Rest. Notes From February 05 Paris Trip

[thenextmeal]

Just getting around to going through my notes from a visit to Paris. Here are a few words re the notable meals...

La Maison de l' Aubrac

37, rue Marbeuf

1 arr, Tel : 01 43 59 05 14 -

Merits mention for being open 24 hours, but also had a very pleasant beef-centric meal here. They apparently own a ranch in Aubrac, and are quite proud of their award-winning herd (pictures of steer with medals around their necks adorn the walls here) as well as the wines from Languedoc. The list here, by the way, is quite exceptional, and full of wines we don't often see here in the states. plenty of lovely wines available by the glass at the bar, and nary a Bordeaux on anywhere!

CHEZ GEORGES

1, rue de Mail

2 arr Tel: 01 42 60 07 11

Classic bistro that simply never disappoints. And not owned by Flo. The size of the piece of skate wing I had for lunch made me think I was back in the US, but the the taste left no doubt it was Paris.

Brasserie Balzar

49, rue des Ecoles

5 arr Paris 014 3541367

On the other hand, Balzar IS owned by Flo, but I go here once each visit for my frisee with lardons and choucroute garnie fix, and it never disappoints. This year no exception. Novice Paris visitors will also be able to have the quintessential snooty French waiter experience here!

Fumoir (Le)

6, rue de l'Amiral de Coligny

014 2920024

Was having dinner with a native Parisian, and this was what she chose...lovely location (directly across the street from the Louvre) pleasant interior and Ok service, but food was B- at best. Don't waste a precious Paris meal here, but a nice spot for a drink

Relais de l'Entrecôte (Le)

15, rue Marbeuf

1 arr 014 9520717

Went here based on Zagat, as it sounded interesting: one dish, no reservations, cheap - I thought this might be the French result of the same impulse that led to McDonalds in the US! Skip it. Crowded, noisy, wait on a rainy Sunday nite in February was 30 minutes, frites sub par and the "secret" sauce on the steak was best left under wraps. Walk the four or five blocks up to La Maison de l'Aubrac for a big beef nite!

ATELIER DE JOËL ROBUCHON (L')

5, rue de Montalembert

7 arr 014 2225656

Well, as few will find surprising, here was the big winner. The low key energy of the space, the black outfits, the minimalist decor, the hanging hams, and the showcase kitchen in the center of the wraparound counter - instead of the studio it it should have been called the cathedral. JR and staff are the priests, and we are here to worship food.

I had the nine course menu so as to have the maximum amount of different items, and I'd heartily recomend that approach (though the two guys next to me did nicely with two courses and then a cheese plate that I was tempted to mug them so I could steal.) Every dish was sublime, though the standout was a mushroom (cream) soup served in a martini glass with a raw egg and a parsley pesto base underneath the soup. Then there is the milk fed pork, with Robechon's famed mashed potatoes as a side, and of course the single scallop, sauteed and...you get the picture. Of course it is expensive. With wine and coffee, and the nasty exchange rate, my Amex bill said $175 when I got home! Worth every penny...

[Bux]

. . . .

Brasserie Balzar

. . . . Novice Paris visitors will also be able to have the quintessential snooty French waiter experience here!

. . . .

Mrs. B's response to the the waiter's question asking if Madame has had pig's feet before when that was her order, was quite sufficient to keep him from asking any further questions when I ordered the andouillette. That was a few years ago, just after the takeover by the Flo group. For the record, her pig's feet were disappointing -- the breading was less than crisp. My andouillette was fine. The potatoes with them could have been crisper. Perhaps as if to apologize for questioning if my wife knew what she was ordering, service was quite good and very friendly after that. The brasserie was quite overrun with non French, mostly Americans. I suspect that was do to location, proximity to the Sorbonne and other things unrelated to the takeover.

I'm glad you enjoyed l'Atelier de JR. We also had the tasting menu recently and while dining at a counter is the antithesis of fine dining, it seems to heighten focus on the food. I was with a very talented French chef who works in NY. While he professes to have a taste for more traditional and often more rustic food, he was ecstatic about his reaction to this meal. While his appreciation seemed to mimic mine, I suspect he started with higher standards and was far more appreciative of the disciplines involved in delivering such finesse course after course.

[John Whiting]

. . .  the waiter's question asking if Madame has had pig's feet before when that was her order . . . 

Given the ignorance of certain foreign tourists, together with their indignation when confronted with the unfamiliar, I can understand a French waiter's erring on the side of caution. More often than not, the question is likely to be appropriate. Edited March 10, 2005 by John Whiting (log)

[Saborosa]

What was MRs B's response? Printable?!

[bleudauvergne]

I have a question about the mushroom soup, was the egg below with the pesto or on top of the soup? Thanks.

[Bux]

What was MRs B's response? Printable?!

←

Quite printable. I'd describe it as indignant, with a wink. A kind of "who do you take me for" and "I know what you're up against." I think her actual words were only to say she hoped the kitchen did a good job in preparing them.

We were at the end of a banquette. I didn't get the accent of the couple next to us, maybe Dutch, maybe Swedish, but he spoke to us in English and ordered choucroute. Next to them was a table of very American looking tourists enjoying lamb chops and roast chicken. Both were garnished with a couple of vegetables. I'll bet they were pretty good. The two couples seemed to enjoy their meal and their evening. I suppose I've ordered both chicken and lamb chops at some time in Paris, but to me, it seemed ordinary and represented a missed opportunity. I'm sure there are those who feel that way when I pass on the chance to go skydiving. In all honesty, I'm not a great fan of pig's feet unless they're prepared off the bone, but Mrs. B will devour them with relish. At a wedding buffet in Brittany, she went back for seconds of the pigs feet in jelly. It was an ice breaker and obviously destroyed preconceptions held by the locals. One of the Bretons at our table said it was something his grandfather would eat. Maybe the tables have turned. Now you can spot the gastrotourists eating all that old fashioned food. The French are eating chicken and lamb chops. It's all a matter of taste -- personal taste, not necessarily good taste or bad taste.

As for our encouter with the waiter, one never seriously insults or argues with one's waiter, at least not before you've eaten all your food. We proceded to have excellent service that night with the waiter making wisecracks and seemlingly enjoying his job serving us. The pig's feet, I'm sorry to say, were mediocre at best, according to my wife. My andouillette was excellent.

[thenextmeal]

I have a question about the mushroom soup, was the egg below with the pesto or on top of the soup?  Thanks. 

←

The (quail) egg was below the soup. Gently pulling the spoon through the soup with each taste gradually brought the egg and the herb pesto up into the incredibly rich and nuanced soup, for an incredibly complex final effect on the palate. Bordered on sinful.

By the way, a friend of mine on the way to India had a one-day layover in Paris last week, and I sent him to LAJR. He just sent me an email raving about this soup as well...