Le Fantome

Funnest opening of the year definitely goes to Le Fantome, the new bar/restaurant/games arcade that opened recently on the corner of rue du Paradis and rue d'Hauteville in the (once again) trendy10th arrondissement. Created by La Clique, a cultish group of young restaurateurs behind establishments such as the Hotel Amour, Le Baron, Chez Moune, etc this spacious retro design space (mucho Formica) is open all day serving pizza by the slice and salads, and vintage games such as Ms. Pac Man and Space Invaders (but sadly no Dig Dug). One of the hottest addresses of the rentrée, especially when their new basement club (a friendlier version of Le Baron) opens with an ambition guest DJ program.

For phantoms of another type, try the excellent Manoir Hantée just next door.

The Sunken Chip, Paris

Post-burger comfort food still has its hooks in the French dining public (an hours wait for a Camion qui Fume burger is proof enough), and although us expat Anglos have been waiting for years for well done quick grub, only a few have got it down pat. The latest, and one of the greatest, is the Sunken Chip, on the rue des Vinaigriers (Vinegar Bottle Street, funnily enough) , just off of the Canal Saint Martin. The tiny place, all white tile, communal wooden counter and smiling employees, is the brainchild of cult bistro Roseval's chef Michael Greenwold and James Whelan,  former Monocle magazine employee and owner of the trendy bar L'Inconnu. The concept is simple enough: a few line caught fishes from the Finnestere region ("the closest we can get to English fish and chips taste", says Michael) from an up and coming small boat fisherman,Thomas Saracco, the all covered in light batter, accompanied by well turned out chips and iconic sodas and beer from the UK. Predictably the place was heaving at the seams with hipsters, curious local neighbors, French media types and yelpers, bloggers and pseudo food writers, many of which didn't even come to eat, but to check in and take photos.

Vivant Table

With the sometimes invasive, ever accelerating and self-proliferating Parisian expat foodie blogosphere about to explode with cool new addresses, I'm taking a bit more time to report on my favourite spots for fear of being associated with foaming at the mouth food fans. I almost missed them.

Pierre Jancou, the tattooed Messiah of Natural Wine, has cut a wino de luxe swathe through the City of Light, having participated in the creation of some of the most brilliant wine bars of the last decade, as well as heralding in a new understanding on natural, unadulterated small production wines. The fact that he has been a part time model, and is a hunky, shy and well inked man morsel also draws the aforementioned foodie fans, the only drawback I can see to his establishments. His most recent project, in the most quickly gentrifying part of the 10th arrondissement, is a double whammy called Vivant.

The Vivant empire is divided into two parts; Vivant Table, with a new Japanese chef, Atsumi Sota (Robuchon NYC, Stella Maris, Toyo) creating a three course, or blind six course tasting menu, in a former turn of the century bird shop, and Cave, the next door no reservations wine bar with superb small dishes at a much more reasonable price.

After the initial sticker shock (it is a bit pricey for the 10th), we proceeded to have one of the best meals of recent memory: delicate fish couscous and a sublime broth with perfectly seared scallops and mindbendingly good gnocchi, turbot meuniere that made me swoon (this chef is an expert saucier !) and an interesting chocolate terrine with Kalamata olives dusted with pain des amies breadcrumbs for a perfect chewy crunch. With one of the lower priced bottles of wine, it all came to about 80€ per person, which could break the bank for some, and made the plein a craqué popularity of his Cave next door all the more understandable. (Also Pierre, who really is the personality of the place, spends most of his time at the cave, not the restaurant). Think I'll pop over there next time. And (*cringe*) join the expat blaggeurs.

Vivant Table
43 rue des Petites-Ecuries, 75010
+33 1 42 46 43 55
Menus( dinner) at 55€/70€

Two neighborly new places in the 10th

There has been much talk of late of the hottest new tables in town, most particularly in the 9th, 10th and 11th arrondissements. Indeed, some of the best eating in town is to be had in places such as L'Office, Septime and the like. But in my hood, which borders in the uncool edges of the Canal Saint Martin, near Stalingrad, once populated by denizens of crime, hookers and crack dealers, is although slowly gentrifying, still a pretty terrible place for good cooking. The rue du Faubourg Saint Martin, although with  a few good butchers, cheese mongers, rotisseries and fish merchants  of quality and great little delis like Castro, is still dotted with terrible Chinese and fake Japanese restaurants, kebab houses with triple deckered grease delivery devices called the "Hummer" and even the first Subway on the block. I have despaired dear reader. Although crossing great distances to eat (I recently went to LA pretty much just to eat at Red Medicine, but I digress..) , I've been waiting for a simple good local place for yonks. That's why I've been so happy recently to try not one but two new places that deserve a little attention.

The first, located in a just gone bankrupt bio soup and salad place, is Kheak et Vero, which I discovered thanks to my friend Zeva's Yelping. The place is small, unassuming, inexpensive and serves good, homemade style Vietnamese and Thai food. The Cambodian owner is affable enough and his wife is the Vietnamese chef (there's a real Thai chef too!). So far I've only tried the green papaya salad (which at first wasn't spicy enough until I had them chop me up some chili peppers) , the (pretty much garden variety) nems but I keep coming back for the grilled chicken and lemongrass. All washed down with a nicely chilled Chang. They are easily the best Asian in the immediate area.


The second restaurant, for lunch today, was Louloucam , opened four months ago by Jean-Mathieu Frédéric, a young chef who did time at the Tour d'Argent and at Le Meurice. A few reviews slipped by in the Figaroscope, L'Express and Le Fooding, but even though I live close by, I never remarked it. Although the food isn't mind-blowing , the house smoked salmon (with regrettable bread), sea bass with excellent handmade linguine and caramelized banana were well worth the 20€ lunch ticket. And they'll probably shine just by the mere fact that the vast majority, no, make that all, of the restaurants in the area just plain suck.

Kheak et Vero, 1 rue Alexandre Parodi, +33 1 40 34 58 11

Louloucam, 264 rue du Faubourg Saint Martin, +33 1 40 34 76 87

Marcel

Another "Why do I do this to myself" moment.

 In lieu of a review of the neo-bobo-Canalside-Indian, here are a few of my iPhone notes taken down during last night's dinner:

Lukewarm naan
Dishes come too quickly, definitely reheated.
More APC per square inch than an architect's office
Sneaking suspicion the basmati rice was that Uncle Ben's stuff you find on Monoprix shelves
Amy Winehouse on loop
Tired bobos with funky beards and vintage glasses desperately looking for the exotic
People tripping over the carpet every four seconds
Annoying and pervasive loud crowd murmur

I wanted to like it as it's in my hood, has a cozy deco and seems to be busy every night. But, as soon as I took in the ambiance and food I knew it was all going south...

Good vibes at Le Galopin

I did something last week at Le Galopin that I almost never, ever do. I ate there for both lunch and dinner. Firstly for lunch because the place intrigued me and I was at a loose end and needed to escape the pressures of my daily life and just..drunch. A Fooding review tipped me off (noone else outside of a couple Foodreporter types have latched onto this address yet, although rest assured they'll be in this weeks F-scope, followed by a parade of other blaggers and food journos..) and I thought, why not. This twenty-seater in a charming square (except for the dealers smoking hash and lurking outside eating sandwiches grec) is owned by none other than Romain Tischenko, former ZKG alumni and winner of the 2010 French Top Chef award and his (cloned?) brother. The 100,000 € competition cheque didn't cover a whole lot, so they did the deco themselves with the help of their dad, and the result is a friendly little place with a bar counter where neighbors stop by for a drink, and an open kitchen where Romain does his stuff. At lunch is a 19-24€ market inspired menu and in the evening time , 42€ for a no choice , seven dish chef's menu. While there was nothing mind-blowing on the plate (loved the brandade de morue "poppers" with yuzu) , I like this place. There's a positive vibe, good intentions and products, fair prices and I'm interested to see where Romain goes with it. Stay tuned.



              

Above dishes are: grilled eel with pleurottes mushrooms, roast free range chicken with beetroot and fennel

                                                And a really tasty fig sablé with cream

Le Galopin
place Sainte-Marthe
+33 1 42 06 05 03

Kaori Endo's Nanashi

Kaori Endo, Parisian transplanted journalist, cookbook writer, food consultant and former chef at Rose Bakery just opened a funky little eatery on the rue des Paradis under the patronage of Lionel Bensemoun (who was running around looking worried) of Le Baron fame. The deco is mismatched, arty , concrete, open kitchen with  lots of Japanese staff and an affable English bartender/barrista from Rose Bakery. Ideally located in the rapidly gentrifying dixieme, the 10€ bentos (takeaway, with marinated beef, fat Japanese rice and a salad with broccoli, rocket, daikon…) are a great deal and sure to do as well with the unadventurous office lunch population as with the bobos du coin. Also excellent banana bread, fondant au chocolat with yuzu and a daily changing pastry menu

Nanashi

31 rue de Paradis, 75010 Paris

                                          Takeaway bento

                                          Banana bread

                                          Moelleux au chocolat with yuzu

                                          Biodegradable packaging

Philou - perfect neighborhood bistro

I just keep coming back to this place, and would even trek across town for their well turned out cooking. Yesterday's lunch confirmed once again my opinion that Philippe Damas' Philou is one of Paris' most perfect little bistros. Forest mushroom "clafoutis" with gizzards, tasty entrecote and roasted potatoes, turbot with a panoply of mushrooms, and just two snafus: the incredibly long service towards the end of the meal (granted, they were full and it was a new waitress, but she did spend 30 minutes cleaning glasses...) and the Montblanc , certainly not up to the level of the other dishes..but hard to complain when three courses comes to 25€...

Forest mushroom "clafoutis"

Entrecote with roast potatoes

Turbot with mushrooms

Disappointing Montblanc

Philou
12 avenue Richerand, 10th
+33 1 42 38 00 13

La Bulle

Great winter comfort food at one of my locals, La Bulle, at the crossroads of the quickly bobo-izing Louis Blanc 'hood in the hinterlands somewhere between the Canal Saint Martin and the rue Cail Sri Lankan quarter. On the (great value15€, two dish lunch) menu: delicious tagliatelli loaded with mushrooms and pancetta, pailleron de boeuf with a delicious wine sauce and dorade cooked in olive oil with homemade purée. The new chef, formerly Flora Mikula's right hand man seems to be heating things up in this corner of the 10eme 

El Nopal, Mexican taqueria in Paris

Finally a real Mexican doing food in a little take away place just shy of the Canal Saint Martin. Two ex- Disney employees (Alejandro worked there because noone else would hire him as a non-French speaker), doing burritos, tacos (handmade dough rolled through a hand cranked machine), quesadillas and friendliness. Too bad the tortillas are ready made .. they refry their own beans and do everything made to order. 

Dishes 6,50€

El Nopal, 3 rue Eugène Varlin, 75010

Playtime in Paris

In a tiny side street off of Barbès lies this new restaurant, a stranger in a land of Doner and cheap snakeries, offering a pleasantly comforting and fusion-y menu from Viveka Sandklef, formerly of the Indigo Square in Bagnolet. One of the few Swedish chefs in Paris, she and her partner Jean Michel have created a nice little niche (very faux-50's/60's Eames) and a menu that went something like this: amuse bouche of fish quenelle and moutarde a l'ancienne, rabbit "kebab" (tasty) with honey/spice yoghurt sauce and cucumber carpaccio, tataki of salmon in nori with daikon and wasabi , filet of white tuna cooked in a nut crout en sel with a Parmesan biscuit and a creamy dashi and lard sauce, and a creme of vanilla/brebis with spiced apples (really delish). Service was predictably slow (Viveka was by herself in the dining room), but always with a smile and there seemed to be a lot of locals and walk-ins (the Figaroscope's two stars didn't seem to be in effect..). Clients: an English Russian translator from next door, a gay couple with stripey shirts and pointy shoes, a horribly dress coordinated French couple who changed their dishes at each course, and a bobo family that had a bit of trouble keeping their child in check.

P.S. If anyone out there knows where to get some aquavit in central Paris, please let me know..

playtime

5, rue des Petits Hotels, 10th

+33 1 44 79 03 98

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 ;)

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

Ari - Mme Shawn's Thai concept trainwreck

I knew I shouldn't have. I really did. But sometimes after a few too many glasses we all make stupid dining plans. Last night's was particularly disastrous, even more so coming from a restaurateur that I've been frequenting for a long time.

I've been going to Madame Shawn's discreet little Thai bistro for a few years now, and although I know it's not the most authentic , and that their staff seem to change mysteriously with each ship coming in from Bangkok, I've always been able to trust their food quality and consistency. In the last couple of years, Madame Shawn has built a sort of empire, with new establishments popping up in the upper Marais, the 11th, the 16th and two others near her original restaurant near the Canal Saint Martin.

The most recent opening is Ari, in what was formerly Le Sporting, a sort of fusion place with Asian, French and Asian/French specialties. The staff weren't really able to explain the concept, (or even speak much French to tell the truth) , but none of the dishes seemed to be done correctly with a general confusion pervading the room when dishes showed up. We probably should have left at this point, except that the lady who runs the place we knew from the original Madame Shawn was so happy to see us, the terrace was full of apparently happy, good looking people ,and those four pints....

We decided to keep it simple. I took the green papaya salad with dried beef. Why, I don't know, but Madame Shawn's original Som Tam is my favorite in Paris. Here it was a total miss. Not spiced enough, and covered in strips of blackened, tough meat. The Asian "Brie burger" proved to be pretty much inedible, dry, piled too high with ingredients to eat, and accompanied by frozen potato wedges.

Funnily enough, throughout the meal, images of Kitchen Nightmares were going through my head, with Chef Ramsey lurching off to the bathroom to retch. That feeling was reinforced when seeing a kitchen staff member leave men's room without washing hands.

So sorry Madame Shawn, with all due respect, there's no saving this place in it's current form. Advice: Reduce the menu drastically to simple "exotic" snacks, chic comfort foods, crank the ambient music, and turn this trainwreck of a concept into a Canal friendly lounge that'll pay the bills along the line and keep your rep unsallied.

La Bulle

Chiaapas