A No Go...

Ah, yes, there are a few restaurants in Paris that you should avoid. There are obviously the touristy places that serve flavorless, poorly prepared classics, but there are also the locals' restaurants that can lead you astray as well. A woman, whom we met through a food tour blog we discovered online, who has lived in the 12th for years recommended La Gazzetta. We saw the restaurant itself after being in the neighborhood the week before and it looked charming and its menu changes daily, which is always fun and interesting...well, almost always.

At 20h45, we arrived on time to our reservation and were asked to wait for our table to be prepared. We sat there for quite a while before someone proposed we have an apperitif, but by the time they brought it to us we were already seated at our table for dining. The menu is set up so that one chooses between a 5 or 7 course set menu. The combination of flavors were adventurous and fascinating and we were ready to discover new things. We chose a Rose to accompany our meal as well as sparkling water whose bottle looked like a vodka bottle. The wine was the best part of our meal...

First Course - Raw langoustine with a veal broth a white beans...You could hardly taste the langoustine due to the broth and the beans were undercooked and dry. Very unpleasant.

Second Course - a white fish over, well, I cannot remember, but I remember this being bland, bland, bland!

Third course - half an onion marinated in olive essence with whipped almond ricotta and a slightly bitter lettuce on top. It's hard to explain these flavors all together...it was too sweet to be in the middle of a set menu and once again, totally bland. Boring!

Fourth Course - Duck with red cabbage. Sounds like this would taste just lovely. Surprise, surprise even this was done poorly. The duck was lacking in duckiness and the cabbage was uninteresting.

Dessert - Chocolate gelato over homemade apple sauce. Lacked in creativity. And a lemon tart with a bergamot powder on top with a bit of lavender jam on the side - Way too strong and horribly paired all together. It took us a while to get the bergamot out of our palates! Ick.

Overall, it's simply a no go. They could learn a thing or two from Ze Kitchen Gallery about pairing interesting things together and how retaining simplicity within the new combos is what makes something delicious. It's all about balance!

Every Timers

Though this last trip to Paris was mostly devoted to discovering new places to eat in Paris I never miss a chance to eat at Je Thé...me. As you walk into the charming, oddly shaped room, walls covered in dark wooden shelves covered with teapots and other trinkets, you are greeted with the smiling faces of Damien (Responsable de cave and manager) and his father Jacky (Chef and owner). Do not be fooled by Jacky's playful demeanor and singing while in service, he's one fantastic, serious chef! Je the...me is one of those places where you will find all types - an older couple out for a treat, young friends laughing, family's reuniting, or a young woman dining alone...well, this probably does not happen often unless said person just HAS to eat there when in Paris at any cost! I did that in April...
Anyways, let's get on with the interesting visuals!

After a coupe de Champagne (100% Pinot Meunier = lovely crispness), the meal began.
First course - Poached egg over a brioche toast on a bed of creamy mushrooms. Earthy decadence on a plate. Caroline didn't stop talking about it the rest of the trip! Yum. Look at that yolk!

 The wine - Crozes-Hermitage seen below. Alive and bold, 100% Syrah. A perfect match for our meal.

Second course - I enjoyed salt crusted duck and Caroline, a lovely piece de boeuf. The duck, as you can see, was cooked to perfection and the saltiness of that fatty crust was heavenly.

Sweetness - Though I am not one for desserts, I always enjoy one here. This dessert was quite an intricate chocolate lovers dream. A chocolate ganache like cake sitting in pistachio sauce with a bit of Thyme sorbet (yes, thyme) on top. WOW. Thyme sorbet plus dark chocolate equals one of the best dessert combos ever thought of. Caroline happily enjoyed her very first Baba au Rhum.

Je Thé...me, je t'aime. Miam!

Note: During this visit I discovered that this lovely establishment is a fellow Blogspot blogger and while on their blog I discovered the most exciting news - Anthony Bourdain went to Je Thé...me with Eric Ripert for his No Reservations TV show!!!!! Let's just say that I am in awe and a huge admirer of Anthony Bourdain's writing and view on food. Wow. Here's the blog where you can check out a clip...
http://jetheme-terroir.blogspot.com/

Another place I enjoy revisiting is a busy crepe place called Creperie Josselin near the Tour Montparnasse. I'll let the photo speak for itself...but you should know you are staring at two crepes filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and an egg...

And to finish off this entry I leave you with images of Les Byzantins goodies we bought To-Go and enjoyed in the comforts of home. This little Greek deli is another place I inevitably eat at not only because it is convenient, but it is all fresh and delicious. Hummus, moussaka, stuffed peppers, 5 euro wine, and other delights. Merci George!

Restaurants Galore in Paris

I have just returned from a 2 week trip to Paris with my friend Caroline where we spent practically all of our time eating. And oh what a joy it was! I have loads to share with you all about new finds (and only one place to stay away from.). I will devote this entry to the top 3 from this trip.

First Place - Frenchie
Caroline and I waltz up to Frenchie after a little apero of bubbly and walk into a tiny, busy restaurant. "Do you have a reservation?" "No", we say knowing that in Paris it is risky to show up without a reservation, but we thought we would attempt it. Back outside, we stood staring at the menu discovering a bit more about this restaurant. As we did so, the man came back out and said that they had had a cancellation and to come right in! Tickled pink we danced our way in and sat down at a small wooden table tightly packed in with fellow diners. Before I tell you about the incredible meal I want to share with you what we learned about Frenchie throughout our night and our stay in Paris. A couple sat next to us at one point, who own a bakery in Spain and were doing research about restaurants since they hope to open one soon, and they promptly asked us fellow foodies how far out we had reserved our table! We smiled blushing and said that we had just walked in! Later on I also realized that this restaurant was not from a guidebook I had researched restaurants from, it was from a Saveur article on the best bistros in Paris. And even later on in our stay, the more people we told about eating at Frenchie, the more questions we got about how far out we had to reserve. Hysterical! So my recommendation is reserve early or get on a waitlist and hope for cancellations because IT IS WORTH IT!

First course - smoked trout over a grain much like quinoa with a tropical fruit jus and shaved cauliflower and a little arugula. Delicate delight.

Second course - duck with fig reduction and little gelees of passion fruit. Look at that duck! Yum.

Totally delighted and excited about the food here, we decided to throw in some foie gras at this point of our meal. This, my friends, was divine.

Cheese/Dessert - I enjoyed a slice of gooey St.Nectaire and Caroline enjoyed (more than anything she has ever eaten...) what they called a cheesecake, but it was more like a cloud of creme fraiche with passion fruit jus.

All this deliciousness accompanied by this wine -

Frenchie ranks up there with one of the best restaurants I have eaten at. The service is kind and warm, and the food is stellar. They take a modern approach, but don't make it look like modern art threw up on your plate and don't overcomplicate flavors and truly develop a great balance in tastes and textures.

Second Place - Ze Kitchen Gallery
Located just by the Seine in the ritzy 6th arrondissement, Ze Kitchen Gallery is a vibrant restaurant with art on the walls with a large window into the kitchen where cooks keep an eye on you and you keep an eye on the cooks. The clientele was mostly business professionals out to lunch and some people who looked like important government types. No tourists this time of year. As the mostly all gay waiters flew around us, delicately tending to their guests, we enjoyed another creative, perfectly balanced meal. We went there for lunch where we enjoyed the 39 euro 3 course menu. My photos look dark, but do not be fooled...the space was full of natural light and quite airy.

First course - langoustine ravioli for moi and Caroline enjoyed super high quality beef covered in a lemongrassy, Asian flare broth. It is amazing to me how much flavor they pack into their broths and sauces, but without being too salty or too much of anything. Awesome.

Those are two glasses of Sancerre you see there...
Second course - Sole prepared with Asian flare again...hints of ponzu and lemongrass...

Dessert - a cappuccino of peanut foam over hazelnut chocolate ganache.

Another neat thing about Ze Kitchen is that the menu includes filtered flat or sparkling water as well as un cafe. Quite enjoyable indeed!!

Third Place - Quai Quai
Looking for French classics, but not the heavy ones, eat here. Located on Ile de la Cite right next to the Seine and Place Dauphine, you will not be disappointed. The quai side of the establishment has a bar and a more casual feel, but if you go towards the back room there are white tablecloths and a more elegant feel.

First course - Terrine de campagne with its own jar of cornichons! Accompanied by fresh, tasty baguette and off to my food heaven I went. My aunt enjoyed leeks with vinaigrette presented in a more modern fashion. My camera settings were off, so it's a bit dark. Whoops!

All accompanied by a delicious Macon and they also had the house sparkling water.

Main course - Cabillaud with braised endives that tasted like butter. Wow.

These 3 restaurants were delicious. A nice blend of new, modern takes on food with classics all done well. I look for balance of flavors and textures when dining and these establishments knocked it out of the park. Obviously I have tons of other favorite restaurants in Paris, but these were my amazing new finds this trip. Bon appetit!

Brunch in Paris

Yes, you heard me - brunch in Paris! It exists here, as I discovered today. It's a Sunday and I decided to find a restaurant that's open. And I found one! La Toque Saint Germain, it is called. I sat down and they asked me if I would also like to see their brunch menu. Amazed, I said, "Yes!" Well, "oui!" Though other items on their menu were tempting I decided to have myself a Brunch menu, which I photographed for your enjoyment.
Now, this made me laugh, they give you the pancakes (with Canadien maple syrup) only after you've finished the "main course" since they look at it like a dessert, I suppose. They also offered coffee (filter coffee - American style) and tea with refills! And you could choose between sausages, bacon, or smoked salmon. Though they forgot my fresh fruit and the service was slow and disorderly, the atmosphere was quite pleasant and the food of good quality so I'd go back.
After brunch, I decided to take advantage of such a delightfully warm, gorgeous day in Paris and rented a Velib' (bikes you rent from stands all over Paris). I rode along the quais, which they close to car traffic to, to allow people to have their leisurely Sunday strolls in peace. I rode all the way from the Citroen gardens to the Pont Alexandre III by the water and then rode all the way back to the apartment.
See the Eiffel Tower in the distance?
One of my favorite view points of Paris on the Pont Alexandre III bridge with its unique lamp-posts and a view of the Eiffel Tower and the American Cathedral.
And a little Indiana Jones to polish off a very wonderful day.