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...)

Buddha Bar World Backpacker Domination

Finally the Buddha Bar people have found their niche. Unfortunately, the (formerly) trendy Parisian restaurant , which at last check was cool about ten years ago has decided to cash in on their biggest crossection of clientele: namely, The Backpacker. Those pour souls, who, in following their sadly outdated guidebooks and their hopelessly clueless friends (who last visited the town a decade ago in the BB's heyday), congregate in the Buddha bosom, eying hungrily the tourist trap gift shop CD collection before sharing a Japanese beer at the bar. The genius of it all is that they have opened Prague's "trendiest" hotel, and will be capitalizing on this easily impressionable , and easy to fool clientele. Bravo!

La Crise

I've been going out a lot less to restaurants lately (aside from my freelance testing activities..) because my funding has been (for whatever reason we won't get into here) rather limited. Hopefully this will change soon enough, however in the mean time, if any wealthy anonymous benefactors feel like chipping in, please don't hesitate to fill up the tip box on my blog page. All major credit cards accepted ;) , and you can live vicariously through me....

Far be it for me to criticize crazy ass ideas, but this........?!!?

Passage moment

I was watching them film this while I enjoyed a Hugo Desnoyer veal tartar with Gillardeau oysters...

Why didn't Condé Nast put up Gourmet for sale?

Old School Writing

Thanks for the thanks

...wish I could have been there..

Le Fooding d'Amour pix

Looks like the first pix of the Fooding d'Amour are coming in...

Think my day might start with a Spicy Chai to go at Mad Vicky's Tea Gallery, followed by a visit to Tartes Kluger.