Pre Holiday Gastro Slam Day

The dishes you'll see at the Passage 53 when they reopen after holidays!

And what you can eat at SPRING now!

Quick Review - Le Stube

For those globetrotting clubbers who can't get enough of the ultimate after party Berliners snack, a passable rendition of curry wurst has finally come to Paris at a small snack counter called Le Stube , not far from the Palais Royal and run by the same family who owned the (now closed) Stubli temple to German gastronomy.

Quick Review - Ginger

One of the least well known eateries on the Costes periphery, this Triangle d'Or demi bling bling establishment sells fusion-y food to mostly area businessmen and a few averted tourists. One dish made me stand up and take notice, a very tasty sea bass tartare with wasabi mayo, followed by an unfortunate "asian" fish and chips (there was nothing asian about it, two pieces of fish were deep fried to a charcoal and it was accompanied strangely by exactly the same potato chips and salad as my startare.) Oh, and it was accompanied by wasabi mayo (again) . Forgettable desserts, and Hong Kong/Paris servers.

Tartare of sea bass with wasabi mayo

Spring has sprung. Daniel Rose does it again, and evolves.

I think it would be fair to say that Daniel rose to the occasion (I can hear the groans already....) , and I was lucky enough to be one of the first (along with a "best of" Paris' expat blogging community/fangirls)  to dine at the new Spring restaurant, just down the road from the Louvre.

The restaurant, hidden on a quiet, narrow little street not far from the Spring Boutique, has been really well thought out, with a large open kitchen behind which a team of chefs (this is no longer the one man chaud of the former Spring in the 9th..), performing like clockwork, with Daniel overlooking and supervising the operations. The dinner is the same concept as before - a no-choice market-driven tasting menu, that changes almost daily according to the seasons and the chef's whims. We had: lime flavored, mint specked melon with lomito, an eggplant platter (in croquette, pickled, mashed) with eel, sashimi quality tuna with flash cooked gambas, artichoke hearts, and a delicious pigeon with ris de veau and the tiniest girolles you can ever imagine. Desserts were a very interesting serving of black cherries with fresh almonds and apricots with a lemon verbena syrup.

 I loved the buzz and the open kitchen, and hope the fact that an American has created the most interesting restaurant in Paris in years might make them sit up and actually do something about it. As Daniel says, he is hoping to take Paris restaurants into the 21st century.

The restaurant , still a work-in-progress, is on three levels, with the lower level being a soon to be unveiled wine bar/tapas counter , which , hopefully will be doing good champagnes and wines all day long with luxury comfort food such as boudin blanc hot dogs and the lobster rolls that Rose tested out in the dying days of the old Spring on his Sunday get togethers. There is also a well stocked wine cellar with some surprisingly rare bottles, although it has yet to be fitted out with ventilation.

Can't wait to try the lunch menu of "tapas" , based around a bouillon concept.

Here are a few photos (in no particular order):

Spring
6 rue Bailleul, 1st
01 45 96 05 72
64€ set menu including 5 dishes, cheese and two desserts

Summer Nights in Paris

Recipe for the perfect night. Start with a Florida Tarragon at the Prescription Cocktail Club, then walk up the street to L'Avant Comptoir and order a few helpings of croquettes with Iberico ham from Eric Ospital  (3€) , oxtail croque monsieur (3€) ,boudin noir macaron, supplied by Yves Camdeborde's brother and a "pannacotta" of crab with a Ricard foam. Walk back to the Prescription and follow up with Very Old Cubans, Bloody Bullshots, more Tarragons, and drinks not even on the menu (the Doctor Funk from Tahiti needs a bit of work) . Pepper liberally with excellent company and sparkling conversation.

Adrian Day and Night

Another ten days and I'll be experimenting with a new medium, much more rock and roll and in your face.