Eating in Paris is changing.

Restaurant Allard.  Located in the 6th, it is a temple of old school French gastronomy.  And for someone with distinctively non traditional eating habits a challenge.  I recall my dinner there quite clearly.  Everyone at the table loved the meal but me.

We were charmed by a real food star siting next to us.  Sort of. Well, at least his wife was.  The wife of Guy Savoy seated next to us engaged our poor French and American eating habits guiding us through the menu and charming us all.

But I was never comfortable with the meal.  Maybe it was the bad appetizer choice, what seemed like a kilo of herring (why I wonder was it our recent visit to Amsterdam?) served in a copper tub the size of planter floating in 40 weight cloudy vegetable oil.  It could have fed 4.   It’s not that there was anything wrong with the meal, but I never recovered from that appetizer.

I realize that the terrine was a symbol.  A symbol of the heaviness of traditional French cooking.

That is often the challenge in traditional French restaurants for those of seeking lighter fresher fare.  Working my way through a menu frequently full of gizzards and guts, I often wondered, just where does the meat go?    But as time passed and we worked hard at finding new restaurants it became clear that the food trends that have emerged over the past years here (local, seasonal, fresh) were taking hold in Paris and the rest of France as well.  And for those who have suffered a meal of farmed salmon under a cream sauce with overcooked potatoes this change came none too soon.

I have always been a fan of Anthony Bourdaine.  He attacks food with a zealous passion, tells a great story and is willing to push the envelope. So much to my surprise, his recent show on Paris sought out the young chefs who are pursuing a new take on French cuisine which focuses on, yes local, fresher, lighter food forward meals not just kidneys and brains although there were plenty of those.  And the show made my mouth water.

So here is his list of restaurants and stores that he visited, many of which are reasonable, and I am going to do my best to hit as many as I can in January when I visit Paris.  If you do go to some of them then please post a comment.

RESTAURANT

Le Jeu de Quilles

Next door to Hugo’s boucherie is this small restaurant. Tony, Eric, Hugo and Hugo’s wife enjoy a beautiful breakfast.

45 Rue Boulard, 75014 Paris, France

RESTAURANT

Je Thé…me

Tony and Eric enjoy some tripe at this corner restaurant famous for making its nasty bits some of the most delicious in Paris.

4 Rue d¿Alleray, 75015 Paris, Franc

Marie-Anne Cantin

Renowned cheese merchant and cheese refiner Marie-Anne Cantin perpetuates the tradition of French gastronomy. Marie-Anne and her husband, Antoine Dias, offer authentic and uncompromising cheeses.

12 Rue du Champ de Mars, 75007

RESTAURANT

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant

Tony and Eric have lunch with food wizard Thierry Marx. A veteran of Taillevent and Joël Robuchon’s Jamin, the 44-year-old Mr. Marx is comfortable enough with his genius to be playful on the plate.

135 Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris, France

RESTAURANT

L’Atelier

Tony samples the world-class cuisine of chefs Eric Lecerf and Philippe Braun at L’Atelier.

5 Rue de Montalembert, 75007

RESTAURANT

La Quincave

Anthony Bourdain meets one of the hottest chefs in Paris, Yves Camdeborde of Le Comptoir at La Quincave, to discuss the future of dining in the City of Light. They sip on wine and taste amazing French cheeses.

17 Rue Brea, 75006 Paris, France

RESTAURANT

Le Comptoir

Tony has dinner with chef Yves Comdeborde at his 20-seat restaurant, Le Comptoir.

Hotel Relais St-Germain, 9 Carrefour de l’Odeon, 75006

RESTAURANT

Frenchie

Frenchie is known for its affordable menu and casually correct food. Chef Grégory Marchand spent most of his career working at Jamie Oliver’s 15 in London, where his nickname Frenchie was born, and at Gramercy Tavern in New York.

5 Rue du Nil, 75002

RESTAURANT

Le Chateaubriand

Inaki Aizpitarte combines flavors in a way that no traditional French chef would dare. At Le Chateubriand he reinvents the classic French bistro with a style all his own, often delivering his dishes personally.

129 Avenue Parmentier, 75011

RESTAURANT

Le Tete Dans Les Olives

Alexandre Cammas and Inaki Aizpitarte invite Tony and chef Eric Ripert to Le Tete Dans Les Olives where 10 people are served daily. The restaurant has 1 table and 1 chef, Cedric Casanova.

2 Rue Sainte Marthe, 75010.

 

The continuing search for new meals!

Our good friends Ron and Rena just came back from Paris with two good reasonable restaurants to recommend to everyone. Here are the reviews:

Le Sevres

This restaurant is not for everyone.  However, if you want to taste a working class bistro that has not been updated or remodeled since 1959, and wasn’t extravagant when it was built, don’t miss Le Sevres.  The owners take their restaurant’s theme from the coast of Brittany but when I say working class I mean it.  The 10 AM crowd is finishing up its aperitifs, beer and rose by 11:30 just as the lunch crowd begins to trickle in.  There is nothing upscale about this place, it is utilitarian, and if I didn’t say it already, working class.  Many of the guys having lunch never even bothered to take off their hard hats and it amazes me how they go back to construction jobs and heavy equipment after washing down a big lunch with wine and beer.  As for the interior, the space has not been updated for 30 years or more and it is a relic of a bygone era.  To find something like this in Paris today is like walking into a museum of Parisian culture, but it lives and adapts to the times.  The 40ish owner whose long black wavy hair, toothy grin, and half shaven appearance takes nothing away from his sweetness.  His wife is already at work behind the bar when he makes his grand entrance at 11 and greets all the old men in the bar with a combination of handshakes and kisses, and then apologizes to the stranger me, for not coming over right away to greet us.   Now for the food.  Don’t even ask, this patently down market place has fresh oysters on the menu and I saw a variety of dishes coming out of the kitchen that made this lifelong vegetarian crave the meat and chicken that was being served.  I opted for fresh salmon quiche and salad drenched in the most amazing dressing I have ever eaten, and a side of baked, broiled, and fried potatoes with rosemary that were other worldly.  They were unsalted and there was no temptation to put any.  The quiche was nothing short of amazing with a crust like the grandmother of my dreams would have made.  We had 25ml of the house wine, about 2 ½ glasses which brought the tab to 14 euros.

 

The restaurant is on a narrow heavily trafficked street opposite the children’s hospital.  If you want an utterly delicious home cooked meal at prices which by Paris standards are laughable, and can embrace this journey back to the world of the Parisian working class emigrants who migrated years ago from Brittany and Normandy, don’ miss this.  My sense is that any day now this building will be torn down by high rise developers and these gracious graceful  restaurateurs will enjoy an early and rich retirement on the North Sea.  Le Sevres, 96 rue de sevres, Paris  01 47 34 09 56 about a 20 minute walk from the Yellow Flat.  Here is Rena at the restaurant.

 

General Beuret

Who says you can’t get a great meal in Paris for under 15 euros?  Try lunch at General Beuret.   This place has a simple interior, painted walls, wooden table tops, and if you peek in the back, a really serious kitchen.  We had mussels, French fries, and a small pitcher of house wine (2 ½ glasses).  The food was uncomplicated but the mussels were the freshest I’ve ever eaten in a delightful light sauce seasoned with fresh coriander.  The pommes frites were hot and fresh, and the wine was an exceptional Syrah from Medoc.  (Obviously that wasn’t on the pitcher but it was so good we asked).  This is a local restaurant which is packed at lunch time.  The staff is busy but extremely friendly and attentive.  Total tab, 14 euros.   9 Place du General Beuret, Paris.  01 42 50 28 62   Hours 8AM to 2PM.

 

What Does A Bottle of White Wine From 1956 Taste Like?

One of the more unusual discoveries of this year’s trip to France was the above bottle of wine, of which there were two in my mother in law’s refrigerator.

No one was quite sure how they got there,  least of whom was my mother in law who at age 90 is growing more and more forgetful as she gets older.  Over lunch I shared them with two of my brother in-laws as well as numerous theories on how they got there.  Perhaps this was the last of their father’s extensive wine cellar that someone had discovered?  No one could come up with an answer.

Although we had low expectations, we were curious about the wine, as the Cote De Beaune is one of the premier white wine regions in France, although my brother-in-law (who is very Bordeaux oriented) thought they only grew reds.  Here is a link to the wiki on the area:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Côte_de_Beaune

Getting the cork out was no easy matter.  They broke several times but showed no signs of mold or off colors.  Eventually, we decanted both bottles and poured.  The wine had the color of straw and no nose to speak of.  We served it chilled and raised the glasses and drank.  The verdict?  Not much.  There just wasn’t much left in the bottles, the great chardonnay tastes were long long gone.  It wasn’t vinegary either, it tasted like you were drinking an echo of a voice from long ago.  If you tried hard you could get just the slightest taste of fruit and then it was gone.

After the tasting we poured the bottles out.  There was no sense going further.

I loved the style of these old graphics, the use of color and the pronounced gallic rooster.  The bottles were beautiful, I only wish I could have tasted them closer to the time when they were made.  Then again I was only 2 when that happened.

Yes there is horrible food in Paris (hint: don’t eat out late)

The scene looks innocent enough, doesn’t it?  The neighborhood cafe on the corner.

It’s late.  Nowhere else will serve you and they are open.  Full of Parisians smoking cigarettes, drinking beers and doing what Parisians do late at night in a cafe and that means talking and smoking.  The place was hopping and we were happy to find it, it was a few blocks from the Yellow Flat and we had been walking for way more than an hour hoping to find somewhere that would serve us.

We should have noticed that no one was eating.  But hey, how bad could be?

The evening began with a walk up towards Montparnasse hoping to finally eat a restaurant that served crepes that I had always wanted to go to.  Everyone in the family had eaten at Ty Breiz but me.  Well, I still haven’t.

We left our apartment at 10:15 on foot and although we didn’t know it we were doomed from the start.  The evening was beautiful and so was the walk but by the time we reached Ty Breiz it was 10:40 and the kitchen was closed.  Despite our plaintive looks and tourist demeanor they were done for the evening and worse yet had no recommendations on where to go.

Heading back in the direction of Eiffel Tower we encountered a number of reactions at restaurants and cafes most of which were polite but all with the same result.  Sorry, we are closed.  Most shut by 10:30, some by 10.  And that was that, we were hungry and demoralized with an empty kitchen back at the Yellow Flat, after all, we had arrived from San Sebastian that afternoon.

Rounding the corner at La Motte Piquet and Grenelle, we were excited to see that La Pierrot was open and crowded.  We got a table looking out at the corner, a cold glass of Sancerre for she who only drinks dry white wine and a Pression (draft beer) for me.  We ordered simple, a Croque Monsieur and a Salad Nicoise. How bad could they be?

Very very bad.

The Croque was raw.  That is right.  Raw.  Raw vegetables, soggy cheese and a mayonnaise sauce plopped over it that turned the bread to goo.  It was cold.  The salad had no eggs canned olives, limp string beans (also canned) and what seemed like a can of tuna tossed on it. It was drowning in a horrible dressing and  it was an embarrassment to its heritage.

We couldn’t eat more than 1/2 of our plates and our waiter asked if everything was alright.  We told him exactly what we thought and in classic gallic fashion he looked at us sympathetically,  shrugged his shoulders and walked on, Later when he brought our change he gave us lots single euro coins hoping against hope that we would tip him anyway.  We left him some sous and went home thinking about how Paris can screw up food just like any big city.  Another Paris dinner lost.

The lessons are simple: Paris can be a difficult city to eat in. Plan your dinners in advance, make reservations and above all don’t eat out late in Paris.  That is unless you go to a brassiere that is known to be open late and can spend.  If not give up. Don’t bother looking for a decent restaurant, eat a crepe if you can find one on the street and above all stay away from La Pierrot.

Christmas in Paris?

Well, much to our surprise, the Yellow Flat is still available for Christmas week!  Wish we could be there and if we can’t we hope that you will.  Make a reservation at www.yellowflat.com.

Gourmet Shopping, Enjoying A Typical Parisian Neighborhood

Many tourists visit Paris without ever visiting the incredible diversity of small neighborhood oriented gourmet food stores throughout the city.  This post looks at a neighborhood close to our Yellow Flat at the corner of Blvd. Grenelle and Rue De Lourmel, in the 15th.

Lourmel

When we first began traveling to Paris to enjoy the Yellow Flat we stuck to the grocery stores in the neighborhood.  Not they were bad, the average corporate grocery store has foods that keep pace with the finer stores in the U.S.  What we wanted was that neighborhood feeling, small shops, the butcher, wine shop, bakery, cheese store group.

We walked into it during last year’s visit.  Here is the path we followed and a link to a google map: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&q=fromagerie+rue+lourmel+paris+fr&fb=1&gl=us&hq=fromagerie&hnear=rue+lourmel+paris+fr&hl=en&view=map&cid=8748826341735556621&ved=0CBsQpQY&ei=BdtQS4WEJpjkpgSeufyFDg&z=16

Starting at the corner of La Motte Piquet and Blvd. Grenelle  where the metro station is head towards the Seine.

Your first stop will be Poilane, the famous and deservedly so, French bakery (http://www.poilane.fr).  Our local store is located at  49 Blvd. Grenelle.  Very little can go wrong in your choices, from breakfast pastries to their famous assortment of breads.

Once you reach Rue Lourmel, go under the metro elevate tracks and start shopping.  You will find everything you need there.

First off is the cheese store, or should I say the Fromagerie Laurent Dubois at 2 Lourmel.

They have the distinguished ranking of affineur, an honor reserved for only the finest cheese experts in France and their selection is just exceptional.  Florence could build her meals between the bread at Poilane and the cheese we found here.

Next up, the rotisserie.  Time for the classic French Roast chicken?  Add some potatoes or maybe some of these incredible looking ribs.

What is missing?  Wine, flowers, produce, butcher, it is all there within 2 blocks.  This is a neighborhood that doesn’t appear in the guidebooks but it is well worth exploring and 5 minutes walk from the Yellow Flat. Bring your shopping bag.

Paris Eats: Wines for under 5 euro.

Wine for under 5 euro!

Another wonderful treat that France offers you is a wide variety of wines for less than 5 euro (7.50 even at the current weak dollar exchange rate).

Where should you buy wine in Paris?  How about everywhere?  Walk down most major streets and you will see a variety of wine shops ranging from friendly (yes that is right) locals to the reliable chain, Nicolas.  Wine is good at your local grocery store as well and likely to be a bit cheaper there.   The great advantage of going to a local shop is that they will help you and most speak some English.

By no means is this an attempt to write a guide to French wines, that is a lifetime of work.  It is a list of some recommendations to drink well and frankly at a good price.

I will break this simple guide to buying inexpensive wine into White, Rose and Reds.  Rather than try to go into a particular vintage or producer I will look at types of wine to buy rather than which wine to buy.

In the white wines there are two sure fire directions that you can take that will regularly deliver drinkable reasonable wines during your visit. The choice is really one of which grape are you after, the rounder fuller flavors found in Chardonnay or the dryer more acidic (and yes this is good acidity otherwise known as crispness) Sauvignon Blanc.  If looking for a chardonnay, consider buying a Bourgogne Aligote instead.  These are solid wines from the same growing region that produces the high end chardonnays (made with a different grape that is bit lighter in body).  Sauvignon blanc comes from the Loire region usually in the area of Touraine.  We had one, bone dry and delicious for 3.80.

Other Loire wines that really go well with seafood are Muscadet (average cost 5 euros and under) and Bordeaux, the great red wine grown region.  Be careful that Bordeaux blanc that you buy is sec, i.e. dry, because they can be sweet.  If you see the word mollieux, you are getting a sweet wine.

Rose.  At 2 to 3 euros each you can afford to buy several until you find one you like.  Again the problem is sweetness.  One consistent area that produces Rose is Tavel.  Another is Cabernet D’Anjou.  This is a bit hit and miss, so ask for help.

Red.  The best value in reds in France are from the Bordeaux.  They are masters at blending lesser grapes to create solid balanced wines that will compliment meats and cheeses.  Blends that feature Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc that are made to dink now as opposed to the expensive versions that can keep for years and years.   I tried a 2003 and was very disappointed by its lack of body, the younger wines were more impressive.

Loire is another source of value for reds.   Gamay grapes come from the Beaujolais region and should not be confused with the efforts to market “Nouveau Beaujolais” every year in November.  These are great every day wines with lots of pepper and character.  Look for Beaujolais Villages.  If you can find a Cote de Brouilly, a Morgon or a Fleurie at this price grab it.  These are wines meant to be enjoyed young, be wary if more than 3 years old.

Finally, there are the Cote Du Rhones, sometimes thin at this price and the inexpensive Pinot Noirs you may find.  I leave them out because they don’t seem to fare as well at the lower price points.  Save those for when the budget allows.

There are so many other French wine growing regions that I have left out. At 5 euros and under you can take a risk.

You won’t find cheap champagne in France, the lowest true bottle we saw was 15 euro.  You can buy other sparkling wines such Blanquette de Limou, they will more than do the job and keep the euros in your pocket.  If it says Cremant, it has been produced with the same method as Champagne, just not in the region.

Now get out there and buy some.

Paris walks, the Alley of Swans (allee des cygnes).

When we, as tourists, visit Paris we believe that we begin to know the city. We don’t.

The more often I travel there, the more that I see and learn is what makes me realize how little that I really know about it.  The city humbles you every time and that excites me all the more.  Every time Paris surprises me I am rewarded.

The best way to learn Paris is to walk it.  So, I have created this group of Paris walk photologues, a way to encourage visitors to the city to walk and to share some of my photographs.  Today’s walk is the Alley of Swans or Allee des Cygnes, located between the Pont de Bir Hakeim and Pont De Grenelle.

Did you know that there is a small island in the middle of the Seine, walking distance from the Eiffel Tower?  There is, and it is one of the prettiest walks that I have ever taken in Paris, especially in November when the leaves are turning color and the light on the river is a bit thin, the afternoon shadows long.

This is a perfect place to take a moment off from the constant touring and pressure that we place on ourselves to see more do more.  It is a place to bring a book and just watch the river go by.

While the walk is only ten minutes away from the pressing crowds of the Eiffel Tower/Trocadero, you step into a world of quiet.

And in strange twist, as you approach the end of the island, there is a scaled replica of the Statue of Liberty.  Go figure.

This is a serene place, full of children, dogs and couples.

But one word of warning.

Watch for the dog shit, it is everywhere.

Looking back at the ET

After reaching the statue you turn around and the view is just exceptional. As you return to the rest of your day take a moment and look back on a part of Paris that doesn’t make the books.  One of the many amazing walks you can take on a Paris day.

Here is a link to google maps to find the alley:  http://maps.google.com/maps/mpl?ie=UTF8&moduleurl=http://maps.google.com/help/maps/local_search/mapplet.html&mapclient=google&f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.76108,-122.435589&spn=0.111961,0.175095&z=12&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-gns-ls&utm_term=google%20maps

Leaves in the alley, November 2009

Paris Eats. The weak dollar and how to have lunch for 4 for less than 15 euro.

Oh Paris, beautiful and expensive like so many thing that we covet.  With the current state of the dollar, eating well at the 1.50 plus exchange rate is becoming a struggle.  So here was the challenge I gave to myself as part of surviving the City of Lights without breaking the bank.  Can I make tasty lunch for four at our apartment for under 15 euro?

One of the great advantages of renting an apartment in Paris (or any city in Europe right now for that matter) is the ability to buy your own groceries.  This article is focused on budgeting out your dollar so you can splurge on some good meals out.

So lets try our luck to put together today’s lunch for four people for under 15 euro with groceries purchased at our local Simply Market (part of the large Auchan group). Prices are similar at the other markets such as Casino or Monoprix.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the French grocery stores pay a lot more attention to the quality of food than ours do, it is much more about quality than quantity.  You can eat commercial quality grocery food products and have a good meal.

The economy rule at the store is go with the store  or house label.  Just as in the states the quality of private label food has improved but the price gap is larger in France, often as much as 50%.  So let’s get started.

One of the great French bargains (yes that is not an oxymoron) is the head of butter lettuce.  Checking in at .60 euro somehow the French lettuce always seems to have better texture and they certainly are a lot bigger than anything you see back in the States.  Tomatoes come in at 1.20 for 3 large red decent ones, not heirlooms by any stretch but decent quality.

The other great bargain (yes 2!) is the baguette.  While a commercial baguette from the store might do, take some time and find an artisan baker in your neighborhood.  The price difference, likely 1.30 euro instead of 1 is worth it. But even the commercial version has a certain familiar quality to it even it might be their version of store baked wonder bread.  Buy 2.  You will eat them.

Lunch centered around two salads.  The fist consisted of a pre-made salad knows as ‘Carottes Rapees’, ridiculously cheap at .90 euro for 500 grams, about 1.1 pounds.  The carrots come shredded and dressed in a vinaigrette and ready to serve.  If you buy the same items at a traitteur it will cost triple, the Simply version was more than adequate with no off odors and a pleasant taste.

Treat yourself to a good cheese, we chose a Tomme de Savoie, a semi-soft tasty but mild cheese from the Alps.  3.50 euro for about 200 grams.  If you want a goat cheese go for it, there are plenty or reasonable chevres to be found in the package cheese aisle, just look for the goat on the label.  They are typically soft and easy and under 3 euro.

The other main course was a beet/lentil/cheese salad.  After cutting 1/2 of the Tombe into in small chunks we combined them with vacuum packaged beets that were pre cooked and ready to go, a good deal at 6 for 1.75 euro and lentils.  The lentils came from a can but they quite edible and not over salted, a mere .80 for 800 grams.  That is over 1 1/2 pounds of lentils, more than enough for 4.

Then you can finish off the left over cheese and the remaining baguette.

Dessert?  4 fresh pears and 4 packs of excellent local yogurt.  1.75 for the pears and 1.80 for the yogurt.  We went for the Activa with meusseli.  You can always spend more on yogurt by going artisan and looking for the small jars.

And the final “bargain”, a liter of Perrier for .70 euro, remember, it’s 4.50 at the cafe for a tiny bottle.  That is a disparity.

So let’s recap the bill;

.60 lettuce 1.20 tomatoes

3.50 cheese 1.75 beets .80

lentils 1.75 pears 1.80 yogurts

.75   Perrier  (1.0 liter) or .60   flat water

2.6 baguette

And there your are; a bill around 15 euro (about $19) for lunch for 4.  You can add  2 euros plus for an inexpensive bottle of wine (there were about 5 different ones at the store but they looked pretty scary) to round it off.  Or you can break the budget and find a better bottle for under 5 euro (more on that in the next blog).

There is just one assumption in this lunch, that there is some oil and vinegar at the apartment.  Most of the time there is, if not there goes the wine but you have oil and vinegar for the week.

Next up, wine under 5 euro.

Hello world from the Yellow Flat Paris!

This blog will feature links to articles and news about Yellow Flat Paris.  For those of you traveling in November, we are running a special.

The flat is on sale for $175 a night, $15 off, through March 26.  Please use code: yf15offer when inquiring.

Let us know if you are interested  in visiting as the flat is pretty well booked until October except for August and a number of short term gaps including June 27 to July 3.

All the best.

Jules and Flo

All text and images c2009, Jules Kragen