Worst Paris Lunch Experience of the Year (so far)!  Le Bar Fleuri

 

Six years since I last posted here.  No, don't worry, I've been eating.  There is so much to update on this blog, I don't know where to start, which is why I haven't.  Covid turned everything upside down on the Paris restaurant scene.  Some of my favorite dining venues in the Capital are no more, victims of insane rents or owner/chefs closing shop to move onto something/somerwhere new.  And the prices have climbed dramatically.  A dinner that could be had for 75 euros per person have doubled at many places.  C'est la vie.

 At any rate, it took a really bad experience to motivate me to come back here.  And Le Bar Fleuri (1 rue du Plateau), a block away from the famous Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, obliged.   

I should know better and never pay attention to online articles written by tourists or ex-pats extolling a 'typical neighborhood' place that's 'really cheap' and a 'great find.'  Usually, these articles take the form of 'Ten Cheap Restaurants for Lunch in Paris That You Need to Eat At.  (pencil in here at least 5 'Bouillon' restaurants, you know, the places that really are super cheap, only the food is, at best, meh.)  

At any rate, I was curious about Bar Fleuri, a small neighborhood cafe that is, according to the online idiots, 'an institution!' 'a great discovery!' 'a hidden treasure!'.  After walking up at least 1000 steps to get out of the Buttes-Chaumont metro, I was seated at a table and the waiter, who looked like a homeless with a long white goatee, asked me what I wanted.  That's a tough question to answer in a restaurant when you are not given a menu.  So I asked him what he proposed, to which he pointed to the wall behind me, where there was a blackboard with the offerings.  Unfortunately, I had left the eyes in the back of my head home today.  For an entree, I picked one of my favorites - rillettes - but these were dubbed 'rillettes de Sartres'.  I know, I should know this, but I asked him what Sartres was and he said it was a departement in France.  So then I said I know it's a departement in France, but is it meat or fish, to which he answered, it's a departement in France.  I then quickly looked it up on my tablet and learned that it is pork and quickly changed my order, given I do not eat pork.

Next up was the famous chicken and fries dish - famous because this is their specialty, and it has been priced at a mere 6.86 euros for decades.  I asked for a breast, not a thigh, to which the waiter agreed.  After my entree, I kept waiting and waiting, while other people were being served.  Eventually I asked another waiter where my plate was, he then hollered at the goatee guy, and a few minutes later, I see him emerging from the bar with a plate, which I was sure was destined to my table.  He then took it to another table, whereupon he learned that they hadn't ordered it.  Eventually, a middle-aged woman who I thought was another patron but turned out to be (I assume) the owner, noticed my gaze, tapped him on the shoulder, took the plate and brought it to my table.  A thigh.  I told her I asked for a breast and she said 'same thing.'

When I went to the bar to pay, I decided to forego the credit card in order to break a 50 euro note that I was carrying.  The bill came to 18.91 euros and the owner gave me a 10 and some change.  When I pointed out that I handed her a 50, she went back to the cash register and pulled out a 20 and brusquely gave that to me, at which point I said to her that 'I'm not a tourist.'  She said 'we only get Parisians here', and I said 'good try,' and left.

Only Parisians - the first couple sitting at the table next to me was an Asian guy and Black girl speaking perfect American.  To add insult to injury, before leaving, some guy who looked like he hadn't washed for a while was seated at that table, he ordered a chicken plate, and three minutes later he was served.  And it was a breast!

 

Le Bar Fleuri

1  rue du Plateau

75019 PARIS

no website (why am I not surprised?) 

A DUMP