May2006–Ribouldingue,Fontaine Fiacre,Table Claire

[John Talbott]

May 2006 – Ribouldingue, La Fontaine Fiacre, La Table de Claire, Le Stade, La Bonne Table, Chateaubriand, Dalva, Les Bonnes Soeurs, La Cocotte, Les Magnolias.

8 – Ribouldingue, 10, rue St Julien le Pauvre in the 5th, 01.46.33.98.80, closed Sat lunch and Sundays, with a menu-carte at 25 €, a la carte 30-35 €. Boy this ex-second of Camdeborde’s at Le Comptoir knows how to pick and cook good product. Best of show for the year 2006 - by me anyway! Wow, double wow! And the prices, two of us were out at 72 € and that’s with coffee and a calva. Not muchofa place from the outside or on entering – recall the old Fogon – this is it. Some goofola handpaintings of persons dancing crazily (ribouldingue means binge.) The carte is definitely divided between abats, fish and light stuff. I went for the abats, but there were a lot of salads, terrines, etc., as well as bar, salmon and other fish. The amuse bouche was a huge artichoke served with AOC vinegar and olive oil – a very good idea. For firsts we had the best sautéed cervelles I’ve had this decade, served with sautéed new potatoes and lettuce hearts and sliced cold tongue with salad. Mains were a veal kidney served with (again) the best gratinéed potatoes of the year and a boudin noir smashed in a cocotte with parmentier on top with an accompaniment of more lettuce hearts. For desserts we shared a fluffy brebis cheese thing with “tart” rather than sweet honey and a very, very good tarte tatin. The wines run from 12-80 € - our very cheapo Bordeaux was superb. Coffee was not Illy but very good. Anything amiss? Well, my French neighbor, who eats out with me monthly, declared that this place was less exciting than Petrossian or Mori – I disagree. This is not tricky cooking, it’s just honest, good if not great, bistrot fare. And, we missed ordering the cow teats or pig snout, but hey, you can’t do it all in a day. Also, they were out of their Basque tripes, the substitution seemed pale – a stuffed tomato. Editorial note: how can Rubin, Demorand, et al, put Inaki Aizpitarte’s Chateaubriand on the same level as Chef Claver’s Ribouldingue – BTW everyone calls him just Clavel – maybe like Barbara, Cher and Bono – that’s it.

6.0 - La Fontaine Fiacre, 8, rue Hippolyte Lebas in the 9th, 01.53.20.88.70, closed Sat lunch and Sunday nite but open Sunday for “brunch.” A total surprise! I went expecting nothing, or at least with very low expectations and what a revelation. OK, here’s the deal. You get out of the ND de la Lorette metro and go north past Chez Jean and Velly, go to the corner of Hippolyte Lebas and Milton, where the awning says Au Huit and enter a totally new place that jars you with the juxtaposition of chic chairs and tables versus the bottles of bizarre beer and Pago orange drink on the counter. But fear not, all will be well, This is indeed La Fontaine Fiacre, they’re awaiting the new awning, and three guys are running a super place that has already attracted a fascinating crowd; eclectic, international (no, not Anglophonic, although they said that the “Americans had discovered it”) and of all ages. They have a 12.50 € lunch menu where you choose from 14 items – brochettes, salads, tarts and desserts – a bargain. But most folks were having what I did - the 27 € entrée and plat (21 for plat & dessert) from among the 6 firsts, 6 mains and 5 desserts (plus 6 specials of the Chef (Alexandre)) plus a tad of wine – I had a super 20 € Petit Chablis (for the first time in years) but they have lots of reasonable wines from producers they know, including stuff by the glass and carafe. OK, the food. I had a soup really, of broth with wonderfully roasted rougets and finely (I mean finely) chopped peppers of various colors, in it; followed by cod with a confited orange sauce with fresh spring veggies (beans, turnips and zuccini along with fried parsley) that was just the tops. Strangely the orange itself was off-putting but its sauce was perfect (and yes, this time I told them). The music was also eclectic varying from “Hearts of Space” stuff to jazz; the front-man cut the quite good bread with scissors and the coffee was Illy and made ristretto/serré. Their preparations also are inventive – the croque monsieur is that only in name, it looked like sliced beef Wellington. The place reminded me a lot of Les Vivres or Les Papilles (they too have a big (he told me it fit 60, but I saw it and don’t believe him) basement room.) Would I go from the edge of the 15th here for a meal? probably not; but for me just 5 subways stops away, it’s a slam-dunk.

5-6 NNN* La Table de Claire, 30, rue Emile Lepeu in the 11th, 01.43.70.59.84, closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (at night). Here’s another budget-friendly and people-friendly place that if I lived nearby I’d frequent. It’s got a diner-look, that is, formica tables, wooden chairs and napkins; everything’s on the blackboard and it’s light food while being serious. I started with parsleyed ham (with, I swear, parsley so fresh it must have been just pressed), followed by a jarret of veal (osso bucco) with a gremolata (parsley, garlic and lemon zest) sauce atop parsnips and carrots – delicious and terminating in espresso, mandarin and myrtille ices. There were about 6 items per course: as firsts (6.50-10), they also had two soups, ratatouille, etc; for mains (15-22), two fish, foie gras and a risotto of veggies; and cheese and spiced pear for desserts (5-6 €). Wines came by bottle carafe and glass. And what is it about the Illy coffee salesman; they’re all over, bless them, even here. My bill was 42.50 € but you oughta know that the lunch formulas are 13 (for main & dessert) and 16 (for first and main).

5.5 Le Stade, 20, ave de la Porte de Saint Cloud in the 16th, (inside the Stadium Geo-Andre and 100 feet from the Parc des Princes,) 01.40.71.22.22, open for lunch Monday-Saturday; dinner Thursday-Saturday, with a menu at 21 €, a la carte 30-50 €. Finding this place is a tad challenging ; it’s just around the corner from the « Go-Sport » emporium, within a sports stadium (the second floor resto has basketball courts out one window and a « short track » out the other.) But it’s a genuine fine restaurant, not your New York/LA gym juice bar with supplements to bulk you up. Anyway you come in and are struck by the mixed crowd ; 1/3 executives from toney companies in St Cloud/Boulogne/etc ; 1/3 freshly showered athletes ; and 1/3 local residents. It’s been open three years but to my awareness has only been reported on by Francois Simon (although Pudlo has listed it rather low-toned.) Simon’s recent review implied it was all food from the Auvergne and wine from South Africa, neither of which is bad, but it’s much more. It’s very good healthy food with lots of veggies and fruits but enough protein to satisfy the carnivore. I turned down the menu (although I was tempted by the cappucino of mushrooms, duck and fondant of chocolate) for a vol-au-vent overflowing with sliced petits gris and teeny, tiny mushrooms ; a rack of undercooked lamb with tons of teeny, tiny veggies ; and a moelleux of chocolate with orange slices. Everything was good product and well-prepared. The wines ran from 12.80-104 €. The other stuff looked yummy too – eg the gazpacho (5.50 €); duck (10 €) and fish. Only in France would you see smoking in a gym/health club, but to be fair, there was only one of the non-sportive males in the resto area smoking (those thin cigarettes normally associated with elderly women), however there were two young women in the adjacent Sports Bar-type room who were smoking and sipping non-stop and looked like they weren’t there for a Pilates class.

5.37 La Bonne Table, 94, rue des Martyrs in the 18th, 01.46.06.50.73, open for dinner Monday, Wednesday-Sunday, Saturday and Sunday lunch; formula (2 courses) = 19.50 €, a la carte about 45 €. Ever go to a place expecting nothing and get it all on a platter, so to speak. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. It’s one subway stop from me now (don’t ask) and in the midst of Montmartre Tourist Central. On entering it you wouldn’t be able to differentiate it from a hundred such places on the Butte (except that I’ll give you the clues – there’s a sign outside saying under new management, the “menu” may look cheap but the wines are not -16 € a half liter pot, 23 and up a bottle - and they have 8 ice cream specials that are clearly artisanal.) I ordered the cassolette of moules and mushies and it arrived looking like Campbell’s mushroom soup made with milk; ah, but no, the mushrooms were crunchy not soggy, the moules fresh and good product. It was delicious; forget the memory trace. Then I had the cassoulet facon chef, which also arrived to my internal groans: huge; lotsa stuff, pale sauce, gotta be awful – no again. So I figure I can’t go wrong and order my second dessert of the day (a personal best) – a Trou Normand – it had the most complex apple favored ice cream of my life with a hit of Calva, bien sur, and was simply splendid. My bill = 44.50 €. It reminded me a lot of Bouclard in the great old days. Oh yah, they had jerky flashing lights over the bar but real palm like plants in the room. The clientele? Largely local but one threesome who were clearly from the provinces and sang along with the 1940’s music (quite nicely I must say). If you’re stuck in Montmartre, don’t go to one of the thousands of awful places – go here.

5.25 Le Chateaubriand, 129, ave Parmentier in the 11th, 01.43.57.45.95, closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, lunch formulas 13 € for 2 courses (tabouli of red cabbage or terrine of pork and brandade that is huge and frou-frou desserts like a banana milk-shake – ah, Inaki’s up to his old tricks) but a la carte is 25-35 € and they have about 6 tapas for 4-8 € (I assume they’re Basque altho’ they have Spanish names.) They have a lot of wines and other beverages on the blackboard; wines come by the glass, pitcher or bottle. It’s a lot like the Marsigny down the block; that is, informal, simple décor and tables, open to the street and relaxed. I started with the herring over potatoes in oil, quite classic and quite fine. Then I had two adequate sized slices of saddle of lamb, undercooked to my perfection. They were tough as hell to cut, but tender as can be to chew, so I decided they need a knife-sharpener not a better purveyor. You’re offered either smashed potatoes or a salad and I opted for the huge salad that was again perfectly dressed. So why aren’t I raving about it? Well, it’s not like his ground-breaking cooking at the Café des Delices or even his early days at La Famille or Transversal, it’s more like a return to basics, as his compatriots did at Refectoire, OK but not dazzling; the Café des Delices, that was head-snapping. This is just “OK, could go again if in the neighborhood.” The price is certainly right; my bill was 29 €. BTW, it was full and they don’t take reservations at lunch. If you think the lunch/dinner and reservations/no reservations sounds like Le Comptoir, apparently he had that in mind when planning the place. For those who cannot stand hearing English spoken, go now; once the NYT + Gourmet write it up, it’s all over. Coffee? Need you ask, the Illy man’s been here too.

4.75 Dalva, 48, rue d’Argout in the 2nd, 01.42.36.02.11, closed Sat lunch and Sundays. This place doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor Iode except the fish is fresh and the two classy ladies running it look less like the former “Belles de Jour” ones. There’s lots of fish and veggies and a lot of women customers but they have chipirons and kidneys and hearty stuff too. I started with raviolis of veggies and ricotta in a tomato sauce that was simply without character; but the chipirons Basque-style were as good as they get – so the guy can do it when he puts his mind to it. My bill was 30 € with a 10 € pot of Cheverny so what’m I complaining about? Well, the up and down nature makes me arrive at the old Scots’ verdict – “Not proven,” e.g. they haven’t yet proven themselves to me.

3NNN*Les Bonnes Soeurs, 8, rue de la Mule in the 3rd, 01.42.74.55.80, open everyday, running one 30-35 € with beverages or 19 € Saturdays and Sundays for brunch. Calling all “French in Action” fans!; here’s a place actually called the Les Bonnes Soeurs and there the pictures of them are right up on the walls. This is an ideal place to plotz if you’re female and “doing” the Place des Vosges; bright, airy, light food, delightful staff, wide range of food. Ordinary? Yup! Inventive? Not terribly! Focused? Ah, here’s the rub. The French-Italian chef Nino Ferrer, hasn’t decided what he wants to provide here, so he’s hedged his bets, providing: “burgers” and club sandwiches for the Amuricans, salads and soups for the ladies, pasta and risotto for the French and traditional French fare (entrecote and bar) for the international crowd. I had a cold red tuna half-cooked on crisp shredded fennel which was not bad, a bar on what he called polenta with tomatoes in it that was innovative (the bar was not old or smelly but wasn’t the best he could have got at Rungis) and the best moelleux of chocolate of the year, served with chantilly sauce. The day I was there everyone looked American (by their dress) but they were all French. This place is not Gagnaire and he should stop trying to be all things to all people and follow Morteau’s law (that is, go to a culinary wasteland, cook inventively and charge more reasonable prices - firsts were 9-15, mains 13-16 and desserts 7-10. Bottom line; am I sorry I went despite my French food critic friend’s caution? Nope! This is the real Paris folks. It was too pricey for ordinary fare, but he’ll learn, he’s young.

1 La Cocotte, 93, rue de Duhesme, 01.42.54.58.56, open everyday for lunch and dinner, 1 dish = 13, formula (2) = 18 €. Nice lady all alone welcoming, taking orders, cooking, clearing, dishwashing, making bill, running VISA. Decent product (ecravisses with remoulade and pineapple; veal stew), not disgraceful; I was having a crise de foie so just wanted a nabe place; it did the job. Bill = 28 €.

NB. Just to show that I’m not letting the grass grow too fast between my toes, I returned in May to Les Magnolias in Les Perreux and as far as I’m concerned, Chef Chauvel sets the standard by which all folk trying complicated dishes with complex tastes (I mean you Inaki Aizpitarte, pay attention!), should attend. Incredible food; incomparable tastes; inadequate time in three hours to appreciate it all.

Edited by John Talbott to correct two errors pointed out by alert and careful readers, Felice & Laidback as well as translation of groin = snout (Felice).

Edited September 10, 2007 by John Talbott (log)

[pierre45]

THank you again john ,for saving my time and tons of money.I guess Ribouldique will be on my list.I liked your comment about the chef of les bonnes soeurs " It's pricey for ordinary food but he is young and he will learn"

[Felice]

I will second the recommendation for Ribouldinge. On the night I went, I wanted to try something I hadn’t had before (and there were plenty of choices—pig groin, lamb tongue, lamb’s brain, tripes, a warm cappuccino de tete de veau) and after much deliberation finally decided on a salade de tétine de vache, since a French friend once raved about them. Having never had cows utters I had no idea what to expect and was somewhat apprehensive. What came out were hearts of baby romaine topped with nearly paper-thin shavings of crispy cow’s utter, which in fact were quite delicious. I wasn’t so brave for my main course and had the beef cheeks, also quite good. Dessert was pot de crème au Guanaja from Valrohna. The table next to us had the cheese platter from Boursault which had no less than ten cheeses and was well worth the 6 € supplement. The service and atmosphere were also lovely. For only 25 €, it’s one of the best deals in town.

As John already knows, I’m in agreement with the critics’ high praise of Chateaubriand, Inaki Azaparte’s newest venture. I loved my meal there, found it to be perhaps my favorite meal in one of his restaurants so far and would enthusiastically recommend it. I did read that the lunch and dinner menu were quite different, so perhaps that explains the difference of opinion. Has anyone else been?

Edited May 21, 2006 by Felice (log)

[Laidback]

John, again thanks for taking the time to create what is to me the best restaurant critique available. Ribouldinque sounds very interesting and apparently Claver isn't going for the American tourist even though his location is about ground zero, with brains, cow udders, tongues, kidneys and other assorted "awfuls", and no mention of Rice Krispies or popcorn; I can't wait to get back this Fall.

One minor correction on arrondissements; "La Bonne Table", 94 rue des Martyrs is listed in the 9th while actually it is in the 18th almost at the corner of Abbesses.

Edited May 21, 2006 by Laidback (log)

[subliminalkid]

I happened to be in Paris for work early June; thanks for recommending Ribouldingue. A fellow offal-enthusiast and I as usual went straight for the most interesting-sounding items on the menu. We had the cow udders, probably my favorite dish of the meal. They were thinly sliced (but not "paper-thin" as I recall), had the consistency of firm tofu but lightly browned on the outside, with a slight dairy-ish aftertaste which was very pleasant. The lamb's brains were simply perfect. Our third appetizer was the pig snouts, which looked pretty comical sitting in a salad. They were cut simply with the shapes preserved, firm with a slight crunch, not that interesting. Our plats were the beef cheeks braised in red wine, again nothing surprising but perfectly done. The carpaccio tiede de tete de veau was also surprisingly inoffensive (haha), sliced paper-thin, pleasant but not amazing. Can't remember our desserts, but they were good. And if you're concerned about eating heavy offal in the hot weather, Ribouldingue is air-conditioned.

Also had dinner at Le Chateaubriand; it's such a different restaurant from Ribouldingue, I can't really compare the two. Loved my meal though; first an amuse of very fragrant miso with tiny mushrooms, then a refreshing and tasty ceviche appetizer with lychee sorbet, chopped nuts, flowers, and tiny cubes of a tart gelee. Then 3(!) amuses, a white creamy soup with sliced olives, a spoon containing a dollop of unctuous fatty tuna with sprouts, and a third that I don't remember so well. Main course was a beautiful (and delicious) lightly cooked pink piece of tuna, sliced to resemble a wedge of fruit pie, with asparagus, a saffron (?) foam, and paper thin slices of Jamon Iberico. This was a hard act to follow; I thought the dessert of rose ice cream with sour milk "soup" was rather pale afterwards.

Short notes on other meals: thought C'Amelot was nice but not outstanding despite the NY Times review. Astier didn't live up to my memories of earlier meals over the years, but the legendary cheese plate is still spectacular. Not being a regular Paris visitor (sigh), I was still expecting the little old ladies and the large selection of fruit tarts at Au Trou Normand; the new version is less quaint (!) but serves reasonable versions of the classics (excellent veal brains in croustade with beans and lemon, decent duck confit). Couldn't get a table at Chez Michel, but had a good pig's head and feet pate at Chez Casimir instead. And the divine gazpacho and luscious cepes and foie gras presse at Le Comptoir will make anyone forget what a horrifically hot and dusty summer day it was...

Bill

[mzimbeck]

John, I love this review of Ribouldingue. Offal is, for me, really the last gastronomic horizon that needs to be crossed. Maybe this is the right place to teach my mouth something.

Are "offal enthusiasts" born this way?

Regarding Chauteaubriand, I too fall into the negative column. Reading some of the mouth-watering descriptions by its fans, I wonder if we were even at the same restaurant. For example, we had NO amuses bouches, much less 2 rounds of them! And the offererings when we went (summer 2005) were fine, good, but certainly not very creative. Sounds like a case of multiple personality disorder.

Thanks for the reviews!

Edited August 1, 2006 by mzimbeck (log)

[Felice]

Regarding Chauteaubriand, I too fall into the negative column. Reading some of the mouth-watering descriptions by its fans, I wonder if we were even at the same restaurant. For example, we had NO amuses bouches, much less 2 rounds of them! And the offererings when we went (summer 2005) were fine, good, but certainly not very creative. Sounds like a case of multiple personality disorder.

Thanks for the reviews!

←

Mzimbeck,

You should definitely go back because Chateaubriand was taken over by Inaki Aizpitarte in the last few months (maybe mid April?), so it is indeed a completely different restaurant from the one you tried last summer. I have been twice for dinner, and loved it both times. It's definitely one of my favorite places in Paris right now.

Edited August 1, 2006 by Felice (log)

[John Talbott]

John, I love this review of Ribouldingue. Offal is, for me, really the last gastronomic horizon that needs to be crossed. Maybe this is the right place to teach my mouth something.

Are "offal enthusiasts" born this way?

Regarding Chauteaubriand, I too fall into the negative column.

Thanks for the reviews!

←

Felice is "spot on" about Chauteaubriand and I should have said it plainly before - it's not what it was a year ago. I try to review places that are either new, for instance Ribouldingue, have new chefs/owners/styles, e.g. Chateaubriand, or have moved etc., like Fogon. All three, by the way, are among the pleasant surprises of the Spring semester.

As to the nature/nurture origin of the abat love/hate relationship, I plead the 5th, I always loved the sweetbreads and liver my mother over-cooked; scarfed up the heart and gizzard at Thanksgiving and thought I'd gone to heaven when I found fresh foie gras entier.

To Pierre 45, Laidback and MZimbeck, thanks, and to Sibliminalkid, welcome, keep posting, the more the merrier.

[mzimbeck]

Thanks John and Felice - that clears up the confusion about Chauteaubriand. I was starting to think that I was on a different taste planet than some of my friends!

Meg