by in Spanish if your French is too rusty.

John

[ballast_regime]

While eating dinner tonight with some friends (one who was raised in Kenya and Spain and her boyfriend), we lamented the fact that it's very hard to find quaint, mom-and-pop bistros in the United States. I can only imagine a handful of places in the entire country that would intuitively estimate a "fair" price per person, eyeballing it based on what he or she felt like at the time. Sounds awesome (the scallops, especially).

Much peace,

Ian Lowe

ballast/regime

[johnkane]

Went back last week with wife and mother but it was unfortunately closed for the holidays - mid-July to mid-August "fermetures" are not uncommon outside the tourist areas. Also, remembered that our meal there in May was enlivened by watching the exchanges between the local prostitutes opposite and the passing trade. If red-light districts make you nervous then you might prefer to visit at lunchtime rather than in the evening. Although, having said that, it's a mere fifty metres from the main road.

John