La Tete dans les Olives

Paid a visit the other day to this tiny little store/Paris' smallest restaurant after having read about them in the Figaroscope. The shop, hidden away on a rundown street sandwiched between the Hopital Saint Louis and the Canal Saint Martin, carries a great selection of fine Sicilian produce, and apparently supplies grand maisons such as the Plaza Athenée with their wares. The afternoon I visited, I did a little tasting of about five different olive oils, black and green olives, dried tomatoes, dried figs, tuna bresaola, fresh bay leaves, and fennel seeds, many of which were picked by Cédric Casanova , the raffish, young half Sicilian owner. François Simon and the Figaroscope people had been there in recent days, and it seems that this is the next gastropress bandwagon jumping hot spot that you'll all be reading about soon. Can't wait to try out their new table, with five seats and a simple "best of" menu, but John, Meg, Wendy, and Barbra got the jump on me ;)

Chateaubriand Redux

I've never been a huge fan of Inaki Aizpitarte's Chateaubriand. Maybe it's all the media hype surrounding this bad-boy Basque, a rogueishly handsome, perpetually unshaven lady killer of a cuistot. Maybe I'm jealous of all the attention he gets variously from the top food and travel magazines, as well as a legion of hot young foodies. My friend and fellow chef/food blogger extraordinaire once told me, "I don't know what all the fuss is about- it's nothing special, just n'importe quoi" . Another friend Trish, who profiled him for a top French food mag thinks he's sex on a stick. Most girls do. I swear when he pops out of the kitchen you can almost hear the panties drop.

Well, all this hype has sort of muddied the water a little, making people expect something on the level of El Bulli I have the impression. All the fashionistas and gastro-tourists arriving for dinner last night had a similar look on their face, "Is this it?" One bobo type style editor girl got into a heated argument with the head waiter because they took more than 4 seconds to find her reservation. He couldn't give toss. I expect he gets it every day. Too much press buzz giving an impression of something else.

Anyway, last night I got it. A 45€ , five course menu with very decent food is a good deal:Amuse bouche of marscapone, crab and pissenlit, Bouillon with mushrooms, radishes , foie gras and various crunchy peanuty things floating around, lieu jaune with mashed purple tomatoes and raw, thinly sliced cauliflower, Lamb from Hugo (a bit too chewy), with carrots, agrumes and "carri", and a pear crumble/yoghurt dessert with caviar like little yuzu pearls. Cheese (coulommiers, "young" gorgonzola and chevre) was very decent.

So, despite previous misgivings, I've been won over for a simple, slightly creative cuisine at good prices. And it really was fun observing all those stupidly dressed fashionidiots waiting for my table in desperation at the standing room only bar, while I slowly sipped a last glass of chilled bubbly ;)

Quick Review - Breizh Café

Perfect Breton comfort food for a rainy Parisian day, deep in the heart of the trendy Upper Marais. Art galleries, leggy models, hipsters. Tsarskaya oysters, crispy black flour crepe with a filling rivaling a Full English: mushrooms, bacon, fresh Normandy cream, piment d'Espelette, farm fresh scrambled eggs, all washed down with a crisp jug of organic cider.

Me vs. Le Figaro

My piece a few weeks ago for Virgin Atlantic's website, vtravelled, and Le Figaro's piece yesterday.

Hmmmmmm.

Paris restaurants 2009/2010 : the year (partly) in review

2009 was a surprisingly good year for food in the City of Light. In recent years , with the exception of the bistronomic movement, there wasn't really a whole lot happening in town, and other cities such as New York, London and Spain were starting to get the upper hand in innovation. This past year started to put Paris back on the map again, and what follows is my personal opinion on the most interesting culinary movers and shakers :

Passage 53: Located in a charming turn of the century passageway not too far from place de l'Opera (across from the Hard Rock Café, yikes!) is probably my favourite restaurant of the year. Run by the delightful Guillaume Guedj (whose father in law happens to be famed butcher Hugo Desnoyer), what started off as a slightly flawed bistro de luxe, turned into a small gastro of great note and promise. When early diners and reviewers complained that the dining room wasn't comfortable of spacious enough, he immediately rectified it. And then he did an about face, and went from bistro to gourmet, with a staff strengthened by a charming young Japanese sommelier who worked at Tokyo's three star Quintessence, and allowing Japanese chef Shin(ichi) Sato free reign with a lunch or dinner tasting menu only. Dishes such as the veal tartar on a bed of chopped Gillardeau oysters or artichoke tempura on a bed of chopped, yuzu flavoured oysters were not only the ultimate surf and turf, but some of the best dishes of the year.

Yam T'Cha: The year's most mediatized newcomer, this small table , not far from the Louvre museum, offered what I hesitate to call a fusion cuisine. Chef Adeline Grattard and her Chinese husband, Chi Wa, run this modern little dining room , all minimalist with exposed brick and open kitchen, offering a tasting menu including French and Asian products (Challans duck with Szechuan pepper, hot foie gras with Pok Choi and mustard leaves), that is subtle and completely unique. No surprise then, that Grattard trained with some of the best, the Meurice's Yannick Alleno and Astrance's Pascal Barbot, as well as a stint in Hong Kong at the two star Bo Innovation. Chi Wa, a former graphic designer runs the tea service with elegance and professionalism. But the press coverage was brutal and immediate, and getting a table at either lunchtime or dinner is nearly impossible, and time will tell if they can withstand this pressure. As a chef friend of mine recently said "Adeline is stressing out too much, you can feel the stress in the dining room, and I wonder if you can even taste it in her cuisine".

Frenchie. Another one you'll be hearing alot about soon is this restaurant owned by Gregory Marchand, a young French chef whose culinary training was exclusively outside of France in places like Jamie Oliver's 15 and at New York's Gramercy Tavern. His tiny little place, not far from the garment district and the ancient rue Montorgueil market street has drawn raves for his (very) short daily market menu (changes weekly) and bargain prices. A lot of local press has guaranteed very hard to get table status. Marchand recently imposed a two week before only booking policy to encourage local diners to get reservations.

Another unlikely table that has recently become one of Paris' hottest tables is the joint venture between Thierry Costes and former two star Crillon chef Jean-François Piege, Thoumieux. The old 1920's brasserie located in the chic seventh had been flagging in recent years, and Piege's redesign of both the dining room and update of the classic French menu (with additions such as the pizza soufflé and "carbonara" of calimari) have pleased diners as much as the reasonable prices. The upcoming renovation of the hotel and his future upstairs chef's table , (perhaps) called "Le Piege", will, according to rumours serve anywhere from 8 to 25 lucky diners. We'll see in a couple months.

Other interesting addresses include (in no particular order) : Tartes Kluger ,a modern pie-house/factory opened in an old, disaffected bakery in the Upper Marais neighborhood, all sleek surfaces and exposed brick, offering a limited selection of homemade sweet and savory quiches. O'trement, located on the upper floor of the classic brasserie Flottes, an arty, cozy modern dining room with a cuisine taken over by Nicolas Vernier (formerly of one star Caffè Minotti) , and a menu conceived by Frederick e. Grasser-Hermé: chic, relaxed with luxury comfort food and excellent products. Zinc Caius , spice crazed chef, Jean-Marc Notelet's annex to his main restaurant Caius, with an excellent selection of products and list of small production wines, and less than 20 seats. KGB one of the hottest entries of the year offers a Thai inspired world menu from young Israeli chef Yariv Berebi, who trained with owner (and chef of the motherhouse, Ze Kitchen Galerie, William Ledeuil). The menu is comprised of a fusion hors d'oeuvre selection, followed by pastas and crockpots, and a less than stellar dessert menu. Soundproofing is a little iffy, but worth a try with a foodie friend. Bob's Kitchen , a new lunch table from Marc Grossman of Bob's Juice Bar in the grungy/chic Upper Marais offers vegetarian salad, soups, stews and great desserts and smoothies, perfect for a detox lunch/brunch. Caffè dei Cioppi had all the Parisian food critics/writers on the bandwagon for a well conceived Italian menu from a former chef of the Relais Plaza. Price is right, and the place is charming, with an open kitchen, and located in a small passageway near the Bastille. Beware of restrictive seating times however, strictly enforced. La Patisserie des Reves the (finally!) new age pastry shop from famed chef Philippe Conticini opened to a media fanfare for his updated versions of French classics in a modern setting in the chic 7th.


** WORK IN PROGRESS ALERT **I'll be expanding on this post in the coming days, feel free to chime in...

Le Piege

I've come up with a great name for Jean-François Piege's upcoming new table de chef on top of his trendy new 20 seater Thoumieux restaurant: Le Piege.

Catchy, huh?

P53 dish of the moment

Artichokes cooked 'tempura' style (Shin-sana doesn't like that word) on a bed of yuzu tinted oysters(not Gillardeau, by the way). The new veal tartar. And one of the best things you can eat in Paris at the moment, the ultimate Franco-Nippon surf and turf.

Self Revelation no.1

Am I just an overheated fanboy on the periphery of culinary genius and innovation?

Caffè dei Cioppi

Open kitchen

Tiny dining room - 14 seats!

Buffala mozzarella with grilled vegetables and roquette

Subtle, if watery , safran risotto

Sbrisolona: Dessert of the year?


I decided to let things cool down and go after Mr. Tout le Monde Bloggeur Critique to test this hot new table which virtually anyone has heard about by now such as their gastronomic press firestorm been.

This tiny little table is located not too far away from the Bastille in a grungy but ever increasingly bobo part of the 11th arondissement, and hidden along a small passageway, which in the summer has a great little terrace. The dining room has only 14 seats, making last minute bookings pretty much impossible (we had an hour to eat..), but it's worth trying your luck because this place is great value. The ambience is very elbow to elbow, with diners getting all chummy, cool Jazz piped in, the kitchen totally open plan with casseroles boiling away, and three stools at a sort of bar with a full view of the action. The chef used to second the kitchens of the Relais Plaza at the Plaza Athenée hotel, and for the price the cooking shines pretty bright, with only a couples hicks here and there. I hoped to have the burrata cheese advertised on the menu, but , hélas, even being the first client of the day, they were out of stock and replaced it with an excellent mozza, accompanied by a salad of grilled veg and roquette. The following lasagna with sausage was delicious, although the safran risotto, for me, was pretty bland and too watery, and needed a copious dusting of pepper and salt (I'm told their red wine and sausage version is really good, but wasn't on the menu). Desserts were impeccable, especially the crunchy corn flour and almond based biscuits (known as sbrisolona) and marscapone cream, surely one of the most delicate sweets of the year. Count on spending about 30-35 Euros per person with a glass or two of wine.



Caffè dei Cioppi
159 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine, 11th
+33 1 43 46 10 14

Don't make me go to the Kitchen Galerie bis!

For once, I've been purposely avoiding a newly opened restaurant. It's painful. Especially when it's from a chef you like and admire, and that every blogging Tom, Dick and Harry is reporting back from the gastronomic battle lines telling you how great it is, pushing all those iPhotos in your face as if to say: I'm here first. I did it before you. I rule the Paris gourmet vanguard. Not . You.

Yesterday I finally ceded after having allowed the KGB or Kitchen Galerie bis to mature a little and find its footing (also to be able to garner a table reservation!). It was a last minute thing, but the amiable Jerome, who I know from William Ledeuil's mother ship restaurant was able to fit me in.

The place was pretty much as I expected, a toned down version of the one star Michelin Ze Kitchen Galerie just down the street, offering a more humble, gentler on the wallet French/asian fusion cuisine from a young Israeli chef, Yariv Berrebi, who staged with Ledeuil and also worked with Yannick Alleno at the three-star Meurice. I was surprised to hear that a great may of the new "bobo" diners hadn"t even heard of the original restaurant, such as the bulldozer of gastro-media buzz deafens everything around it, paving its way to the next hot table. The staff itself wasn't even prepared for the onslaught of attention brought by the local food press and especially those contributing to the blagosphere.

I won't say much here that hasn't already been said: the menu starts of with "ze hors d'oeuvres" , which funnily enough were my favourite part of the meal (deep fried lamb balls, duck consommé with foie gras, pork belly ravioli, etc etc ) , followed by a sort of Thai pot au feu of pasta and spices, then the marmite of scallops, litchi and wasabi. The white chocolate and wasabi soup was a bit underwhelming, as were the wines I tried ( it was a 2007 burgundy, so a bit young anyway..) , and they need to figure out the annoying glitchy soundproofing (lack of?) , but all in all lots of fun, but are they dangerously close to being a flash in the pan as an esteemed client and fellow gourmet told me ?


Zes tapas Thai

Scallops, litchi, wasabi

Guinea fowl , fondant, delicious

A little underwhelming white chocolate and wasabi soup

Christopher Hache New Chef at Les Ambassadeurs

Crillon gets the "axe"

After months of speculation, cuisinerenligne scoops the new chef of the Hotel Crillon's Les Ambassadeurs, the 28 year old former second of the Bristol's Eric Frechon , Christopher Hache. Hache worked most recently at the one star Grande Cascade under the tutelage of Frédéric Robert, former chef at the Lucas Carton under Alain Senderens.

Memo to the Heinz people - Pittsburgh ends in 'h'

Funny how such a simple thing such as, GASP, fact-checking can get overlooked by a multibillion dollar company such as Heinz.

Yes, people, Pittsburgh is spelled with a 'h' at the end....

...just not on the millions of 140 year commemorative bottles that just hit the shelves.

And yes, I will consult for money.... ;)

La Branda

Mezze

Lamb Mixed grill

Pumpkin with homemade yoghurt


Sometimes you come across a place in the neighborhood that is pleasant, affordable and unknown, and just right for a perfectly satisfying eating experience. I've walked past this unassuming Turkish restaurant for the past three years or so not giving it a second thought, and through a series of mishaps, ended up dining there last night.

The decoration is pretty nonexistant, although they do highlight local artists, sometimes Turk, on their walls, and the service is warm and welcoming.

The cuisine is Ottoman, primarily grilled meat and fish, and the family who owns the restaurant hail from Izmir, the name Labranda coming from the name of a small town on the city's outskirts.

The food was perfectly acceptable, from the starter of nine mezze (aubergine, egglant, spinach, hummus, blettes, tzatziki, eggs, topped by two golden, flaky cheese filled rolls) , followed by the lamb mixed grill, perfectly cooked to juicy perfection, and a grilled pumpkin dessert with fresh homemade yogurt.

The bill came to be about 25€ per person, including a half bottle of okay Turkish wine. A nice change from the local kebab house.

Restaurant La Branda
18 rue Louis Blanc, 10th
+33 1 40 36 29 76

Chez Michel - Ze big disappointment

Last minute dinners always get me. In my day job or as gastro consultant for my friends and colleagues, no problem, a perfect table is always found. When I'm trying to find a place for myself for a nice night out, however, always the eternal dilemma, the soul searching begins. I find the perfect idea, I change it, I worry if my friends will like it, I question my desires, my cravings. I think of the previous weeks web and food press, various recommendations, tables I'd like to try and haven't. All this happened to me again last night, when confronted with having to find a place to dine for myself. Where? Passage 53 went to last week and had a marvelous lunch. I wanted something new. Or something I'd never tried. I thought of KGB, but the massive recent press made that impossible. ZKG, the maison mère didn't answer the phone. I thought of Krung Thep, my fave Thai, but felt like French. La Grille, an eminently old school establishment, was fully booked. Villaret, Chéri Bibi, Fidelité, Sardegne a Tavola, Kiku all came to mind. And faded away. We decided on Chez Michel. After all, why not, the proto-bistronomique is every Parisian gastronomes fave for it's 32€ menu and well turned out food.

Last night was different. When entering the restaurant, the usual chaos ensued: waiters rushing around, and being shouted at. Locals mixing with Dutch and English tourists, clutching their recent (but outdated) editions of Time Out and Fodors, having trekked out to this far flung corner of the city for their gourmet graal. The same menu at 32€ for three courses and a blackboard highlighting other more complicated/elegant dishes, with their pricing supplements. Game had , as always, a prominent place on the menu, and the lievre a la royale looked to be the choice for my dining partners and I. But with a 25€ supplement! We soldiered on and ordered. The starter of pate en croute of gibiers and foie gras with it's accompanying herb salad from well executed and good (supplement 5€), followed by the royal hare, which was entirely uninspiring. A smattering of tasteless, odorless shaved black truffles covered the dish, and my friend Philippe had another , unexpected supplement: a plastic film covering his lievre. The server was shown the dish and he said, simply, "Oh that's there to shape the dish on the plate". Even when another large piece of plastic was found on the plate, no reaction, no apology. Chef Thierry Breton didn't even bother stopping by, except to suggest a pricey, though good Domaine Gramenon Pascale. Funnily enough, he wasn't even in the kitchen, which seemed to be manned by Japanese stagiaires..

So word to all you Parisian foodies and cued up gastrotourists: Chez Michel seems to have passed its sell-by date. Move on to new gourmet pastures.


Lievre a la Royale

Lievre a la Royale avec plastique

Piege's Secret Thoumieux Tasting Labo!

Can't wait for Piege to open his new gastro/tasting/laboratory upstairs from Thoumieux. Should be soon. A Robuchon-y open kitchen and democratization of high gastronomy for a select few communal diners (20 covers). Opens in March 2010.

You heard it here first.

Joel Robuchon reopens Jamin??

Week in Food

Espelette tartar at L'Aubrac

Black mojito at Charbon Rouge

Som Tam at Krung Thep

Burger at Annette's

Tarte Kluger

Passage

Passage

Table 28

Interview with a US Michelin inspector

Ducasse judges New York fries

Chicken Coup - Daniel Rose's Table 28

The famous "coucou de Rennes"

Aforementioned chicken with thinly sliced gratin

cake with pear compote, creme fraiche and chocolate




As much as I despise all the bandwagon, tablehopping restaurant blagging, the gods of the gastronomic zeitgeist have dictated that I must report about the hottest new table in town, namely yankie wunderchild chef Daniel Rose's brand spanking new "neighborhood joint", Table 28.

In place of the former Spring (old signage still up) , this modern little rotisserie serves up a simple menu composed of good quality products. This evening: roast chicken (the rare coucou de Rennes, no less), complemented by apples and roast potatoes in goose fat, and a mushroom salad with grenadines, followed by pears with honey, pear cake and pear compote with creme fraiche and chocolate. The idea is not to do another Spring, but rather a remote-controlled, Rose consulted menu that will appeal to neighbors (ie take out) as much as clued-up, jetsetting diners, with another chef behind the oven (leaving Rose to continue his other projects). The entire meal tonight was prepared by Daniel, who wasn't actually supposed to be there, and we counted ourselves as the lucky few, as this will not be a likely occurrence in the future. Again, this is not Spring II, but a simple place for a good meal, early or late, without spending a fortune. Menus are 29€ or 34€, whether you order a quarter or a half chicken.

Coming up soon are a new Spring Boutique (opening in a month or so) at 52 rue de L'Arbre Sec in the 1st, and, obviously the one everybody is waiting for, the new Spring, next March at 6 rue Bailleul, with lots of surprises in store (artisinal hot dogs, doughnuts, that new nitrogen ice cream machine...)