5 New Restos in Paris: Pibale, Miard

[John Talbott]

Why do we come to Paris to eat? To go to places like La Pibale-Club 308, 308, rue de Charenton in the 12th, 01.44.75.01.55, closed Saturday and Monday lunch and Sundays, but open for quiet lunches and vigorous jazz evenings the other days. I can’t speak to the jazz, but the food is fantastic and don’t bother telling me you can get this in Marin County. There’s something cursed about Basque restaurants here; several good ones, in great locations, have opened and closed in recent years. But maybe this place, lodged in the culinary “no man’s land” between the Gare de Bercy and the Bois de Vincennes, will thrive. Lord knows it’s gotten good reviews in Zurban, Le Point + Paris Obs and couldn’t have been better. I thought maybe I’d stumbled into a canteen of one of the nearby auto showrooms – Spanish-tiled tables, horrible art on the wall, four gigantic apple tarts on a table by the door. The patron, sporting a chef’s outfit, greeted me at the door, walked me through the Basque terms, guided me to pick the charcuterie (wonderfully thinly sliced Spanish jamon and slightly thicker cured Basque ham and a boudin with a quite astonishing piquant tomato sauce) and the gateau basque, but I held out for the calamars, over his suggestion of the veal. Wine can be ordered by the carafe, the bread is unbelievable for the location and the coffee is quite respectable. At my query as to what my wife Colette could eat, he noted that aside from the tartares of salmon and tuna, he had daurade, tuna (to be prepared unilateral to keep it moist) and one other fish, not on the menu, at the ready. I was too satisfied to try the basque cheese but it looked great. No one ever followed my advice to go to Les Magnolias or Eric Frechon in the boonies and I’m sure no one will schlep out here when tired of pacing the Louvre at noon – I can hear it now, “out where?” - tant pis! 45 Euros, all locals, no flim-flam.

Well, Les Caves Miard, 9, rue des Quatre-Vents in the 6th, 01.43.54.99.30, closed Sundays and Mondays, is a little gem. As readers may have suspected, I’m not big on wine bars, but this place is the exception to the rule. About 13 seats and 3 bar stools, walls lined with bottles of wine, olive oil, vinegar, ragu bolognese, etc., and one guy doing it all. It was just right for me on a freezing Saturday; a bit of lard and I mean lard, Costieres de Nimes wine and a nice radicchio salad with balsamic and parmesan. Perfection. My bill was 35 Euros. No smoking, indeed the one-man band, Piero or Pierre, went outside to have a puff. The music was strangely reminiscent of Italian groups on the Metro, but somehow here it fit.

Here’s another unpretentious small, local place that’s not about to attract many tourists despite its being quite good, open 7/7 and located right near the famous rue d’Alesia shops. La Chopotte, 168, rue d’Alesia in the 14th, 01.45.43.18.16, says it’s a bistro a vins, which I suppose technically is correct, but then, is there a “dry” bistro? It has a big chalkboard with everything in firsts from classic herring and potatoes to a very generous langoustine salad (so many I could hardly finish); and Salers beef to four fish choices; and all the classic desserts. Prices are gentle, my bill was 34 E, the service was warm, and it hit the spot on a very chilly Sunday. Illy coffee.

Should a place be condemned because of the all-too-frequent U-shaped meal, that is, a good first and dessert and a disappointing main? I must start out by saying that I love Dix Vins, the mothership of this new place, so I was excited when I read of the opening of Midi Vins, rue du Cherche-Midi in the 6th, 01.45.48.33.71, open everyday but Sundays, but, but, but – while the lisette was perfect in its degree of sweet-sour Sherry sauce and temperature and the crème caramel was great, albeit a bit irregular, one cannot serve confit de canard and Sarladaisian potatoes cool/lukewarm on a cold plate. Sorry. The coffee and wine were good, however. Too bad. By the way, the Minister of Agriculture, who’s always bemoaning the drop in wine sales, should pop in here, no teetotalers to be seen.

Ah my! Le Bistrot des Soupirs aka Chez Raymonde, 49, rue de la Chine in the 20th, 01.44.62.93.31, open everyday but Sundays and Mondays, sounded perfect; recommended by one of my two best resto “finders,” full-page featured in “Zurban’s Guide,” formula at 13 (not a typo), menu at 15 Euros; how could one not love it? OK, it’s a bit out of the way, but that wasn’t the problem, I used to camp on, or is it in, the steppes of the 20th. First, the sautéed foie gras frais with apples was of mixed temperature (center of the plate hot, outside cold, in between - in between); an interesting concept, like salmon unilateral or mi-cuit gambas, but….. Second, the scallops were not rank, not under or over cooked, just bland, plain, nul - stamped out raie has more character; and the al dente leeks etc., underneath did not complement the St. Jacques. The wine (an Anjou) and coffee (Lavazza) were just fine. Will I send my young relatives who are backpacking through Europe on x dollars a day there? You bet, where else can two people eat 3 courses with a bottle of drinkable wine for 40 Euros?