Going Back

Say something once, why say it again? Which explains why I haven't posted for a while. As I gear up for some new venues, some obligatory return visits were in order. One of the hazards of a passionate interest in restaurants, not to mention restaurants in Paris, is that you discover places that are so good, once is not enough. Rather than belabor the point, and because I've reviewed L'Agrume, Le Chateaubriand, and Rino in previous installments, I merely intend to reproduce the tasting menus/ menus degustation that Co. and I experienced over the last few weeks, just to give an idea as to what some local chefs are up to as the chill of Autumn begins to envelop the Parisian atmosphere.

First up was Rino. Not exactly an old favorite, but the first visit there made me want to go back, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint why - maybe it was the terrific rouget I had there during visit 1. Once again, each of the offerings were satisfying - with the standout being a very unique appetizer of ravioli with onion confit and oyster. Nonetheless, I can't say I was particularly wowed by anything, and for that reason, I doubt I'll be returning in the near future. (Click on the menu to enlarge)



Next up, one of my favorites, L'Agrume. I earlier promised I wouldn't review L'Agrume again - in that case, twice was enough - so this isn't a review, just a quick glance. Out of our several visits, Co. & I found this visit to come up a bit short with chef Franck Marchesi-Grandi rather heavy on the light with the first two courses consisting of Burratina cheese and tomato pulp followed by a mousseline de topinambour. The highlight clearly consisted of the poached langoustines - small bloated but light langostines - a real marvel. Dessert was largely forgettable.



Finally, a second visit to Le Chateaubriand, and this did not disappoint. I really like this place, boisterous and noisy, a steady flow of diverse diners and energetic, witty and young waitpersons, and one surprise after another as the multiple courses ebb and flow before you. Highlights here consisted of the red tuna, turnip, and radish dish, as well as an apparently simple lait ribot which edged us into dessert territory. Unfortunately, reserving proved to be more challenging this second time around, and if there is one problem I have with Le Chateaubriand's multiple dishes is that once some dishes get your taste buds going, the offering is gone. In other words, sometimes copious is not a bad thing (hint).



There you have it, Le Chateaubriand wins the retro tour, with L'Agrume coming in runner up. You can't go wrong at either venue. And now, with the exception of a long overdue detour to Les Magnolias, out with the old and in with the new - coming next: JaJa and Septime!

RINO
46, rue Trousseau
75011 Paris
tel.: 01 48 06 95 85
web: www.rino-restaurant.com

L'AGRUME
15, rue des fosses St-Marcel
Paris 5
tel. 01 43 31 86 48


LE CHATEAUBRIAND
129 Avenue Parmentier
75011 Paris
tel. 01 43 57 45 95

Kei - Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Formerly the table of Gerard Besson, now home to the precise, elegant haute cuisine of Ducasse-trained Kei Kobayashi, albeit in a funereal setting.

Thus reads le Fooding's English introduction to Kei restaurant, a short walk from Les Halles in the center of Paris, and a rather early toast to the fading summer nights and re-entry into real Parisian life, because you know we are all zombies during the summer. My tan is fading! So Co. and I decided to start off with a bang by hitting the Japanese fusion spot of the moment, still somewhat under the radar - not discovered yet by the New York Times even, so the place was filled with real-life Parisians during our Friday evening visit. Funereal is one way to put it, sterile and austere is perhaps a more polite way of describing the rather cold white room, bereft of any wall adornments or musical accompaniment. Rather roomy given the spacey separation of tables, which I would estimate, comfortably sits about 30. Wrapped scroll-like on the table was a sheet of paper that when unfolded did not, much to my chagrin, hint at what was to come, simply informing the diner of two choices: composition 1 (85€) or composition 2 (95€) with 'viandes au choix' (your choice of meats). What is a person to do with all this information?!



Well, as it were, I did some research before setting out and quickly learned nothing about what dishes to expect, only that the difference between the two fixed menus was six or eight courses. When you're already starting off at 85€ per person not including wine, it's a no-brainer to ante in another 10€ for the two additional plates, which is precisely what we chose. Now the way I look at it, when I'm spending that kind of money, I would like to know how the meal is going to unfold, but Kei is one of those places that assumes we are all 8 years old and love surprises!! So nothing was forecast, only revealed, one by one. Kei also is one of those places where the waiter brings the plate and then mumbles as quickly as possible what it consists of and then leaves. For yours truly, who always must do a fine balancing act between gulping wine, understanding the French-speaking waiter, and trying to remember so I can write about it later, I found myself particularly challenged at Kei. I gamely tried to hear again what that Japanese tidbit was topping the sorbet and crab amuse bouche #2 (the first photo below), so I inquired one of the young staff who brought our water. He said he'd find out. Whoops, not a good thing. For a restaurant with high ambitions like Kei, shouldn't we expect each waitperson to be fully informed of the evening's repast? A little pre-game huddle with chef Kei Kobayashi before the opening whistle? Yes, I think.

So finding myself immensely overmatched, I just sat back and enjoyed the meal and let the photos speak for themselves. Let me just say Chef Kobayashi is an artiste, as the composition of each course surely attests, with the subtle application of perfumes and spices, foam, and flowers, the latter echoing the Nordic influence of chez Noma et al. We opted for a Corsican red at 43€, an Orenga di Gaffory 2004.

So the lowdown. I can't get rid of a distinct feeling of letdown by the Kei experience. I kept thinking, such beautifully presented food should knock me out. I'll be savoring the memory of each dish for decades to come! But alas, I would have to say that there was not a single dish that really scored among the eight dishes, two amuse bouches, and a throw-in third desert. Well, I take that back, I had a pretty lusty interaction with that throw-in dessert, especially the rich, rich, buttery caramel (the last photo below). But I think Chef Kobayashi was aspiring to something a lot higher than that. True, the pigeon (in lieu of the lamb) was delicate and very tasty, and the fish had a nicely croustillant skin and succulent meat. The blue lobster was meaty and tasty. All very nice, but nothing super fantastic. For a bill that totaled 239€ for the two 8-course menus, bottle of wine (43€), and bottle of water (6€) (no post-meal cafes this time), I expect way more bang for my buck (or euro). Hell, throw in another 100€ and you've got a brand new ASUS Transformer tablet PC (I can't wait for it to arrive!). I appreciated KK taking the time to come out of his kitchen to chat with us as we were leaving, asking what we liked, etc. That says something.

So here you go - my photos in the order in which the dishes were served, and sorry for the blurry ones. Check out the photos at Kei's website and you'll see what I mean about KK the artiste.
























KEI
5, rue Coq Heron
75001 Paris
tel.: 01 42 33 14 74
website

Going Natives: Wally Fay and Lao Lane Xang 2

It's that time of year again and the natives are going, going, gone. During past Augusts I have lamented the Parisian mass migrations to beaches and other sun-drenched locales in the hinterlands during August, even though an ersatz beach has now come to Paris, running along the Seine. I'll spare the reader my typical complaints, save the fact that beginning in early August I tried to reserve at ten of Mortstiff & Co's old reliables and, reliably enough, they were all closed for the 'conges d'été' until at least the last week of the month. I will also mention that our neighborhood ice cream parlor is also closed during August. That is not a misprint. I'll leave you to muse on that one.

Never fear, there are enough ethnic venues in the capital to leave the hungry warrior well-fed until life starts up again in September. First stop was the highly touted Senegalese restaurant Wally Fay, and it did not disappoint. If you enjoy consulting lefooding.com's regular feature 'Leurs restos preferes,' where each week three noted personalities with ties to France reveal their top three preferred restaurants, you'll notice that Wally Fay pops up periodically, as it did for Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naim. That's how I found out about the unpretentiously hip African venue in the 11th. As lefooding's guide put it:

Superb place, mix between inn and loft. African cuisine without a Jimmy Clegg trip. Quite subtle food, mix between continental and West Indies’.

A tasteful soul/funk soundtrack (from Aretha to Fela) and dark woodsy decor, replete with discarded old primary school chairs and amiable waitstaff, Co. & I had a laid back reintroduction to some African/Antilles spices. We split an entree of gratin de crabe, a mainstay in just about any Antilles restaurant in Paris, but this is one that for once woke up my taste buds, nice chunks of crab included (9€).

I went with the national Senegalese fish dish, "Thiep bou dien," the most expensive item on the menu at a mere 19€. This kept reminding me of a N. African couscous, minus the grain - a dish of tasty short-grained red rice and a quarter of lime accompanied this dish of vegetables (carrots, turnips, eggplant) and a nice thick slab of grouper fish (I think) smothered in a tomato-based sauce endowed with various African spices (colombo, etc.).



Co. opted for N'dole boeuf, a delicately spiced melange of beef and spinach cooked with a barely detectable peanut butter (17€). The aloco de cote d'ivoire (6€) side dish seemed like a good choice for an accompaniment and as far as I'm concerned, this was the highlight of the meal. A dish of chopped banana plantains cooked in red palm oil, these were delicate, non-oily, and addictive (6€).







The plates were copious enough, and the dessert menu didn't spark much interest, perhaps as is the wont in such restaurants. The entree came with a tiny little separate serving of a spicy hot sauce, and it was not shy. Dinner was washed down with a 22€ Bourgueil, selected from a sparse list scrawled on a wall-sized chalkboard. To sum up, back in the day, Co. and I tried several African restaurants in town and nothing really caught our fancy. Wally Faye definitely may be the ticket. I'm definitely going back to check out those jumbo shrimp Creole next time.

Despite the attentiveness of our waiter, I must admit our mutual butchering of the French language limited our dialogue to such an extent that I decided not to ask, "Why Wally Fay?" The only Wally Fay I ever heard of is the Jack Carson character in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film, Mildred Pearce. Mildred, played by Joan Crawford (Kate Winslet in the remake), runs her own waffles and chicken diner, but as far as I know there is no connection between the film and the Paris-based Wally Fay.

WALLY FAY
6 rue Godefroy Cavaignac
75011 Paris
tel. 01 40 24 17 79



Next stop, the Thai restaurant Lao Lane Xang 2 in the Chinatown in the 13th around Tolbiac. By the time we got to the topic of recent good meals in Parisian restaurants at a dinner reception following a friend's marriage in Versailles (hohum, somebody has to do it), the room was already spinning around from the copious glasses of champagne and wine. Yet I did manage to punch 'Lao Lane' into my iPhone, recommended by the lovely blonde lady to my left. So off Co. and I went earlier this evening, and once again we were led along the right path. A few people lingering outside waiting to be seated in the amply-size, two-tiered restaurant, a good sign. After about a 2-minute wait - for once, we hadn't reserved - we were led upstairs to a modern, finely-appointed room with obligatory elephant imagery, but one of the more pristine rooms I've seen in an Asian restaurant in Paris, and A/C!, yes we've got it in Paris, not that it was really needed - until we took in the moderately spiced cuisine, that is.

Long story short, given that the waiter quickly disposed of the bill that listed the names of our items, we started off with a salade of fruit de mer, which was a meal in itself--a couple shrimp, nice-sized scallops, and mussels-- and excellent. This was followed by two coconut and red curry dishes, one with canard and the other with six large shrimp.



When I first saw the curry dishes on a tray, I opined to Co. that 'the soups look excellent, we'll have to come back during the winter,' only to find that the 'soups' were our main dishes. Which made me jealous, because however tasty, I really wanted the sauteed dishes the guys sitting next to us seemed to be enjoying. Live and learn. But the dishes were very tasty, with various sliced vegetables included (onion, green pepper), thickened by the accompanying riz gluant.



And a couple more images from a Google search (a papaya salad and a sauteed duck dish:





You can't beat the prices at Lao Lane Xang, with most items ranging from about 7€ to 12€. Other Asian cuisines were on offer, including Vietnamese and Laotian. By the time we left, after paying a paltry 42€ including a pichet de vin rouge (8€ for 50cl), the line was now snaking along the sidewalk.

LAO LANE XANG 2
102, avenue d'Ivry
Paris 75013
tel: 01 58 89 00 00

Chalet du Parc - When In France . . .

Well, it's summer--at least going by the calendar, not by the July autumnal weather--and when one lives in France, one is obliged to take at least one leisurely Sunday afternoon lunching in the country at a quaint, over-priced chalet-like restaurant near a park, then go home and paint some sunflowers or elegantly appointed country dancers and exercise to burn off all those calories you acquired during the 4-hour, multi-course lunch. So, clearly up for our national duty on what may have been the only truly sunny, temperate day in the past two months, Mortstiff and Co. took the car out of mothballs a few weekends ago, and drove approximately 30 kilometers southeast to the quaint, over-priced chalet-like restaurant near a park called, aptly enough, Chalet du Parc, located in peaceful Yerres. That it's taken me this long to write up my review suggests something about our experience. Ambience and atmosphere get high grades, but the albeit creative cooking of chef Philippe Detourbe left us somewhat unimpressed. More fairly, it was pretty good, but not especially memorable. Nonetheless, I actually took some decent photos this time, thanks to the sun, and I don't want to let the opportunity to share them fall through the cracks. Without the photos, however, I know I wouldn't have remembered a single dish if not for the carte cheat sheet.

Although the dining rooms appeared comfortable and cozy, lunch is all about eating on the terrace, which is where we were guided, in full view of the park. Genial staff, pretensions apparently on holiday, with 90% of the rest of France, though the other 10% appeared to be on the filled terrace. Here's the order of the day, rather than my having to wear out my fingers on the keyboard:



Feel free to order ala carte, but the weekend 45€ menu is the way to go, plus you'll be paying nearly twice as much if you don't. We opted for the langoustines (Co. was content) and haddock (I was disenchanted) entrees:



Both main plates hit the spot - I went with the turf (volaille) and Co. snagged the surf (merlan), both quite tasty and thumbs way up on Monsieur Detourbe's presentation. If you have any doubt as to which was which in the photos, drop me a line:







The desserts, however delectable they may appear in the photos, were decidedly underwhelming. I went traditional with the classical Paris Brest - you get what you ask for - whereas Co. almost cracked a couple teeth cracking into the white candied vacherin within which her fruits rouges nested:





There you have it. Along with a 28€ St Nicolas de Bourgueil and two expressos, the lunch totalled 126€, rather pricy for a leisurely Sunday lunch in the Parisian countryside, but you get the sun (if you're lucky), the park, the little galerie just caddy-corner to the chalet, and some nice photos. It could be worse.

CHALET DU PARC
2 rue de Concy
91330 Yerres
tel. 01 69 06 86 29
website: www.chaletdupark.fr

Note: Philippe Detourbe runs another restaurant in Paris, L'Ampere, 1 rue Ampere, 75017 Paris (tel. 01 47 63 72 05) and gives cooking classes, all detailed at his website, www.philippedetourbe.fr. Let us know what you find out if you try them.

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

Tintilou - A Work in Progress

The more things change. . . after reading a couple positive reviews of Tinilou, including Heidi Ellison's Paris Update review, I started getting a feeling of deja vu when I noticed the rue de Montreuil address, and sure enough, it was the very same address of L’Aiguière, a restaurant I used to frequent, but had long forgotten about . . . at least since 30 June 2008, when I penned my not very kind review. L’Aiguière had been around for a number of years, but had obviously run its course. Fast forward to this past March when chef Jean-François Renard took over as new owner and gradually began the transition from L’Aiguière to Tintilou. And when I say 'gradually,' I mean it. Other than a complete transformation of the interior, whose now bright and bold new colors
apparently didn't touch the fancy of Ms. Ellison, there isn't a single clue as to the new restaurant's new nomenclature. "L’Aiguière" proliferates - on the menus, on the facade, on the little restaurant cards available at the entrance, and on the bill. In my view, if you're going to change your positioning - and that apparently is what the new owner has in mind, catering to a younger and more laid back clientele than its predecessor - maybe it would be a good idea to get that new name out there as bold and bright as the decor.



Before moving to the food, I have to disagree with Ms. Ellison's assessment of the new decor, which she suggests isn't to everyone's taste. So many Parisian restaurants have an overly stodgy look - L’Aiguière was awash in subdued nautical blues and whites, and the furnishings were handsome in that 'my grandmother would feel right at home here' kind of way. So kudos to M. Renard for throwing caution to the wind and brightening the place up. Apparently, he is also more than willing to take risks with the food, too, but not too boldly. Yet, it's early and I'm hoping once he settles in, the confidence will come. Co. and I opted for the 3-course 35€ fixed-price menu and, following a tasty mise-en-bouche, started off with two promising entrees: for me, the nem de rouget barbet, vinegrette ail et noix de cajou; for Co., boudon noir de Toulouse, pomme verte et crevette laquee (both pictured below).





Co. was particularly satisfied with her boudin noir, but the presentation won out over taste where my nems were concerned - actually one large nem sliced in half, evidentally much effort into the preparation, but this dish called for more taste sensations than were forthcoming, and the small bowl of cashew garlic vinegrette lacked the requisite spiciness. An interesting dish that did not totally disappoint, but it did come up short.

No photos of the main dishes: for me, a fresh Turbot, Barigoule de courgettes aux fèves et basilic Thaï, pretty good; for Co., 'la coucotte de mois', sot l'y laisse et ris de agneau cumin sesame, artichats poivrades, no platitudes for the latter. Co. opted for dessert cherries - Cerises, citronnelle, glace à « La pie qui chante »; for me, Rhubarbe, tuile dentelle abricot fraise. I had been forewarned by the reviews I consulted that the rhubarbe concoction, completely enveloped by a meringue crust, would be epic. My verdict: epic, as in very, very good.

Overall, a distinct predilection by M. Renard toward Asian fusion without losing the French traditional (another entree boasted Sardines Bretonnes, carpaccio de canard frais, guacamole).

My guess is that it's still a bit too early to tell whether Tintilou will reach the heights of the top new bistrots in Paris; it has a way to go, but the promise is there, and I will definitely check it out again during the Sept./Oct. rentree. They have some glitches to work out, that's for sure - for one, if you're going to call your new restaurant by a new name - get rid of the old one!! And, though I hesitate to mention this, it must be said - when our bill arrived, I noticed in addition to the 70€ for the two menus and 19€ for the Bourgueil, cuvée Jean Carmet, Bouvet Ladubay [by the way, the wine menu is replete with reasonably priced, interesting bottles], there was 6€ supplement. The 'supplements' are pretty common in Parisian restaurants - certain dishes that are part of a fixed-price menu may have an additional surcharge. That's not the problem. The problem during our visit is that no surcharge was indicated on the carte. That is a problem. This was confirmed when we exited and checked out the carte on display in the front. Sure enough, no supplement. Co., more courageous than myself, marched back into the restaurant to point this out. By the time I coyly followed, a waiter was already pulling 6€ in change out of the cash register. The hostess than explained that they hadn't checked the printed menu when it came back from wherever it started out from. Not a good policy, although I have a feeling they'll be more attentive to proofing the menu in the future. I notice at the website the supplement (for the coucotte de mois lamb dish, by the way) is indeed noted, only it has mysteriously increased to 7.50€. What are you goin' to do? A work in progress, indeed.

LE TINTILOU
37 bis rue de Montreuil
75011 Paris
tel.: 01 43 72 42 32
Website: http://www.tintilou.fr/

More food from the website: