Tour de Tapas

Fearlessly, I've been busy, even as the mid-August tumbleweeds roll past the better establishments of a (finally) sun-drenched French capital.  Oh wait a minute, it's now cloudy.  Whatever.  As suggested by this post's pithy title, my recent incursions into the Parisian restaurant scene - more accurately carried out just prior to the mass restaurant closings of the French vacation period - center on the tapas circuit, more or less.  Once again this is going to be a quick summary-type post, rather than an indepth review of any particular establishment.  Overall, I have four dinners to discuss, and I am happy to report that each left me with a smile and a thumbs up.



AU PASSAGE
I know, I know, been there done that.  My full review from last February here.  This time, an extended meal/conversation with the Moose.  Back in town and big need to catch up, so the tapas motif served our needs well.  A last minute reservation got us two stools at the bar, which was fine with us.  Halfway through, we were kindly offered a table by one of the waitstaff, but we were fine where we were.  Our selections were each satisfying, and in fact, there's nothing really significantly different to report from my first visit's impressions.  Maybe I enjoyed the food more this time, or maybe it was just that I selected better.  Moose concurs.  The carte (click on image to view) on offer for our particular late July visit and some photos follow.

 

I started off with a refreshing and satisfying brandade de lieu jaune and Moose commenced with a refreshing and satisfying bowl of cresson soup.

 

 Next up, feeling very Irish despite his Canadian/British/Filipino pedigree, Moose stuck with the green (cucumber poutargue), whereas I've never seen a rouget dish that I couldn't say 'yes' to.

 

Finishing up, we got meaty, me with the magret and moose with the (no image) agneau.  I'd have to say my magret outshined the similar dish I had during the February visit - the grilled vegetables a very nice counterpoint to the lightly cooked magret.

Why we didn't order dessert I'm not sure, but it could be we had drunk ourselves under the bar by that point.  Too bad I didn't save the bill and I could have told you what wine we washed this all down with, but it was a tasty blackboard special - and of course, red.  Still the place to go if you are half my age - plenty of bright youthful faces at the tables - with friends, for an extended evening of wining and dining.  On this summer evening, Au Passage was a perfect choice.  We lingered outside for a while after the meal, chatting up some locals, including a disgruntled 20-something who was bemoaning her inability to snag a table that evening at Chateaubriand, and a couple enterprising young filmmakers.

AU PASSAGE
1 bis Passage Saint Sebastien
75011 Paris
tel: 01 43 55 07 52

AGUA LIMON

Much chagrined at having been left to her own devices in the kitchen while I was off gallivanting with the Moose, Co. and I followed up with our first excursion to a decidedly Spainish-oriented tapas joint, Agua Limon, situated in the 12th - and how I am starting to love this area between the Aligre market and Bastille.  Start at metro Faidherbe-Chaligny as the hub and you can walk from there to any number of terrific little restaurants.  Agua Limon itself is just a short walk from the Ledru Rollin metro, another good port of call.  

I haven't had much luck with Spanish tapas in the capital, but Agua Limon is a spot I definitely will be returning to; nothing spectacular, but pleasant, pleasing, and pretty authentic - the 3 Ps of something or another.  The open facade gave us a feeling of dining outside while inside the small front room; behind the bar runs another set of tables in a train car space.  A pleasant and helpful server guided us efficiently, but leisurely, through our tapas choices, some of which are pictured below.

To start, friture eperlans (9.30€). and poivrons grilles (5€).

Followed by friture calmars (9.30€) ...

Salicon pulpo (a highlight) (12€) ...

and poulet paprka (a bit too watery for my taste, but still pretty good, and a frequent choice among other diners) (7€).

Based on a small sample size, I'd say go with the seafood options, but you know what you like.  As I've never come across a Rioja I couldn't say yes to, we went with the Rioja Torres (25€) and were not disappointed; with coffee, the meal totaled out at 73.60€, so you can't beat the price for decent sized servings.

Agua Limon is small and informal, another great little summer venue in Paris, especially if your tastes lead you down the tapas route and you're nostalgic for those little dining sessions you remember so fondly from your last visit to Barcelona.

AGUA LIMON

12, rue Theophile-Roussel

tel. 01 43 44 92 24

website: http://www.restaurant-agualimon.com

 CAFFE DEI CIOPPI

Another new try, and admittedly, a much more challenging venue for snagging a table.  Yours truly failed in that regard on several occasions before getting a wobbly, tiny square of a table on the so-called terrace in the alley off Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine one Friday evening shortly before summer shutdown.  Close your eyes and you are off a little piazza in Milano, but when the food arrives, open your eyes and you are off a little piazza in Milano.  From Spain to Italy, a couple metro stops away.  CDC is an apparent favorite on the local celeb front, at least judging by LeFooding's postings, so of course I had to check this out because I like to be where the in-crowd crowds.

As soon as you hit CDC it hits you back as to why it's difficult to reserve - the food is very good - everything prepared in house, from the mozarella to the pastas and sauces - and it is reasonably priced.  It is inaccurate to call CDC a tapas restaurant, but I don't know why, it had the atmosphere of one.  Here's the menu du jour upon our arrival:

And our choices, beginning with the soup (not pictured) and truly, truly mozarella  ...

moving on to the linguine and filet de maigre, equally outstanding and thus we swapped halfway ...

... and finishing up with fondant chocolat and sbrisolona, the latter of which was particularly outstanding (and again, we couldn't resist swapping mid-course).

 

 

Despite their blur, I hope the photos speak for themselves.  Beverage-wise, a decent Rosso di Montefalco (20€), bringing the total (sans cafe) to 95.50€.  

I'm not a repository of recommendations for Italian dining in Paris, but you can't go wrong on that front at Caffe Dei Cioppi.  I'm looking forward to a return visit during the winter, but I'm afraid that once you take away those ten or so tables in the alley, one's chances of capturing a reservation inside this spatially-challenged venue is going to be a mighty tough 'get.'

CAFFE DEI CIOPPI

159, rue du Faubourg St Antoine

tel: 01 43 46 10 14

no website

LES MAGNOLIAS

As you no doubt know if you've been to this site before, Les Magnolias is a perennial venue for Mortstiff & Co., so I won't belabor the point (see my previous 2008 reviews here and here).  After a several month hiatus, we returned to Jean Chauvel's Michelin-starred establishment in the Paris banlieue of Le Perreux, after getting the distinct impression that M. Chauvel's magic was waning after his multiple rethinks of standard dishes.  Well, with our return during July, I have to say, resoundingly, that Les Magnolias is back.  New sauces, new ingredients, new structures, new conceptions, this was one fantastic meal, from start to finish.  Enough said.

 The carte (click to enlarge):

And some of our choices:

 

 

 

LES MAGNOLIAS 

48, avenue de Bry  

94 Le Perreux-sur-Marne

tel : 01 48 72 47 43

website: http://www.lesmagnolias.com

So there you have it - another Parisian summer almost gotten through.  August may be bleak and hopeless for restaurants in the capital, but we do what we can to survive.  That's going to do it here until the much-awaited rentree in September.  By then, I hope for a diversion along the lines of a recap of some highlights from our trip to the US southwest.  From tapas to tacos, the beat goes on.

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

Worth the Wait: Spring Lives Up to the Hype

                                                                              

And they say it's difficult to get a reservation at Spring.  I think I started trying back in 2009, so that's what, 3 years, give or take several months, and in the grand scheme of things, that really isn't so bad, is it?  I guess I should mention that my attempts have been limited to potential Friday evenings, a notoriously difficult slot for a reservation in the space-challenged, New York Times-reviewed neo-bistrots scattered throughout the French capital.  Nonetheless, my dinner last night, with Co. in tow - or rather, the other way around, as this was her treat, and her successful reservation snag - attests to the fact that one can indeed have a meal at Spring, even without pulling any strings, if one tries hard enough and has a lot of time on one's hands.  As Lenin once observed, the two trump cards of a Bolshevik are patience and irony, a good way of summing up the end of one battle and the launch into another (Septime, but that's another story altogether).  (I hope you caught the Alain Resnais reference there.)

If you are a regular reader of this blog, as I certainly hope you are, you may remember that Spring's reputation was originally established  at a much smaller venue around Pigalle in the 16th, now occupied by La Vitrine.  (If you think it's difficult to get a reservation now, imagine what it was like when Spring could only cram 16 diners into its space, a venue that Le Figaro once anointed the hardest to reserve table in Paris.)  In July 2010, Spring moved to a 17th century building in the center of Paris, where its success has reached new heights.  Once Co. and I rang the doorbell at 6, rue Bailleul, a leisurely 10-minute walk from the Forum Les Halles, we were ushered into the elegant two floor restaurant, cozily seating about 22 on the main floor, and about another 20 or so in the more secluded downstairs floor.  Everything is elegant hardwood, metal, and stone, a nice juxtaposition, perfectly reflecting the melange of subtle ingredients in the Daniel Rose-led open kitchen, first thing you see upon entering.  I like the idea of the locked front door - good way to keep out the riffraff, i.e., the tourists who had read glowing reviews of the restaurant and decided to just drop buy and get a table ('try back in another few years, we should have something by then').  We were seated at a perfectly placed table overlooking the staircase and in close proximity to the kitchen.  Okay, that's stretching it - given the relative size of the kitchen and the main dining room, everybody is in close proximity to the kitchen, which I would have to guess is exactly the way Monsieur Rose prefers it, because dining at Spring is not only about the food, but also about the performance of preparing the food.

We found the now scruffier head chef leading the choreography in the kitchen from note one.  Allow me to digress.  It’s not hard to understand the popularity of Facebook.  Yes, I know, countless sociologists and popular culture pundits have opined the obvious – social networks offer us the opportunity to connect with heretofore unprecedented ease blah blah etc. blah.  And as one of those pundits myself – in my non-Mortstiff persona – you can add me to the club.  But let’s face it Facebook fanatics, Facebook is all about ‘face’ in its three most obvious facets:  narcissism, exhibitionism, and voyeurism.  What does this have to do with a review of Spring?  No bloody idea.  Just joking.  I was thinking about those three purely human needs as I pondered the recent explosion of open kitchens - seen in my previous reviews of Yam 'Tcha and L'Agrume, most notably.  Based on my limited exposure, I think chef Rose is in no small part an exhibitionist, noisily instructing, demanding, urging, joking, crooning, and otherwise chatting to his team throughout the evening.  We speak English here - Monsieur Rose and the wait staff, all bilingual of course, but at Spring, English rules.  Which is why I tried my darnedest to stick to French, being the cynical contrarian Bolshevik that I am. And then there are the diners, and let's face it, we are the voyeurs, checking out our fellow lucky devils --the night of our visit, apparently heavy on the well-heeled, well-coiffed American side - who also somehow managed a Friday night table, but more so, the hard-working team in the (multi-language) kitchen.  You ever watch those cooking shows on TV?  This is much better. 

Time to move on to the 76€ fixed-price 4-course dinner.  No carte to ponder, only the pithy description of the meal-to-come from one of several servers.  You take what is offered, although Spring - like most of the other neo-bistrots - is flexible when it comes to dietary restrictions, allergies, and what-not.  For example, well-informed in advance that I do not eat veal, I was offered a pigeon alternative.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one, as it appeared that about half the patrons also opted for the bird. And I could have sworn I heard Mr. Rose mention a party of vegetarians on their way. (Good luck with that.)  Things got off to a light, relatively forgettable start, with four amuse bouches brought to the table: two petite roasted potatoes, a small plate of cucumbers and radishes in salt, a very flavorful tapenade, and a triangle of butter for the two large-sized rolls.  Our bottle of Saumer (2010) Germain Roches Neuves quickly followed, one of the handful of reasonably-priced bottles (35€) on the extensive (and otherwise pricey) wine carte.  At its bargain basement price, the red excelled.  This was followed by a first course of fish soup, accompanied by a lightly batter-fried sextet of rouget.
      

Aside from a few miniscule moules, the highlight of the soup was the ample use of fenouil - the herb and the meaty white crunchy chunks of the slightly sweet plant.  Fish soup in late June may not compute for the reader, for whom 'spring' means something more than a trendy restaurant in Paris.  But when Cole Porter penned 'I Love Paris in the Springtime,' he couldn't have had the current weather in mind - rainy, windy, and cool - enough reason for me to don my dark shirt, suit coat, and leather coat before embarking on the evening's mission.  In Paris, unfortunately, these days 'spring' is a restaurant, not a season.  So on this particular Friday night in the middle of June, a hot soup seemed more than a propos.  Co. was less impressed than I was by this opening act, but those herbs really hit the spot for me, and the fried rouget was an inspired accompaniment.


Next up, a hefty langoustine on a bed of peas, and embellished with a modest dollop of lemon confit.

 

I hate to have to trot out that over-used bromide, 'melts in your mouth,' but I can't think of a better way of describing the langoustine.  This dish was followed by the main dish, the aforementioned veal (or pigeon) dish.  Both dishes were identically prepared, save the meat.  Here's what the pigeon looked like:

 

The succulent meat was accompanied, in part, by girolle mushrooms and a hefty spoonful of memorable mashed potatoes.  As I wolfed this course down, I kept hearing Co.'s tsk-tsk at my aversion to veal, content as she was with the well-prepared slab of veal and accompanying ris de veau (sweetbreads).  The four-dish dessert came in two stages - two small bowls of chocolate and strawberries, followed by a cherry tart and Greek yogurt sorbet.  These were consumed in utter silence - they were more than worthy of our complete attention, as noteworthy desserts should be.  

That about wraps it up.  To keep the bill under the two-century mark (it clocked in at a reasonable 187€), we eschewed end of meal cafe, perfectly content to empty the final drops of the Saumer.  As we donned our outer garments, I gave a thumbs-up to a bemused Monsieur Rose and, as we made our way back out into the now rain-free Paris night, I couldn't hold back a little grin that patience had paid off.  I may be the last blogger on the scene to finally make it to the highly-touted Spring, but guess who's review is now the most up-to-date?  Ironic, n'est pas?

SPRING              

6 rue Billeul

75001 Paris

tel: 01 45 96 05 72

website: http://www.springparis.fr/

April in Paris Wrapup - From Blech to Bravo

Back in Paris after my short swing through eastern Brittany, still dodging raindrops, but some catching up to do.  Fine eating is an integral part of life, but life is not all about eating, and indeed my recent Parisian cultural highlights bear mentioning, even if they entailed only the liquid variety of ingestion.  First there was the Ballet De L'Opera's homage to Jerome Robbins and a return of Mats Ek's Appartement.  The JR set may have been way too ballet retro for my own tastes, but the modern Appartement really hit the spot, especially the dances La Television, Marche des Aspirateurs, and Grand Pas de Deux, with the dancers accompanied onstage by he Fleshquartet.  Here's an idea, although in the video Alice Renavand (who I saw) is replaced by Sylvie Guillem.

Next up, I caught the rising star Sharon Van Etten at Point Ephemere.  If you've got to do, then you've got to do it, as expected, a terrific performance.  If you missed her and her band this time, she'll be back in Paris at La Maroquinerie on 24 May.

And now, on to the food.  Regular readers of this blog know I am a big fan of La Gazzetta, so it won't surprise you to hear that Co. and I had another terrific meal there, benefiting from Petter Nilsson's menu for the week of 26 April to 6 May.

 

What I like about Monsieur Nilsson is that he doesn't stop experimenting and creating - his 7-course meals are always inventive.  That means his dishes may include some misses, but mostly they are hits, including the Bouillie d'orties...(1st photo below) and the ravioles de carottes (2nd photo below).  Bravo.

 

 

 

LA GAZZETTA

29, rue de Cotte

75012 Paris

tel: 01 43 47 47 05   web: lagazzetta.fr 

Edging into May, despite this entry's pithy title, a reunion of sorts with The Moose, fresh in town from his worldly travels.  After the obligatory pit stop at that little bar across from the Verlain Hotel on rue St. Maur, heavy with Johnny Cash on the evening in question, we took the metro over to Le Marais and the little tanqueria (Mexican cantine) Candaleria, a few minutes walk from the Filles de Calvaire stop and the Cirque d'Hiver.  If Lefooding.com's weekly preferred restaurants link for the hip and wonderful local celebs is to be believed, Candaleria must be the place.  It was a bad sign when I peered through the restaurant's window and wondered where the restaurant was, because all I saw was a spatially-challenged version of a kebab carry-out, packed to the gills with the three or four stools at the counter taken, the two or three tables in the front filled with small groups of cute 20-somethings with no apparent intention to budge for the rest of the evening.  The rest of the place was occupied by diners standing with taco in hand.  The Moose quickly turned pale, but I lingered long enough to check out the chicken scratch on what apparently served as the menu on the wall and noticed that the tacos and tostados on view looked like the real deal.  Alas, another time.  Unseen from the rue de Saintonge location(but visible once you round the corner) is Candaleria's hidden, funky little lounge that specializes in varieties of tequilla, meaning I will most definitely be back.  And no, you can't grab your tacos from the front to eat in the lounge.

 

CANDALERIA

52 rue de Saintonge

75003 Paris  

 tel.: +33 (0) 1 42 74 41 28   web: http://www.candelariaparis.com/

On Moose's recommendation, we hied over to a Candaleria alternative just around the corner, another bar & restaurant Latino-American themed spot, Bodega Bay.  In the near empty dining room, absolutely vast by Candaleria standards, I made my way through a perfectly square seafood chimichanga Pacifico (12.50€), with a side order of gambas Santa Cruz (6.50€).  It only occurred to me the following day that the chimichanga was supposed to contain seafood.  In a nutshell, I can sum up the meal at Bodega Bay thusly: blech.  Not that I had any expectations - this was an 'I need food' situation, not a gastronomic exploration, but I should have known better as soon as I saw the two apparently Pakistani cooks in the kitchen.

 

BODEGA BAY

116, rue Amelot

75011 Paris

tel: 01 43 55 83 77      web:   http://www.bodega-bay.fr/

No need to end on a sour note, I am happy to report.  Co. and I finally made a long-delayed return visit to Fabrique 4 where the really young couple Jade and Thibault hold court.  I've previously reviewed F4, so no need to rehash the details, just a couple quick observations.  The newly remodeled (at least since our last visit) restaurant is handsome and welcoming, once you get past the locals drinking, smoking, and chatting with Thibault.  Co. and I, aged codgers that we are, typically reserve during the early 8 pm hour.  By 9 pm the small bistro still was nearly empty and we rued another quality establishment falling on undeserved hard times.  Nonetheless, the bus must have pulled up at 9:30 pm, because couple after couple started entering for dinner.  The moral of this story is that F4 gets rocking late.  The food doesn't reach the quality standard set by La Gazzetta, but we couldn't complain about our dinner, which makes it a hat trick, this being our third straight satisfying visit.  And the dishes are copious.  You won't leave F4 hungry, I assure you.

 

 

What you see below, in order: the original maquereaux/maki, gaspacho (a highlight, with its healthy dollops of tourteau (crab), the ample bouillabaisse F4, vol au vent, and the homemade rhubarb/strawberry tartelette.  You'll have to check out the cheesecake on your own - you won't be disappointed.  With a Cahors '09 carafe and no menu deals, the bill for two three-course dinners, wine, and an espresso to finish up came to 122€.  F4 - a nice spot to add to your list.

 

FABRIQUE 4
17 rue Brochant
75017 Paris
tel: 01 58 59 06 47     web:  http://www.fabrique4.com/