Second Helpings

Who says you can't go back again?  While I may try to adhere to the 'been there, done that' approach when it comes to cities, apartments, cars, employers, and ex-girlfriends (the latter especially given my marital status), when it comes to restaurants, one of my main goals is to find a place that I want to go back to.  And since the conception of this blog, my list of 'must return to' venues, I am pleased to say, has been growing.  You know which they are because I often return to them in my reviews.  So return it has been over the past month or two, albeit with mixed results.

 
Back around mid-May, Co. and I returned for the first time to the Asian restaurant Sala-Thai in a discreet alley in the 13th, where we had a pretty good meal a couple years ago.  Sala-Thai is much praised online, although our first trip there was undermined by having all the dishes we ordered brought at the same time.  By the time the table was cleared, I scratched my head thinking, what the hell just happened?  We didn't repeat that mistake this time, asking for and receiving a more reasonable pacing between plates.  Trying to dispel a wet dog smell in the dining hall, we fathomed the rather endless menu.  This time the spicy moules (11.25€) weren't as compelling, though still a good start, my fish brochettes (9€; 1st photo below) had the texture of fish (good point), but the distinct taste of chicken (bad point).  My pot of Pla op Mordine with cabillaud (11.25€; 2nd photo) was satisfying in the traditional Thai way, with plenty of ginger and coconut.  We also ordered the Ken Phed Ped, nice name whatever it was (11.25€), a plate of broccolli (3rd photo; 8.10€), riz gluant (2.10€), jasmine tea (€) and a half bottle of Chinon (7€).  At 61.95€, the meal was nothing spectacular, and there are myriad other Asian restaurants in Paris where you probably could do better.

 

SALA-THAI
13 rue des F. d'Astier de la Vigerie
7501 Paris
tel.  01.45.84.13.22
no website

Next up, a first return to Chatomat, which appeared so promising back last December.  Once again, I was more impressed than Co., only not as much as I was during the first visit.  My meal was very good, somewhat on the plus side of imaginative, but unfortunately, pretty forgettable.  True, I don't remember much that happened two days ago anymore and our dinner at Chatomat was just under two months ago, so it's a bit unfair to say that the meal at Chatomat was not very memorable.  A couple of photos jog the memory a bit, and here they are, the maquereux, pickled onions, and eggplant entree, followed by the fish of the day.  I always tip my hat to a chef who can make maquereux a savory dish, which was the case at Chatomat.  Two three course dinners, a Chinon, and one post-meal cafe clocked in just under the century mark at 96.50€.  The jury is still out as to whether we will make a third trip to Chatomat.

 

CHATOMAT
6 rue Victor Letalle
75020 Paris
tel. 01.47.97.25.77
no website

Now, the best for last.  A third visit - I am proud to say given the torturous process of trying to reserve there  - to Le Chateaubriand.  Bear in mind, there is no summer this summer in Paris.  It rains, period.  Co. and I needed some cheering up, and so we jumped at the chance to hook up with our good friends in town from the lone star state's San Antonio, who we seem to see more frequently in town than our next door neighbors.  The evening got off to an enjoyable start at the Baron Samedi bar around the corner from the restaurant.  I had never been to that drinking establishment before, but was much intrigued by the online description of BS as 'one of the world's best bars' and 'the grooviest bar in Paris, a sensual deity in Haitian voodoo beliefs.'  I'm sorry to say, despite the conviviality of the bartenders and the exotic descriptions, the place is a dump, but it did the job.  Limited in the gin category to City of London, I was kind of happy to stumble back out into the rain and into the oasis of Le Chateaubriand.

Firmly inserted into a back table next to the kitchen, we were each handed a sheet of paper describing the fixed menu of the day, this all happening at the end of week one in July (still raining).  Three amuse bouches followed by:

•  Pistes, aubergine, framboise, basilic  (1st photo below)
•  Turbot, fenouil, poutargue (2nd photo)
• Veau (or poisson for the non-meat eater), tomates (3rd photo, fish version)
•  2 desserts:  Cerise; Tocino del cielo

I should add that if you double the price of the menu (2X60€), each dish comes accompanied by a chef-selected glass of wine.  However intriguing that might sound, that price differential seems a bit over the top.

Without going into the details of the subtleties of taste, the formidable dialectic between the various ingredients, I will get to the point and tell you this was an epic meal.  I guarantee you I will remember that turbot enmeshed in fenouil well beyond two months and believe me, that came in second to the pistes dish, a marvelously exotic and imaginative dish - the best I've had in Paris this year.  Enough said.  It's no wonder that Le C. is considered by some as one of the best restaurants in Paris. What's more, chef  Iñaki Aizpitarte's philosophy is to keep the prices down, asserting that he'd rather have a restaurant where his friends would be comfortable dining than to have a restaurant filled with rich people.  One of those friends, perhaps, was the owner of four well-known restaurants back in San Antonio, USA who stopped by our table for a chat, having recognized our Texas companions.  He has my card, so if you're reading, remind me of your name and restaurants and I will be happy to plug them here.  The fixed-price dinner for four, at 60€ per person, including a 7€ bottle of Evian (which I accidentally ordered), a Cotes du Rhone (34€) and Langedoc (34€), and post-meal cafes took us over the 3 century mark, or 162€ per couple, a more than reasonable price for a memorable meal.

BARON SAMEDI
 12 rue des Goncourt
Paris 75011
+33-01-43-57-31-58
website

LE CHATEAUBRIAND
129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011
Paris 75011
tel: 01.43.57.45.95
no website

L'Auberge de la Brie - A Tale of Two Critics

Goin' up the country, east of Paris to Couilly-Pont-Aux-Dames and the Michelin starred L'Auberge de la Brie, via word of mouth and nothing else, except true to its name, Paris Restaurants and Beyond is obliged to check out the beyond from time to time. 'Beyond' in this case means heading east along the N34, past the Marne, and just after the first toll booth (2.10€), at least I think, as I was not doing the driving. I need full concentration on the meal to come and find oncoming cars a tad too distracting. Not far from the center of town, and given the size of Couilly, the center is about all there is, on a quiet street, sits the Auberge, very country-ish.

Chef Alain and Celine Pavard hold court at their unpretentiously pretentious restaurant that seats about 25-30 at mostly round tables in a finely appointed, bright room.

Always a good start, the evening quickly got off to a good start with two tasty amuses bouches - four spicey millefilles, followed by a small bowl of fois gras covered by asparagus soup, the latter of which truly caught Co's fancy. L'Auberge is not cheap by usual Paris Restaurant and Beyond standards, especially if you plan to order ala carte, although there is a very reasonably-priced 46€ four-course menu that had me tempted, with dishes like a starter of Bonbons crousti-fondants de chèvre servis tièdes,Gaspacho et dés de betteraves rouges, pointe de mascarpone (that's all one dish, by the way) and a plate of Suprême de pintade farci et gratiné au comté Asperges vertes, pommes dauphines, sauce champagne among the choices.

Instead, we compromised and opted for the 5-course (69€) and 4-course (60€) menu gourmands, me opting out of the meat course, with Ris de veau braisé au jus réduit Marmelade d'oignons au jambon Ibérico,Macaronis farcis et gratinés not my cup of tea nor the pigeon alternative: Poitrine de Pigeonneau rôtie au foie gras poêlé, Craquant de charlottes, épinards frais, rouelles d'échalote. Now even with my more psychological than physiological aversion to pigeon, I was clearly ready to take a few bites off Co's dish, and when this became evident to Mme Pavard, well, what do you know? When course three arrived, we found that two individual and copious preparations of the pigeon dish had been prepared - what turned out to be a kind of breast of pigeon sandwich - sandwiched between two rounded and thick crepes (think American pancakes) and stuffed with spinach, a very elegant dish that, sorry, wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but which really caught Co.'s fancy. Have to admit, that was a pretty classy act by M. Pavard.

As for the other courses, starting with the entrees - Co. was wowed by her foie gras dish (Foie gras de canard aux artichauts, Tube de pain de mie croustillant et émincé de Bresaola),the foie gras enhanced as it was by a terrific honeyed crust, artichoke and ham). I enjoyed my Carpaccio de lotte fumée à l'huile d'olives Picholines,Tomates séchées, caviar d'aubergines, pignons de pin - the pignons a nice touch, the thinly sliced lotte, but I don't know why, it just didn't send me to the stratosphere. Entrees followed by the fish plates: Filet de Sandre et poêlée de girolles, Ravioles de Carbonara et jus réduit de volaille for Co. and Filets de Rouget-Barbet en croûte de viennoise, Confit de fenouil aux olives de Kalamata et galettes de risotto moelleux for your's truly. Once again, Co. found her fish transplendant, whereas I was more impressed by the preparation than the memory of my rouget, the very tasty olives confit notwithstanding.

Following the pigeon(s), came the cheese, and I must admit, halfway into the fish, I think we both were already well sated, but onward we pressed! Co.'s long strip of Le Brie de Meaux farci aux noix was truly impressive, as was the cheese tray, from which I selected. Dessert was preceded by a candy store interlude as a row of varied colored marshmallow concoctions and patisseries were brought to the table (that's Michelin star territory right there), as well as a large glass sundae bowl of individually plastic-wrapped bon bons, of which I could never imagine an adult imbibing. I went the chocolate route for dessert, selecting from the Dessert menu the Tarte sablée au chocolat guanaja Servie tiède, crème glacée, chocolat liégeois "à boire" and Co. opting for the Framboises et chaud-froid de crème brûlée à la vanille, neither of which I found particularly enchanting, although I am sure Co. once again would disagree.

So there you have it, an elegant change of pace in a room that warmed up as the evening progressed. The tale of two critics should be pretty obvious by this juncture - Co. was thoroughly impressed by the whole Gestalt, whereas cranky, jaded old me ended up satisfied, having spent an enjoyable and at times surprising evening out, despite not being particularly wowed by my selections. Lest I forgot, the copious helpings of food were ably washed down by a tasty Haut Medoc Chateau Peyrabon 2001, reasonably priced at 36€. Excellent wine list, with enough under 45€ choices to keep one within budget.

L'AUBERGE DE LA BRIE
14, avenue Boulingre
77860 Couilly-Pont-Aux-Dames
tel: 01 64 63 51 80
Website: aubergedelabrie.com

La Dinée – Rentrée Reprise

Exactly a year ago I raved about a late August dinner at La Dinée, which sits in the impossible to park except during late August, 15th arrondissement. In an effort to repeat history, Co. and I returned last (Friday) night. Once again, the crowd was sparse - and here I expected that this blog would have had hordes of eager diners lining up at the door. Well, if this blog has had any effect on La Dinée's under the radar success on the Paris restaurant scene, it wasn't apparent during our visit, as only one other table was occupied, unfortunately, by a persistently yapping foursome who seemed unduly obsessed by Montreal. To be fair, these were the first days back from the conges annuel, so the sparse crowd was understandable.

To make a long story short, overall I'd have to say that you still can expect to have an above average meal at Dinée, though perhaps not nearly as transcendent as I suggested a year ago. And it's going to cost you more. Maybe this blog has had an impact after all, though not quite what I had in mind. What once was a rather steep 41€ 3-course menu has risen to an even steeper 47€, with no apparent rise in kitchen creativity, and still no amuse-bouche. Compare than with La Gagne's terrific 5-course menu degustation priced at 42€, or Les Magnolias' far more original 3-course 57€ menu, and you have to wonder what justifies Dinée's pricing policy (there is a less expensive 2-plate alternative at 39€). And to top things off, our 35€ Bourgeuil's (2007) worthiness was only distinguished by its unworthiness. A disappointing, from my standpoint, Brochette de caille aux épices des Indes, taboulé de maïs entree was offset by Co's very good, lemony Poêlée de chipirons aux citrons et tomates confites, salade d'herbettes au parmesan. I accidentally got some of my caille into some of Co's lemon (guilty!), and guess what? It improved.

No complaints regarding the main plates: for me, Suprême de pintade, tombée de chou frisé aux lardons et escargots (nice idea, adding the escargot to the moist poultry); for Co., Daurade royale à la peau croustillante, risotto aux haricts de soja vert (whose success was enhanced by an interesting orange-based sauce). My highlight came at dessert, Tarte fondante au chocolat, sorbet cacao - everything you could ever ask from chocolate and 'more!'; Co's Soupe de fraises, glace au fromage blanc et spéculos - refreshing for a warm summer night, but not much more.
In short, my thumbs are still up for La Dinée, but there are better deals to be had in town.


LA DINÉE
85, rue Leblanc
75015 Paris
tel: 01 45 54 20 49
website: www.restaurant-ladinee.com