Bistros in Paris: Merged topics

[Miguel Gierbolini]

So, to answer my own query, a "baby"bistro is a restaurant owned or supervised by someone who owns a more prestigious or upscale place and wants to diversify into lower price eateries?

[cabrales]

59 Poincare, Aux Lyonnais (the bistro taken over by Ducasse and the owner of L'Ami Louis), "be", Spoon, etc. -- Various affiliates, more tightly or loosely supervised, of Ducasse's restaurant at Plaza Athenee.

Below is a link to a Bonjour Paris report on the opening of Aux Lyonnais:

http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...m?doc_id=136893

[rpdkpd]

These are wonderful and useful suggestions. Merci bien! RPD

[cabrales]

rpdkpd -- Please note that I have only eaten at a very small number of the baby bistros. La Regelade (not a baby bistro, but discussed elsewhere on the board), I would recommend. Also see my recent post on a new restaurant called "De La Garde" (prices no higher than those at baby bistros, and perhaps lower, from indicative prices given by professional reviewers).

Edited December 11, 2002 by cabrales (log)

[mogsob]

I don't understand the excitement over "baby bistros." The grand chef doesn't work there and the restaurant does not serve his cuisine. So you don't get Guy Savoy food and bistro prices. Generally, you get middling bistro food at rather high prices.

Outside of the Cagna's Rotisserie, which is just plain good (but, clearly, not Cagna food), I don't understand the attraction. Can anyone explain? Is it a celebrity thing?

[Miguel Gierbolini]

Is it a celebrity thing?

It could be.

Ón the other hand, I'll continue asking questions about them and getting the silent treatment.

[cabrales]

59 Poincare, Aux Lyonnais (the bistro taken over by Ducasse and the owner of L'Ami Louis), "be", Spoon, etc. -- Various affiliates, more tightly or loosely supervised, of Ducasse's restaurant at Plaza Athenee.

Below is a link to a Bonjour Paris report on the opening of Aux Lyonnais:

http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...m?doc_id=136893

P Wells' report on Aux Lyonnais:

http://www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/iht.htm

Note that Vigato might now have two "bistros".

Apologies I can't respond to the question on why baby bistros are appealing.

Edited January 3, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[jgould]

difficult, but interesting: if one had to choose, what would be your best/favorite bistro in Paris - only one per response, s'il vous plaît.

to start: after much hand wringing > Benoît

Edited February 16, 2004 by jgould (log)

[marlena spieler]

le baracane, definately le baracane..........

utterly reasonably priced lunch menu, and just have the wait staff choose wine for you........there are some lovely ones and they always choose exactly what i want to drink with what i'm eating.

if they have the pear in red wine, lucky you. or the salade maraichaires......mmmm.

i've been dissappointed in the cassoulet, though, and it takes a lotta badness to dissappoint me when it comes to cassoulet, as i'm a bit of a slut. i'd avoid it.

[Louisa Chu]

Bistro? Paris? There can be only one - Chez Denise.

Edited February 15, 2004 by loufood (log)

[Bux]

Bistro? Paris? There can be only one - Chez Denise.

Nice blog work. Chez Denise - 5 rue Prouvaires, in the first, just south of the jardins, but actually I've yet to eat there.

[jgould]

Bistro? Paris? There can be only one - Chez Denise.

forgot about that one! thx for reminding - a great bistro & great link

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Bistro? Paris? There can be only one -  Chez Denise.

Nice blog work. Chez Denise - 5 rue Prouvaires, in the first, just south of the jardins, but actually I've yet to eat there.

Look for this street one street west of rue du Pont Neuf. I was thrown off by the reference to St. Supplice. The church is St. Eustache. Will do a walk-by.

[marlena spieler]

chez denise has great atmosphere, and if you were making a movie about a bistro, you'd have to star this leftover from the days of les halles, but i have been dissappointed by the food!

[Louisa Chu]

Bux, thanks - for the address - and the kind words. jgould, thanks too. Margaret - duh - thanks, yes, it's St. Eustache. marlena, sorry to hear that - but they do allow smoking and dogs - probably even poodles!

The place is officially called A la Tour de Montlhery - but everyone calls it Chez Denise. Bux listed the address above. The phone's 01 42 36 21 82. They're open 24 hours, Monday through Friday - mercifully closed Saturdays and Sundays.

If you want rich food, rough wine, noise, and smoke - go. If you have an aversion to any of the above - don't.

[picaman]

If you want rich food, rough wine, noise, and smoke - go.

Sounds like my kind of place! I've just printed this page and added it to my "Paris restaurants" folder

Somehow the smoke that bothers me in NYC doesn't bother me nearly as much in a Paris restaurant. I'd swear that there's a difference in the smoke--maybe it's the quality of the cigarette? And, as an ex-smoker, I'm easily irritated, both physically and mentally, by cigarette smoke.

But I digress. I too enjoyed reading about your visit to Chez Denise. You have a great way of making description informative and germane rather than flowery.

Jamie

[Bux]

The place is officially called A la Tour de Montlhery - but everyone calls it Chez Denise.

At least I now know why I couldn't find it at http://www.pagesjaunes.fr . "Tour de Montlhery" brings it up immediately.

I was also confused by the reference to St. Sulpice. I've never found the place St. Sulpice to be full, let alone full of riffraff. What would you be doing there before dinner anyway? It's a decent place with a cafe or two, but its proximity to Pierre Hermé is it's best feature these days and a visit to Hermé's shop would not set me up for a heavy old fashioned bistro beef dinner on the other side of the Seine.

Picaman, I quit smoking long before many of our members were born and will agree that smoking in France bothers me less than it does in NY, but probably enough to keep me forewarned about Chez Denise. All things are relative, or so it seems. The problem with smoke in Paris now is that it's not necessarily the nostaligic smell of Gauloise or Gitanes. Then again, I've previously noted that at one time the smell of the street urinoirs was part of the odor of Paris. It was less offensive than it should have been, but I'm glad it's gone.

[marlena spieler]

What a wonderful description of your evening at chez denise! What delightful writing! it is a totally charming place, and well, perhaps my meal was less than delicious because i was with a best friend who was evolving into a no-longer friend at all, know what I mean: the tension, oh the tension. I think i need to go back, and maybe i can borrow a doggie to go with me.

and I'm tres tres proud of you, girl, for getting the doggy bag........in Paris! you are now officially my hero-ette!

x marlena

[Louisa Chu]

Jamie, maybe it's your body's repressed desire for nicotine that makes you think it's better here - the smokes are actually stronger here in Europe. Maybe the contact high just mellows you out.

And Bux - to take this away from bistro-talk again - I love St. Sulpice - and its environs. And hey, who's to say I can't have PH patisseries before dinner? And one of my favourite cafes in the city is right at the place - Cafe de la Mairie - the best place to hunker down over an Ispahan or two - when your urge says maintenant.

Marlena, thanks so much. And you're better off - what kind of a person brings tension to the table at Chez Denise?

[John Talbott]

No contest. Au Bon Accueil in the 7th. I know, I know, it's not a traditional bistro but Lebey lists it, so it's fair game.

[Bux]

It's wonderful just how personal all the replies are so far. I appreciate all the names and I think that if anyone would make it a point to visit them all in succession over the course of a visit they'd have had a meaningful visit by the time the trip was over, but few of us will have the time and few of us will have the inclination to devote ourselves to bistros for the course of our visit. I wonder if we could get a bit more personal about each choice. It doesn't have to be to the extent of Louisa's blog, but a few sentences would be nice. Don't be offended, I'm grateful just for the names, myself.

I don't know if I have a favorite and my visits to Paris have been all too brief lately to allow me to run the gamut of different types of places that I need to visit to make my visit seem complete. It's been quite a while since I've been to la Régalade, and of course it's run by a chef with Michelin star experience and thus somewhat retro or self-consciously bistro, but what impressed me most, was that it reminded me of the kind of food I first encountered when I first came to France over forty years ago on a budget eating in small restaurants and bistros with simple honest wine, with one difference--the food was even better than I remember. That's no mean feat as I've found that's the kind of food that's either deteriorated or which often no longer impresses me. My most recent bistro experience is with a similar operation. This time it was Aux Lyonnais, an old establishment that's been bought by the team of Ducasse and the owner of l'Ami Louis. Once again, one might fear some sort of self conscious operation. We found a simple menu of wonderfully prepared food with an attention to detail and quality that should be heartwarming to any gastronome. Both places unfortunately have received too much coverage in English language press.

Another place we've enjoyed very much was Au C'Amelot. Victor de la Serna had some very nice things to say about it here, although I don't know I'd support the contention that it's the antithesis of a 'gastronomic place'. I suppose it depends on whether indulgence is a necessary part of "gastronomic." Perhaps it is. More than one chef has more than one restaurant, and most of them refer to their haute cuisine restaurant as the "gastronomic" one. I'm just too happy to confer "gastronomy" on simple food, if it's really done well. The single fixed price and fixed choice menu may also not say bistro to some, but it's good food at a very good price.

[ludja]

Bistro? Paris? There can be only one - Chez Denise.

Thanks for the link to your blog and your great article on Chez Denise.

We really wanted dessert. Chez Denise's raspberry mousse torte had been featured on a Saveur cover a few years ago - a thick layer of sponge cake, an even thicker layer of raspberry mousse, another layer of sponge cake, on a pool of raspberry coulis - about a foot-high slice of cake it seemed.

I know this cake from Saveur; I have lusted for it (in my heart) for a long time, but haven't made it yet. This reminder may do it!

[Lesley C]

The coolest bistro in Paris is a tiny place called Au Bon Saint Pourcain in the 6th. The owner is a pretty nasty guy who hates tourists and turns away most everybody but locals. The kitchen is the size of a closet and the food isn't that hot, but Binoche hangs out there. Need I say more.

I also like Aux Fins Gourmets on the Blvd. St. Germain. The owner's not wild about tourits either. The food is quite good and the desserts are from Peltier. I love it.

[jgould]

excellent suggestion BUX, & also, a big thx for all those who have responded.

Benoît:

from entering the front door to being led to your table, we felt "as if" we were back in the Paris before travel to europe was commonplace. love the fact it is still in the family. although not cheap, the overwhelming ambience placates my horror when receiving 'la addtion'! lots of americans, but find, these days, there are very few places that are undiscovered or only frequented by the parisians.

as to the food: divine upscale bistro food. i do not have the menu in front of me, but whatever we ordered was excellent from amouse-bouche > disgestif!!

there were a couple of extremely interesting dishes that i hope my memory allows me to include at some point in the near future, but suffice it to say, these will be the ones we order on our next visit.

as an aside, saw a wonderful movie last nite: monsieur ibrahim with omar sharif

[jgould]

The coolest bistro in Paris is a tiny place called Au Bon Saint Pourcain in the 6th. The owner is a pretty nasty guy who hates tourists and turns away most everybody but locals. The kitchen is the size of a closet and the food isn't that hot, but Binoche hangs out there. Need I say more.

I also like Aux Fins Gourmets on the Blvd. St. Germain. The owner's not wild about tourits either. The food is quite good and the desserts are from Peltier. I love it.

do u mean Le Bon St.-Pourcain @ 10 bis r sevandoni, 6er??

& is Au Bon Accueil in the 7th or 11ther????