L'Astrance - Paris

[SamanthaF]

I'm trying to get a table for dinner on the 17/18/19 Jan 02 for 2 people.

1. Does anybody have a reservation that they don't want?

2. Bux, do you have any tips on how to get a table?

Any assistance will be much appreciated.

Sam.

[Scottf]

I'm part of the 2 mentioned above and seeing as we can't get in L'Astrance does anyone have any views on something a bit more upmarket, say Relais Louis XIII?

[cabrales]

I secured reservations there for lunch mid January. Contrary to the usual 1 month policy, for reservations in early January -- today was the first possible day to book.  The restaurant had been closed for a period previously.  It might be worth another call to plead  :)

Consider Helene Darroze (gastronomic portion, and not tapas area), which is also Michelin one-starred and is in the same general price range as L'Astrance.  Darroze's cooking is not as lyrical as that of Barbot (and obviously lacks Barbot's Passardian influences), but it is a possible fallback.

(Edited by cabrales at 4:25 am on Jan. 13, 2002)

[robert brown]

Just be prepared for lousy service; but the food at Helen Darroze is wonderful. Keep in mind, though, that I was there in 6/99.

(Edited by robert brown at 2:50 pm on Jan. 3, 2002)

[cabrales]

Robert -- Agreed, the service is uneven.  The food is wonderful and quite reasonably priced.  I was there about 2 months ago, and may go this weekend (in which case I'll report).  There were some decent game dishes the last (and only) time I was there, including palombe (a bird that can be caught in Southern France, from which Darroze hails).  The dessert was chestnut "sphaghetti" on a tart, with an ice cream the flavor of which eludes me.

SamanthaF -- Are the dates you specified the only dates you will be in Paris?

(Edited by cabrales at 4:27 am on Jan. 13, 2002)

[SamanthaF]

17/18/19 are the only days we will be there. Thanks though!

S.

[Bux]

I wish I had tips, clues and answers to the question of how to secure reservations in a lot of places. While most restaurants generally hold a table open until the last minute, I'd assume a very small restaurant like l'Astrance couldn't afford to, so even if you knew a friend of the owners, I'd doubt it would clinch a table.

In fact we used a connection to get our reservations, but it was to get a reservation before they normally took them. That's a bit easier and I'm afraid the connection doesn't go very far. We were lucky to have a friend who was eating there a few months before we arrived in Paris. Maybe cabrales can ask if they have a cancellation for you when he's there, if he doesn't mind. Sometimes a personal request is more honored than a phone request. Cabrales, my apologies if I've put you in an embarrassing position. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had some clout here at eGullet.com.

Otherwise it's the same rules as here in NY. Call again closer to the date or even on the afternoon of the day you want to eat there. I find that hard to do myself as I'm likely to have made a reservation elsewhere and even if that's my second choice, I hate to cancel at the last minute unless I'm sick.

The best suggestion I have is to consider lunch. Restaurants that are reserved long in advance for dinner, often have a table for lunch closer to the actual date. It was a long shot to inquire here, but interesting that cabrales had a reservation less than a week earlier.

As for alternate suggestions, Margaret Pilgrim was one of the first to recommend l'Astrance, before eGullet was born. She had another favorite, but it's in the suburbs. Here's what she posted in another thread:

... Les Magnolias, just outside of Paris in Le Perreux, and booked for our last night in town.  This jewelbox, cheffed by Jean Chauvel, is located at 48, avenue de Bry, 94179 Le Perreux, and easily reached by the E-line RER, which runs from the new station at Haussman-Lazare, just behind Printemps grand magazine.  It is a few minutes walk from the exit of the RER, several blocks, down Avenue de Liberte to avenue de Bry and Les Magnolias.http://www.lesmagnolias.com/#jx0383  will give you a good idea of the place, including sample menu.  The welcome is warm; the dining room is refined, but not stiff.  And the food sings!

See some Paris rec's for the rest.

I've heard some mixed reports about Darroze. Mostly good about the food, but just about all negative about the service. It's more expensive as well. One that got away--we couldn't fit it in to our schedule is David Van Laer's one star Maxence at 9 bis blvd. Montparnasse. Van Laer's food at La Bambouche was well received and after tasting a sample of his hare rillettes with chocolate at the Chocolate Show, we wanted to try it, but couldn't work it in, so I don't have a real first hand recommendation other than the recognized stars for you there.

[Scottf]

Thanks for your help everyone.  Unfortunately L'Astrance is booked for lunch also and though I may attempt to try for a cancellation at a later date I'm like you Bux, I'll have already filled the hole with somewhere else.  

I liked the idea of Les  Magnolias, but Sam talked me out of going to both.  I'm taking the initiative and booking it now!  It's very well priced and I've looked at an example menu on their website. We'>http://www.lesmagnolias.com/menus.htm

We

may try one more starred restaurant but I'm quite happy to begin my first trip to Paris in the small restaurants and bistros.   There's some fantastic threads/recommendations from earlier on the board and I'll be making full use of those as well as trying to find a treasure of my own!

[cabrales]

On Darroze, Steve P includes the restaurant in his "My Year in Food" report under "New York".  He appeared to like it too.  Uneven service extended only to the food service staff; I found the sommelier to be helpful (I think I had a Volnay with the palombe), although the wine list left much to be desired with respect to depth.  Pricing depends on whether one adheres to the prix fixe menus, the more expensive of which at Darroze would approximate the (large) "surprise" menu at L'Astrance (last time I visited, around 500-600 FF with vins du pays).

On L'Astrance, on some lunch visits, I have noticed that the restaurant does not open up the upper floor area, which for me has the most comfortable table in the restaurant (with semi-circular seating).  I doubt that a last-minute decision would be made to open the upper floor area, though.

(Edited by cabrales at 4:23 am on Jan. 13, 2002)

[Bux]

Steve P. also mentioned La Regalade. I haven't eaten there in a few years, but it offered great rustic cooking at an incredibly inexpensive price. It, more than any other restaurant in France recently, reminded me of how I was first struck by French food. It's a restaurant I think about far more often than most starred restaurants. Several years ago, we spent several days in Paris and ate in small restaurants and bistros, saving our budget and appetite for Burgundy, Lyon and the Savoie. Philippe Detourbe in the 15th arr. and Eric Frechon were the other two restaurants besides La Regalade whose meals hold up well against those of the starred restaurants in the provinces. Dutourbe is still there and reports are that it's still good. Frechon is now chef at the Bristol and you will pay three times the price for his food these days.

I haven't eaten at Helen Darroze's better restaurant and my idea of the price range came from what's published in the Michelin Guide.

[magnolia]

La Regalade is indeed as good..and as good value as ever. But it's about the diametric opposite of L'Astrance in terms of atmosphere, presentation of food and general 'esprit.' Whereas L'Astrance is an oasis of calm and quiet, with wide spaces between table and attentive service, paced to let you linger...and dainty portions...La Regalade is brash and loud, smoky and crowded...with a more frenetic pace and huge portions of hearty food.  If you can't get into L'Astrance but want that kind of experience, Arpege is the original...and I think it's a bit larger.  

[Bux]

Magnolia, you are absolutely right about La Regalade. I hadn't intended to suggest it as a replacement for the food, mood or service of l'Astrance, but as another part of the mix after Scottf noted they would be eating mostly in small bistros.

[cabrales]

I have eaten at Helen Darroze again since my last post.  The service was uneven, with the sommelier assisting us this time being less knowledgeable.  The place was far from full Saturday lunch, such that a last minute decision could likely be made on it as a back-up.

Onto the dishes ordered.  There was offered a lengthy menu degustation, as well as a more simplified one.  We chose a la carte, with some ordering the foie gras comparison (a dish with goose and duck foie gras presented side by side, served cold) and others the hot foie gras dish.  I ordered the sea urchin soup, which was poorly composed and executed.  The soup was a bit too creamy for my taste, and was short on the intrinsic taste of urchin.  Worse, included was a scoop of foie gras mousse (heavier than mousse connotes) which was at a very low temperature (this had also been used in the rabbit soup I had had at the restaurant previously).  The foie gras detracted from what should have been the "marine" aspects of the urchins and overwhelmed their role in the dish.

However, my choice of chapon with a natural jus (with appropriately limited truffles) was rewarded.  I had always been on the lookout for chapon (a castrated chicken that has to meet certain requirements, including age, and that is ordinarily available for a very limited period around Christmas; not yet explored in the A Balic thread).  I had chapon for the first time, although it was not chapon from Bresse, but from the South.  The chapon was flavorful and appropriately cooked.  Its meat had a refined smoothness that was appealing.

I skipped dessert, opting instead for madelaines from a little cart with it and other goodies that came by.  Jam selections for the madelaines included orange/vanilla (my selection) and strawberry/rhubarb.

The wine list is overpriced for some bottles.  For example, a Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 1990 that I had purchased at Fauchon for 700 FF was over 2000 FF at Darroze.  I opted for a 1989 Louise from Pommery, and a decent Volnay that accommodated my dining companions' dishes.

My assessment of the meal is uneven food, with some dishes being well executed and others lacking in subtlety.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Samantha - I was at Helene Darroze last January. It was after a music industry convention in Cannes so there were lots of people in Paris for the weekend. The attorney who has represented my company since we started in business was in Paris for the weekend and he had just gotten engaged so I threw a party in his honor. Here are the notes of the meal. But remember, it's a year ago and I have heard a few varying reports since then.

"<i>Before I say anything about dinner I have to tell you that by far it was the best meal I had on the entire trip. At first I was a bit of a skeptic. Food from the Languedoc? I was hosting a small dinner party for one of my attorneys who had just gotten engaged and I wanted the evening to be special. After rejecting Benoit and all the other usual Paris warhorses, a quick read through Patricia Well’s columns, which are online at the International Herald Tribune, sold me on restaurant Helene Darroze. While Patricia got it wrong about the décor, which she didn’t like but which we all thought plush and chic, she hit it across the fat part of the bat when describing the food. Ms. Darroze is a 32 year old chef who has just won her first Michelin star. She deserves at least two if you ask me.

Reading through and translating the menu, the food sounded so interesting. There was an entire page of Foie Gras preparations followed by an entire page of truffle dishes. The food sounded so unusual that someone at the table hid his menu behind his chair in anticipation that later on someone was going to ask exactly what it is they were eating. We all laughed when during the first course someone said, “Is there fish in my dish? I taste something that tastes like fish.” and he promptly pulled out the menu, so we could discern that the fish flavor was coming from some codfish that was aerated into foam. I started with Foie Gras that was crusted with sweet spices and served with chutney made from exotic fruits. It had a sort of Middle Eastern quality to it. Did the Moors eat Foie Gras that tasted like this 500 years ago? Another starter was Root Vegetables braised in a truffled bouillon and topped with grated truffles. Or how about an ice cream sundae sized cup filled with a Cappuccino of Codfish topped with Watercress Puree, a Soft-Boiled Egg and then Ossetra Caviar. To a person and there were eight of us, everyone was raving about the food.

The house specialty is a local dish called l’Escatoun, which is finely ground white polenta mixed with fresh brebis cheese from the Basque region, hazelnut butter, truffle flecks and then huge rounds of grated truffles. It was like eating truffled pudding. We were each served a bite size portion of maybe 3-4 spoons but it was so rich that some people at the table couldn’t finish it. The main courses were even better than the appetizers. A Rack of Lamb with an Anchovy and Herb Crust was so good that I almost ate my way through the bones. Pigeon lacquered with Sichuan Peppers was served with a huge slab of grilled Foie Gras, Potato and Pumpkin Gnocchi and was absolutely melt in your mouth. A Guinea Hen had truffles stuffed under its skin and was served with Potatoes, Violet Artichokes and large cubes of Double-Smoked Bacon. And then there was a dish with lamb served three ways. A Preserved Shoulder in a sauce of red wine and eggplant, Saddle stuffed with kidneys and a light Stew of the Neck with Leeks and Carrots. And a line caught Sea Bass was served on some spelt risotto with cabbage, bacon and some crusty seaweed. Again, every single dish was raved about. I get to eat in a fair share of good restaurants and it’s unusual to run across one this good, and different. If anything was sub par it was the service, especially the wine service. It was actually hard to get the wine ordered and poured. Even the list was a disappointment. I had expected a list that was loaded with good cheap wines from the Languedoc. But instead it was mostly outrageously priced Bordeaux. But I did manage to hunt out some 1998 Jean Dauvissat Chablis La Forest which was so good we blew through three bottles 90 points and was well priced at ฽. A spicy and fruity 1997 Domaine Canet Vallete St Chinian Maghani was easy to drink but seemed a bit low in acid. 89 points. It was a great night and I’m sure we will be back. </i>"

I hope this helps.

(Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 11:09 pm on Jan. 6, 2002)

(Edited by Steve Plotnicki at 11:54 am on Jan. 7, 2002)

[Bux]

Steve, that's a great description and the food sound like it's worth sitting through the bad service to get. A few odd points that I trust will not distract from content of your post.

HTML codes don't seem to work in posts. There is an IkonCode that's similar and quite easy to get the hang of using. It invovles using square brackets. [ ] As you know HTML, you may guess how to start and end italics. If I show the code, it will just turn this into italics. Check the help menu if you're interested.

My understanding is that Helen Darroze and her family are not from the Languedoc, nor is her food particularly representative of that area, but of one more to the west, i.e. the Landes, and the neighboring Basque and Gascon regions. The St. Chinian is a Languedoc wine however.

(Edited by Bux at 12:21 am on Jan. 7, 2002)

[Scottf]

Hi all and thanks for your continued help.

We managed to scrape a Thursday night booking at Les Magnolias and Sam has been trying to obtain a reservation at La Regalade for the last couple of days.  (Is it easier to fax than to get a phone answered?)  La Regalade has been on our list with L'Astrance since we booked our trip as I've seen nothing but good reviews of the place, so we live in hope we'll get in!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Is Sam calling during Regalade's business hours?  Small restaurants do not have staff to take reservations during non-business hours like the bigger houses do.  I have found that if I call before 6pm, I will undoubtedly be answered by a kitchen worker or janitor, if at all.  

Also, remember the simple option of having your hotel make the reservation for you.  Depending on the time required to get a reservation, 3 to 6 weeks usually, I fax my hotel a list of restaurants we want to visit and a timeframe for them.  They fax back a confirmed list, usually the next day.

[magnolia]

Scott & Sam if you still have no luck getting through to La Regalade, let me know & I will give it a try - I'm in the same time zone and can be very persistent, if only because I think you really must eat there!

Let me know several dates/times (as you know you'll have better luck if not a Friday or Saturday but we can always hope) and/or if you would like to be on a waiting list, and where best the restaurant can reach you, etc. And also your surname (if you'd prefer to send this by email to me directly my email is magnolia123@hotmail.com)

[Bux]

because I think you really must eat there!

When we were in Paris this fall, I had a phone conversation with a friend who mentioned La Regalade. When she did, I sort of reflexively said "That's my favorite restaurant." At best that's an exaggeration, but that's the sort of reaction I have to hearing it mentioned even though many restaurants compete for different parts of my interest in food. She went on to tell me that she recommended it to a small group of visiting Americans with seemingly good guormet credetials who reported back that they disliked the heavy greasy food. All I could say to her was that she had recommended the right restaurant to the wrong people. I suppose there's really no accounting for taste. The food is rustic and perhaps often rich as good pork terrines and blood sausages should be, and it's pretty fantastic.

(Edited by Bux at 12:03 pm on Jan. 8, 2002)

[magnolia]

..I guess I do let *my* enthusiasm for certain places dictate what I suggest, even to total strangers. When I find a place I like, I want everyone to give it at least one go...perhaps so it stays in business...and it's there the next time I want to go. Not that I have much to worry about right this moment with La Regalade, but you get my drift. Anyway these folks seemed predisposed to trying it.  

[Bux]

And you sould let your enthusiasm dictate what you suggest. La Regalade, assuming no devastating changes since I've eaten there, is the "right" place. Those who don't like it are "wrong." ;)

Even if one is predisposed to not liking the sort of food it offers, they owe thmeselves one meal there. I'd never feel I led anyone astray by recommending La Regalade, although I might feel bad that a connoisseur might not have gotten in that day. The problem as you note, is not keeping the place in business, but getting a reservation for yourself.