Dec 06 Versance Pharamond Cameleon Tradition Arôme

[John Talbott]

December 2006*

Le Versance, Pharamond, Le Cameleon, Le Tradition, L'Arôme, La Marée Passy, Le Reveil du 10e, Les Fougères, L’Orenoc, Le Cottage Marcadet, Au Petit Monsieur

Top of the line, old son

8.0 Le Versance, 16, rue Feydeau in the 2nd, 01.45.08.00.08, closed Saturday lunch, in the old Le Petit Coin de la Bourse space, wonderfully renewed to its old glory (Chef Samuel Cavagnis, who passed through the House of Loiseau in Saulieu and the House of Mitterand here, en route, supervised the cleaning and refurbishing of the place as well as the reinstallation of the stunning stained glass windows) of 40 years ago but more elegant than I recalled in the 1970’s. Or maybe it’s just the understated grey walls with gold trim or the 1889, I think, menu, etched on a glass partition, of the 17, was it?, courses served at the opening of the Elysee Palace, I recall. (All this detail came from the most genial chef I’ve talked to in years). (And, I hope this is not putting a curse on it, but its elegance and tone remind me of Thierry Burlot.) The menu is inventive and merited the three hearts in Figaroscope and the rave review in Le Fooding. My beloved downstairs neighbor, always game for a meal, was impressed by its daring. We started with a shot-glass full of lentils, smoked duck breast and truffle oil – incredible. She had the “menu,” 32 for two courses, 38 € for three (which come with a glass of wine, a St Emilion for her, very fruity but dry) whilst I ate off the carte and was not wine-deprived either, having a very nice Bordeaux. Incredibly she ate better. She had a soup made with watercress with chicken chunks – it sounds boring, eh? Nope, great! I had raw tuna with sesame three ways – first the tuna was covered with dried seeds; then there were swollen seeds in a timbale; and finally there were seeds and essence in a soyishe sauce that I was warned was salty but not too salty for me. Then she had a round baton of wrapped noodles with various types of shellfish and a sauce that when taken together was the best pasta dish of the year. I had rather ordinary cod-flakings wrapped in a fine strip of aubergine with big grey beans – yummy but not oomphy enough for me. Her dessert was a poached pear with a drizzle of sweet cream (called a gratin but I know butter and cream when I see it) and spectacular coffee ice cream. The downstairs was jammed with Bourse-types and one anorectic, the upstairs looked only 2/3rds full. The bill (warning, warning, it will be more for you, we were careful) was 102 €/2. He’ll be closed for the holidays but will open again January 2nd. Prediction, he’ll soon pack the place at lunch, abandon the “menus,” then you’ll be able to get in at night when the boursiers go home to Versailles.

Come back? - you betcha Dude.

The December Surprise; great old-time food, inconsistent service

7.0 Pharamond, 24, rue de la Grande Truanderie in the 1st, 01.40.28.45.18, closed Sundays and Mondays is a blast from the past. Like Brute, (Brutus to us Anglos, but I like Brute better, sounds more like him, eh?), I came to bury this place not praise it. It’s been here forever, well, at least since 1832, it’s in Tourist and Pick-pocket Central, it is and was clearly over-priced (11-24 € for entrees, 19-39 mains and 9-15 desserts, total, well you can do the math - 39-78 € before wine, etc); it was totally Anglo last time I came (about 1832) and when I read of its resuscitation by an ex from L’Ami Louis, I thought I gotta do this, it’ll give me great ammunition for a devastating review. But on the other hand, Richard Hesse in Paris Update loved it and hey. OK. So I come in from the Etienne Marcel side and approach this ancient monument; pretty much the way I remembered/expected; wonderful velvet curtain, great stencil details, nice floral-type arrangements. So I said to myself “One goes for the spectacular décor, it’s entertainment after all, not the food, relax.” And indeed, it was like a French country resto in the 1950’s – old school, huge portions, familiar favorites like tripes, steak and snails. Sat down, long wait for a menu, longer wait for the order to be taken, even longer wait for the wine list – conclusion, staff not yet polished. Look around: all business folk, one top-rank law/banking/insurance “Partner’s Holiday Lunch” ordering magnums, etc, of Burgundies, one patron having a cigar which I hadn’t seen in years - until much later, when the younger, Coke-drinking, cigarette-smoking crowd came in and overwhelmed the non-existent ventilation system. But to the food: the celery soup amuse-bouche was OK but the fresh warm bread was over-the-top – good start; then a green salad (because the ENORMOUS mounds of os a moelle and vol au vent looked daunting and cardiac-clogging) – not bad, but too fancy/schmancy in the oil & vinegar department; then rognons de veau in their style, which I guess means pretty plain and mildly over-cooked but…. I saw what I thought (without my glasses) was a little mound of mashed potato – no, it was butter and I’m here to tell you, butter on those kidneys was divinity, although in fact, mustard worked OK once I’d depleted the butter. Oh the wine – confession, I had a whole bottle of Minervois at 13 € (I figure the guy is cleaning out the cellar and thought this was a dog – it wasn’t! only mistake he made all day.) Coffee, had to be sent back, not serré as I’d asked. I did not have dessert, they looked even more daunting than the entrees. My bill was 53 € but recall what I had and didn’t have; the average citizen will spend twice that.

”Should one go?” If Pharamond was the destination of your youth, if you hanker for those old time recipes, if you’re rich and if you need a shelter from the storm, come on in. This was surely the most interesting meal of the month.

Old school, old prices - old son.

7.0 Le Cameleon, 6, rue de Cheveuse in the 6th, 01.43.27.43.27, open everyday, is Jean Paul Arabian’s latest venture. Arabian, of course is the ex-partner of Ghislaine and came here from Le Restaurant in Lille and Ledoyen + Pierre au Palais Royal and one place in the 18th not on his resume that none of us can recall, in Paris. He brought in Chef David Angelot from Ledoyen and since September or so has been providing fine updates of classic cuisine at reasonable prices – 25 for two, 30 € for three courses with glasses of wine at 4 € and bottles starting at 19 €. I went with my “real food critic friend” and we had a ball. The bread was first rate (Poujauran, he posited). We shared: escargots on top a sauce/soup of chopped-to-infinity parsley and fried calamari with tartare – both superb. Then we shared: a fat slice of calf’s liver that was neither top-flight product nor cooked to my specification (which would be really raw inside), but the accompaniment – macaroni with cheese (I jest not) and pork with coriander flavored carrots and tiny onions was so wonderful that it offset any lingering doubts about the liver. Finally we shared what I never would have ordered without prompting, a divine pain perdu with roasted pineapple and beer, yes beer, zabaglione. The bill with coffee, a bit more wine and a tiny digestif = 94 €, although the bar person charged us 100 €, and my famous friend didn’t dispute her math, figuring like I did that we’d tell the story of her inability to divide 94 by 2 enough times to make up the 6 €. Oh, on the way out we saw several other dishes, onglet, raie and other stuff that was equally appealing.

”Should one go?” I cannot think of a reason why not to.

Shush – A gem, despite the weird location – Don’t breathe a word.

6.9 La Tradition, 2, rue Budapest in the 9th, 01.48.74.37.33, closed Sundays, is on this funny sort of closed-off street/lane but serves anything but funny food. It was “discovered” by A Nous Paris a few days ago, I didn’t like the picture that just showed the comptoir, so I dropped by two hours after reading the review, et voila, there were tables too for 8-10 covers and I told the guy who looked astounded that I’d tumbled on the place about the A Nous Paris review – PS tonite there were several copies scattered about. Anyway, despite its weird location, it’s a gem. Southwestern-oriented food and wine but not totally. The amuse-bouche was/were gougeres – light, flavorful but not overly cheesed, perfect. Three of us went and unfortunately (not for us but for this report) were so entranced by two dishes that we all ordered them – 1st the sauteed foie gras with raviolis of mushrooms and white truffles (only problem, they forget to warm the plates) and the dessert – a so-called baba au rhum with the best raisin ice cream of the decade – really a deconstructed baba – which was divine (no probs at all.) In the middle we had (1) a “ragout” of veal sweetbreads and kidneys (the best! – guess who had it); (2) strips of duck on an apple “parmentier” not bad either; and (3) salmon, OK, OK. Each one of us thought his/hers was the best. The bill = 167 €/3 and my pals took home a ½ bottle of wine too.

”Should one go?” Yes - If you can reserve for lunch enough in advance; at night - no sweat. These guys really know what they’re doing; go before they move uptown or downtown.

Stretching and almost making it

6.5 L'Arôme, 3, rue Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in the 8th, 01.42.25.55.98, closed Sundays, is a really neat looking place with upscale flowers, table clothes and glasses. I was greeted terribly warmly by Eric Martins, ex from l’Ami Marcel, who couldn’t have remembered me from there but acted glad to see me. There is an ample 33 € blackboard lunch menu with mostly terrine/type firsts except for one hot dish and thus I ordered the soup with essence of small crabs and whole mussels – fantastic. My biche bourgignon had a spectacular sauce but was both too much and too dry (but I’m finding all game dry these days so maybe it’s me). The celery mousseline with it, however, was very, very good, as was my dessert of pear in red wine and violet ice cream. The bread was either made there or a holdover from before Lionel Poilane died because it was gold standard – crisp outside and moist inside. I predict he’s going for the stars. Wine is by the bottle, glass, 25 and 46 cl pots, the cheese from MA Cantin and the coffee Illy – the guy has good providers. My bill was 50.80 €.

”Should one go?” Chef Pascal Bataillé, ex of Pierre Gagnaire, has got it pretty much right, let’s give him another try.

Filling the Sunday Fish Trou

6.5 La Marée Passy, 71 ave Paul-Doumer in the 16th, 01.45.04.12.81, open everyday, inhabits the space that would appear cursed – three restos in as many years – Le Bigorneau + l’Escale run by the Coutanceau group and now this. It’s in a great location, if you love the 16th or are on your way to or from the Trocadero or Musée Marmottan. But even to an alien from the 18th, it’s pretty nice. Except for one American couple on the verge of an argument, and a couple of sugar-daddies and sugar-babies, most folk seemed to be French, rich, pleasant and old (but more about that later.) As I entered the place I noticed, even at 12:30 it was pretty packed, and the host immediately greeted me and on learning my name apologized profusely; the kitchen staff had screwed up and while he had a record of my reservation, I would not be at a primo table but stuck off in Siberia/Coventry/etc. for which he sent over a coupe de Champagne right off (PS I had a fine table, in a fine location, in the midst of wonderful folk my age who entered wishing me not only a “Good Day” but a “Good Meal!”) There is an extensive menu on the blackboard; firsts ranged from 10 tasty-looking langoustines to a scallop/celery/chestnut soup to a tartare of salmon and oysters to what I had – crunchy giant shrimp with a tandoori sauce (that I could have sworn was a regular tartare sauce); the seconds included a huge whole maigre (meagre, one of the Drum/Sciaenidae family) solette, bar, daurade and what I had, simply the “Best of the Year” scallops (grilled toasty brown on the outside, raw inside); and classic desserts of which I had the crepes Suzette (in homage to the late great Bistrot Cote Mer – it was more flour-y than theirs was). As I was saying my goodbyes to the host and congratulating him, he said that they just cooked simple food – harrumph, it may be simple but it’s great product, well done. It turns Olivier Morteau’s formula (go to a culinary desert, import an innovative chef and charge low prices) on its head – the 16th is hardly a desert, there have to be a host of chefs to run a place that provides two meals a day, seven days a week, and the prices aren’t rock bottom.) But these folk are hustling, the bread is gold standard, the cheese by MA Cantin and they have well-priced wine by the glass, 18 cl portion and bottle. At least on a Sunday for those statistically inclined, the age range was 20-90, the mean age 88, and the median 82. And the damages, with some very nice white wine, were 52.50 €.

”Should one go?” On a Sunday, for a fish lunch, I cannot think of a better bet.

The Quintessential 1930’s Bistrot

5.0 **Le Reveil du 10e, 33, rue Chateau d’Eau in 10th, 01.42.41.77.59, closed Sundays, was in the Le Fooding 2007 Guide distributed last week with Liberation, under the category Terroirs. I’d never been, indeed I’d never heard of it, so if this vanguard of food publications thought it was in the wind; that was good enough for me. Despite its ancient appearance and 1930’s Marcel Pagnol type wait-folks with cabbie caps and suspenders, apparently most food folk, except for Mssrs. Petitrenaud and Cammas et al, were/are in the dark about its existence. Too bad for us all; it’s a gem – for those who don’t mind being jammed together with 46 French-folk, smoking Gauloises (just kidding about the brand) and drinking pots (45 cl – don’t worry, they’ll explain why this strange amount- costing all of 9 €) of Lyonnais wines. This is one place where the décor and setting and clientele outweigh the food. Oh not that it’s bad; I had the “artisanal” escargots (standard) which were not as good (or salty) as my local guy makes them; then the blanquette de veau (again not as good as at Mori’s, say and needing the mustard they routinely put in front of you); finishing with the milk custard. They have the range of classic dishes one might hanker for (a huge coquelet, kidneys, confit, etc.), sizeable platters of charcuteries and cheeses (10 or so) and every Beaujolais known to man. The bill = 29.60 €.

“Should one go?” Absolutely, you’ll be swept back in time.

Like the old Cyclone in Coney Island

3.5 Les Fougères, 10, rue Villebois-Mareuil in the 17th, 01.40.68.78.66, closed weekends, provides two courses for 22 and three for 29 € and is run by Stéphane Duchiron (ex-Lameloise) and Roland Durand (ex-Passiflore + Bon Accueil.) The meal started off with a bang, the rillettes with sesame seeds with tiny toasted rounds of sesame bread were simply delicious; I ate the whole thing. Then came the bread, two ways, warm and also good; I preferred that with cereals. Then there was a long pause: it took forever to order and even longer than that for a carafe of wine (16 € for a 50 cl carafe) to appear, which is hard to comprehend since there were three in the kitchen and two in the salle for a total of 30 covers maximum. So I started to lose heart. Then bang, up we went again with a wonderful croustillant of veal tail atop green lentils flavored with bacon and topped off with sprigs of spicy greens. Then the main course came and my heart again sank – the pheasant was overcooked and not particularly tasty, although the fall veggies in broth were quite good as an accompaniment. At that point I figured we had to go up again and I was right – the three tiny savarins topped with Chantilly and grenadine ice cream were divine. But wait, the Illy coffee, asked for serré, was weak. The clientele was most tony and interesting, among them were the French equivalents of Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs and two food critics, one of whom was assuredly the grayish Michelin Man. This place really has promise but the day I was there was like the girl with the curl or the Coney Island roller coaster; when good - terrific, when off – disappointing. The bill = 48.50 €. Unfortunately, for them, but maybe good for us, Jean Yves Bath has decamped the pricey 8th for the 17th, re-opening right across the street in a place still called Bath’s, at 25 rue Bayen with a 25 € menu at lunch (it was 30 € downtown.) But that’s for next month.

“Should one go?” (to Les Fougères,) Let’s see what the Michelin man says.

Good product, good cooking; so, why weren’t we more enthusiastic?

2.5 L’Orenoc, 81, blvd Gouvion St Cyr (Hotel Meridien) in the 17th, 01.40.68.30.40, closed Sundays and Mondays was taken over by Claude Colliot, exBamboche, and got three hearts in Figaroscope. It’s an elegant space; we had a primo window table in a true no smoking room; and the service was impeccable. My guest ordered the 38 € lunch menu and I ordered a main and dessert (the entrée prices were off the charts.) She started with a cold cauliflower soup with divine little shredded veggies. She then had a pot au feu where the chopped cabbage in a cabbage leaf was spectacular but the beef was flavorless (I know, it often is.) My St Jacques were terrific product but the accompanying carrot puree enhanced with orange flavor again was so spectacularly better than the main ingredient that I stopped to ponder the situation. Finally, she had marinated grapefruit slices around a custard, topped with a cassis sorbet which all together worked while I had a “larme” (big strips) of chocolate with a mound of confited black olives alongside, which were again, so much more dazzling than the chocolate. Illy coffee, bless them, was serré as ordered. Bill = 116 €. Not excessive for a birthday celebration but not consistently great either.

“Should one go?” If you’re struck at the Meridien Hotel or Palais des Congres, think about it.

Trying hard to be haute de gamme in Montmartre

1.0 Cottage Marcadet, 151 bis, rue Marcadet in the 18th, 01.42.57.71.22, closed Sundays and Mondays, is a place described by Laidback as a “Gourmet restaurant” in a “culinary wasteland” with a “serious young chef” (Choisne Cyril) and he loved his meal there six weeks ago. I went with high hopes for several reasons: I respect Laidback, I loved the Cottage in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and it’s a few hundred meters from where I live. I went with someone who also lives in the neighborhood and knows her way about French food, having written a lot of reviews and recipes. First impression: the menu – very ambitious – a 100 € degustation menu (and we’re talking about Montmartre mind you) and an a la carte listing with (as Laidback learned) a huge number of pretty pricey items. Second thought; go with the 35 € lunch menu for three courses or 27.5 for two and try to find a wine that wouldn’t break the bank (the wine list was ambitious too) – success with a 18 €/50 cl carafe of a drinkable Cotes du Rhone. And three, try to pay attention to the food while getting to know this most interesting dining companion. The amuse bouches were a sort of nem of red shrimp and little veggies that were quite tasty. The bread stick and brioche roll I had were better than alright. I then had a pied de veau, very cleverly and carefully layered with potatoesque trivets and she a veloute of rocket, with parmesan slices and sun-dried {I assume} tomatoes, pistachios and pine nuts as well as carrot chips on top; both of which were OK but nothing to write home about (my pied standard is Tante Marguerite’s). But it was the mains that fell off - my deconstructed rabbit with lots of tiny veggies wasn’t bad but there was no excitement, no pizzaz, none, what does Richard Gere say in "Chicago," none of “the old razzle-dazzle?” – this was simply calories shoved into the mouth; her caramelized Saint-Pierre {sorry Ptitpois, there’s no Amurican translation} with green tea {stretching eh? Sounds like Aspen} was equally OK, but so what?) Now, however, comes the one minute in a delightful 2 hour lunch that shapes the whole experience. The wait-guy noted her taking (non-flash) pix and said she couldn’t use them/it (or what?) which was self-defeating since later he complained to me out of her presence that they had only been reviewed by one guidebook or publication (the pathetic Bottin,) and my companion has a blog that would have gotten the word out to a lot more readers - but without pictures, she’s not going to post it. Too bad. At some point, without communicating why, we both decided not to have dessert (in my case it was that after what I’d had so far, I wanted to cut my losses). The mignardises were good (canele/cannele {google it, you'll find the difference}, truffles, macaroons, tiramisu) and coffee OK, but as I say, the lack of talent and 1-minute warning about taking pictures shaped the meal, which is really too bad. Plus, and I'm sorry to disagree with Laidback, the area is not a total disaster, it has better places: to name a few, the fabulous Spring as well as L'Histoire de...., 2 Pieces Cuisine and while for only one dish - the superb double lamb chop - Le Truc. The bill, however, was an easy 81 €.

”Should one go?” Tough question, if my guys insist, I will, but with my fists up.

Not Ready for Prime Time (or anything else)

0.75 Au Petit Monsieur, 50, rue Camelot (yes, it’s in the old C’Amelot-space) in the 11th, 01.43.55.54.04, closed Sundays and Mondays, got two hearts in Figaro this week, that must have pained Emmanuel Rubin no end. These folks have simply not yet got their act together. The place, while terribly well-staffed for such a small and intimate space, could not get the food out promptly (and there were only eight customers); could not get the food “right” (one guy send his main back twice); and could not get the credit card machine to work on the first three tries. A part ca, as they say, what else? Well, the food is over-priced – nems are 6.50, starters 8-17, charcuterie platters 20, mains 19-25 and desserts 8 €. The bread was terrific looking but soggy inside; the pheasant two ways was accompanied by a deconstructed set of dishes, including a game sauce, pumpkin puree, pumpkin sweetened with chestnuts - and the coffee was a pallid Richard. Can’t I say anything nice? Well yes, the nems I had were strips of spicy chorizo and calamars with a nice dipping sauce and the St Chinian was drinkable (at 19 € a 45 cl carafe it was a reasonable choice). The formula, however, even tho’ only 19 € as well, consisted of stuff that was banal-sounding.

”Should one go?” Not on your life, until this guy finds his compass.

*Occasionally I’m asked why I don’t post each and every month on the eGullet Society site; well, I usually do, but when I’m in OP’s (other places) with my long suffering wife Colette, such as Greece and Seattle (in October), Italy (in March,) etc, I post on other, appropriate forums.

**Well I had an epi-epiphany today: I realized that all these numbers I’ve been assigning to restaurants in response to a challenge from Pagason (so named, in the Scandinavian tradition, after his father Paga) were inadequate in describing places. As John Whiting, my treasured friend, cautioned me correctly years ago, this was a trap, in that one could not compare a great old school restaurant (say La Tour D’Argent) with a great new resto (say Ze Kitchen Galerie) or compare a classic bistro (e.g. l’Ami Louis) to a edgy one (e.g. La Cerisaie) or a grand brasserie (like Bofinger) with a modern version (like La Mascotte). So I surrender unconditionally. Indeed, Pagason’s father brought to my attention this week the fact that he and I assume folks want to eat at the newer, edgy, breaking-the-ground places like Spring rather than the old standards, such as Vaudeville. Well, that may be true of eGullet Society members, but it’s not true of my friends and professional colleagues – be they French or American. Therefore, or as they say, donc, to better help members in the choice of an appropriate venue, henceforth I will use the “Francois Simon system,” writing a title atop each review and a query “Should one go?” and an answer afterwards. Let’s see how it goes, eh? (the Canadian in me can’t resist that.)

Edited by John Talbott to add numerical ratings on popular demand.

Edited February 2, 2007 by John Talbott (log)

[Laidback]

John, thanks again for your reviews; I, like you but to a lesser degree, follow as many food guides as circumstances permit, and yours are my favorites. You avoid the "gushiness" of many, the egocentism of Pudlo, the sometimes indecipherable jargon of Zurban(for anglophones), the silly "color-coded" menus of another, and just speak plainly with appropriate praise or pans based on your personal experiences. I for one appreciated your attempts to "number" your reviewees; numbering is certainly an imperfect method, as the esteemed John Whiting and others point out but I haven't found a simpler system yet...Pudlo's plates and forks, Michelin's etoiles and Bibs, Figarosopes hearts,etc. certainly don't make things clearer to me than a simple number scale. With all their other faults the numbering system of the old Gault Millau was easy to relate to. A chacun son gout.

[John Talbott]

I for one appreciated your attempts to "number" your reviewees

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Well lets see if there's any support for numbers; I can certainly return to it if the crowd noise is deafening.

[Chocolate & Zucchini]

Well lets see if there's any support for numbers; I can certainly return to it if the crowd noise is deafening.

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Don't know how deafening this will be, but I liked the numbers too...

[Brad Wilson]

Newbie here, excuse my ignorance, but are these reviews for lunch or dinner?

By sheer luck my hotel on my upcoming visit is near Le Reveil du 10e. May be there day and night, it sounds so perfect...

Brad Wilson

[John Talbott]

Newbie here, excuse my ignorance, but are these reviews for lunch or dinner?

By sheer luck my hotel on my upcoming visit is near Le Reveil du 10e. May be there day and night, it sounds so perfect...

Brad Wilson

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My reviews (and eating) are almost exclusively for lunch for reasons of cost, ease, walking it off, geezertude and habit (Tradition here being the exception.)

[John Talbott]

Cottage Marcadet, which I ate at last in December 2006, impressed me a bit more than then and clearly I’m in disagreement with Dr and Mrs Laidback and Dr and Dr Atan, with whom I ate today. They loved it, I found it adequate but neither my style of gutsy cuisine nor my type to place – too frou frou. We started with a search for an affordable wine – once one passes the bar at 27 € for el cheapo, one is in price heaven. The one listed they were out of but kindly substituted a very fine Beaujolais for the same price – a plus! Then the breadsticks arrived, heated but without character (as was the later heated and homemade bread). The amuse bouche was a tiny mound of teeny tiny shrimp, petoncles and radish sprouts – OK. Both men had the beef tail with chopped turnips or parsnips and a rich dark sauce – fine, altho’ it and subsequent dishes came covered with a dome of chicken wire that I apparently rolled my eyes upon spying, interpreted (correctly) by my neighbors as pretentious. Then Madame Doctor and I had the rabbit two ways with potatoes two ways that I had found wanting two years ago and found wanting today but that she loved. M. the Doctor liked his St Pierre which I thought was OK. Then came a “pre-dessert” of a nice shot glass with caramelized grape nuts in the bottom (not really but sorta) covered with a kiwi puree. One nougat dessert was shared by all; OK. The mignardises were OK. Our bill, with one bottle of wine and no bottled water = 132 €. Sorry but I just cannot get excited about this place when compared to Le Table d’Eugene just a bit down the road.