Posted by: restaurants - Posted in Restaurants on Mar 04, 2011

Small Bites readers: This is Paul Bratone, owner of Bistro Rollin in Pelham, reporting on his culinary trip to Paris last week. Sorry the delay in posting!

So today represented a unique opportunity — an intentional departure from our previous style of bistro meals.

After a light breakfast in the apartment of croissant, reblochon cheese, dry cured ham, duck confit rillettes (which is shredded duck confit meat mixed back in with duck fat to create a kind of heavenly pate) and fresh baguette, we waddled out the door to the next stop on our gastronomic tour de force.

L’Ecailler du Bistrot is famous for seafood of all kinds, particularly raw oysters, raised on the owners own oyster farm in Brittany. Given this reputation and our protruding waistbands, Manny and I decided that we were going all raw bar…but we ended up going LARGE.

At Bistro Rollin, oysters have become an important part of our menu. We now over at least four varieties on the half-shell almost every night and try to have a selection of both East Coast and West Coast. We are also very proud of the quality of our fish. So we were fascinated to see what full seafood Parisian bistro would be offering. We just had to just had have a large sample size a proper statistical analysis!

On the walk to the restaurant two things caught Manny’s eye! One in a food shop window. Now that is a quiche that any man would eat!

The second was at the curb. Let’s drive that to lunch!

Dad decided to skip lunch today, better to prepare himself for tonight’s sure-to-be-epic dinner at L’Ami Jean…but more on that in a few.

So Manny and I forged ahead, confident that we would be able to eat “light” at lunch and preserve our delicate constitutions….didn’t quite work out that way however…observe:

Wasn’t so much the raw shellfish plateau as the delicious bread, fantastic butter (two kinds, one w/ sea salt and the other infused with different types of seaweed) and the bottle of crisp Muscadet from Brittany.

Oh..and I almost forgot, an aperitif of champagne and an amuse bouche of salmon rillettes.

What you see on the platter are small sweet shrimp (eaten whole, heads and shells included) a few larger shrimp, a whole jumbo tourteau crab, two types of clams, a dozen oysters, fresh sea urchin, periwinkles, and whelks. To top it all off the owner sent us four Belon oysters that we slurped down with some fresh ground pepper on top – the owners suggestion. As I mentioned before….light lunch. Notice that Manny and I left no stone unturned.

They also offer a lobster menu, check out the Blue lobsters from Brittany that they bring in.

Cute little guy isn’t he?

At the beginning of our meal the waitress mentioned that the owner, Bertrand Auboymeau, would like to meet us and invited us to his other restaurant next door (Bistrot Paul Bert) for a coffee and a chat after lunch.

He was a great guy, friendly and open, we discussed his family oyster farm in Brittany, his plans for an organic vegetable farm to supply his restaurants, family, children and the like, truly enjoyable company.

He has a great way of storing his wine. He found old wooden doored refrigerators and had them refinished to store his wine and installed chalkboards on the inside of each door listing the wines in each locker

And to cap it all off he asked us where we were going for dinner that evening, when we told him it was “L’Ami Jean:…he said great choice, and mentioned that the chef happens to be a close friend of his. He grabbed one of his business cards, wrote a brief note on it, signed his name and told us to hand the owner the card when we got there and to put ourselves in his hands…should be interesting…stay tuned.

We exchanged emails and promised to stay in touch. We, of course, invited him to be our guest at Bistro Rollin and he said he would be delighted! With that we strolled back through the Paris streets thinking of dinner!

Paul Bratone



It is hard to believe that we are about to eat our last ‘bistronomique” dinner in Paris. Tomorrow is Sunday, and all the bistros we are interested in are closed. It will be a day for sightseeing and maybe some oysters at a brasserie. As you can imagine the week has flown by! But tonight is L’Ami Jean. When Paul and Manny were finishing lunch today, Bertrand Auboyneau, the owner  of Paul Bert, asked them where we had been eating and where were going tonight. When he heard L’Ami Jean he heartily approved and said that Chef Stephane Jego was a little crazy but one of his best friends, so he wrote a note on his card and told Paul to make sure he got it when we arrived! Sounded good and was good! We arrived at 8:00 when we had made all our reservations and were joined once again by our friend Marc.

We walked in and the place was jumping. Paul gave the card to the hostess and we hoped it would find it’s way to Chef Jego, and sat down at another plain wooden table pretty close to another similar table with four folks from Japan.

An extremely attractive and friendly server-manager got us seated and our waiter took over. We discussed having the tasting menu but it was 80 euros without wine and we were not looking to spend that kind of money on dinners. It was also seven courses and we were just not in the mood for that.

We asked the waiter for some suggestions and he recommended we start with a Charcuterie for the table. This was a Basque restaurant and they are known for their charcuterie. We agreed that would be how we would start. Turned out to be a great choice. An unbelievable selection of patés (that Marc said reminded him of those his mother used to make!) hams, sausages and other cooked meats began to arrive. Along with delicious baskets of bread!

Paul and I had decided to share a beef dish for two, Manny ordered the Sweetbreads, and Marc a Veal Chop as our main courses. So far, no evidence that our note to the chef had arrived! But after we had managed to do serious damage to the charcuterie, and would have been expecting our main courses, additional course began arriving. First was a delicious soup that even Chef had a hard time parsing out the ingredients, but all agreed it was extraordinarily good. This was followed by strange dish that we were never able to get a clear description of. The place was really busy by now and we didn’t want to pester the waiter too much. We all liked it but were not crazy about it. It was like everything we ate in France, very attractively presented, see the picture below.

We had now demolished a charcuterie big enough for 10, had a soup course, a third course and now arrives our mains! For Paul and me platters of beef topped by huge globs of beef marrow.

For Manny his sweetbreads

And for Marc his Veal Chop.

This is serious eating. I am proud of the work we are doing! Our waiter was terrific and he and Manny were having a ball.

We started with a Basque wine that was interesting but not our favorite, we then went to Cotes du Rhone that was perfect with the meats. Everything was delicious. Marc thought that his veal chop was a little underdone, but he can be a little picky at times. The table next to us was having the tasting dinner and it looked terrific. Next time I might give that a try.

An absolutely fabulous way to end our eating tour of Paris! Delightful servers, great food, wonderful ambiance. Warm, delicious, welcoming, what more could anyone want? Below is our chef. A little crazy...maybe? But crazy good...without doubt!

Arthur Bratone



So Friday morning we blew off our plans for lunch at ‘Dans Le Landes” the new bistro of Chef Julien Duboué from the acclaimed “Afaria” and instead head for the outskirts of Paris to the Ports de Versailles exhibition halls.

We arrived to throngs of people heading for the show. Fortunately it seemed most had bought their tickets before hand and we were able to quickly but three tickets for 12 euros each and head for the first building. At this time we had no idea the show was spread over seven massive halls!

We walked into a hall the size of the Javits Center in NYC, which was completely filled with livestock of an incredible variety.

Dozens and dozens of different beef cattle and cows, the largest weighing in at over 1600 kilos which over 3500 pounds! No need to ask “where’s the beef?” here.

In addition there untold varieties of lambs, pigs, goats, chickens, you name it! A huge rodeo ring with grandstands around it full of people where livestock of all types was being judged and sold. Some of the livestock had the name of the butcher, or in some cases, restaurant, who had bought the animal. You did have to watch your step since the various animals had to be led down the aisles to get to and from their pens and some substantial residue remained!

While this was all fascinating the area we had been directed to by Marc was the salon that held the exhibitions of foodstuffs of the all of various regions of France, i.e. Perigord where you find dozens of foie gras stands! Also, we were told we would find “bistros’ surrounding these exhibitions that were serving the various regional cuisines. Not knowing yet the scope of the exhibit we wandered into the next hall which was all flowers, and plants of all types.

We began to realize we seriously needed a map, other wise we could be there for days. We located one and found the correct exhibition hall and it was amazing. All of the regions of France have a section of the massive hall

Where purveyors of wine cheese, sausages, foie gras, hams, chocolates, patés… you name it and you will find it.

In fact Manny had been unable to find a source for Tarbais beans, the traditional bean used in Cassoulet. As we wandered through hall, sure enough we see a package of the beans and conversation with one the folks at the stand got us the name of their purveyor in New York. Now Manny’s cassoulet will be even better. As if that’s possible!

We found the Perigord section. You needed your cardiologist at your side. They are selling Foie Gras sandwiches. Thick slabs of foie gras terrine on baguettes. Chef wanted one of those so badly, but we had a big dinner coming up that night at Le Chateaubriand and had to not go crazy

In the 4- 5 hours we were there we barely scratched the surface. We tasted beers, wine, hams sausages, tiny paté in pastry

We finally succumbed to tired feet and our looming dinner and headed out, grabbed a cab and started to get ready for dinner. A truly unique experience! Would love to go back and spend a complete day.

Arthur Bratone

To confirm the status of Le Chateaubriand as "hot" suffice it to say that Chef  Rene Redzepi was there that evening as well, so we were in the house with the chef of the #1 restaurant in the world!  His place NOMA in Copenhagen bumped El Bulli from the top spot after a 10 year run. So we had Bistro Rollin checking it out and NOMA. NOMA was in good company!

There were four, count ‘em, four amuse bouche, and a "pre-amuse-bouche" which interesting for a cutting edge restaurant were a proto-typical traditional gougeres. The classic pate choux cheese puffs. These were lovely and excellent.

Then on the real amuse-bouche! The first was described as “live” baby shrimp quickly pan fried and served without adornment, they were tasty but nothing really special.

The next amuse was a small dish of haddock ceviche, clean and refreshing indeed but once again….just good, nothing GREAT about it – (thought as you will see from the empty bowls - we were so wrapped up in this food we forgot the picture until all three of us had downed them!)

Our thought was maybe this multi-course extravaganza was going to be a slow build that culminated in culinary fireworks – and besides, these were just the amuse bouche. Next and last of this first wave was a small piece of burrata w/ a few dried capers….and once again, meh….!

So on from the amuse bouche to the menu items…and here we really got going, first course was raw scallops with tamarind powder and purple potatoes – the dish was outstanding, the texture of the potatoes melding perfectly with the scallops, the tamarind powder providing a bracing finish.

But as quickly as the meal took off it the meal stalled – the next course of steamed turbot with a jus iberique was gorgeous as you will see belwo but when it came to taste - just OK - but nothing memorable. The blandness was continuing, not at all what we were anticipating!

And the final course of a take-off on veal blanquette that’s was flavored with smoked hay (huh?) and a foam of some sort fell completely flat. We all had to add salt and then it picked up. I think something went seriously wrong with this preparation in the kitchen!

The cheese course was classic and very good.

And the desserts were tasty (by this time we were so disappointed that we were trying to figure out what was going on a forgot to take pictures of the desserts!) But, it is hard to describe this meal as anything but a letdown. ……I wonder what Chef Redzepi  thought? In a conversation with another chef in Paris about our meal, he agreed that as much as he liked Chef Aizpitarte, he didn't like what he was doing at Le Chateaubriand

The wines, although very unusual were paired extremely well with the dishes. A couple of times we remarked that although we didn’t love the wines by themselves when we first tasted them, once we had a bite of food they made a lot of sense.

For you oenophiles;

Cuvee’ Prestige (Savignin) Jura, J.F. Ganevat

Ribolla Gravener (Ribolla Gialla, Sauvignon Blanc), Francesco Josko

Chambolle Musigny (Pinot Noir), Fred Cossard

So although I believe its unfair to judge a restaurant by just one meal, La Chateuabriand would rank towards the bottom of our experiences this trip, we’ll see what Inaki is up to next time we are in town – maybe we just caught him on an off night.

Paul Bratone



 If it’s Thursday, it must be L’Epigramme!

Foie gras terrine.

Time is flying. We are out late, waking up kind of late, since it has been a little overcast everyday (but perfect walking weather) and the days are shorter here since we are further north than NY, which not everyone realizes. That plus the arduous work of eating and writing, eating and writing is just brutal! But, we do the best we can.

We had a superlative lunch today, as you know at Jadis and we are having drinks tonight at 6:30 at our friends Henri and Chantal Capdeville’s beautiful apartment on Rue Dante, off the Boulevard Saint Germain in the 6th.

Then dinner at L’Epigramme which is just around the corner. Our friend Marc Briké, who lives in the neighborhood as well is also joining us. So there will be six for dinner tonight. Our friends have never heard of L’Epigramme, so we are teasing them that they need to contact us for recommendations as to where to eat in their neighborhood!

We now know what to expect, a small unpretentious restaurant, with a tiny kitchen (which we never fail to point out to chef!) and a friendly staff, though as it turns out, not as friendly here as in some our earlier visits!

We settle in to a comfortable table for six, surrounded by stone walls certainly hundreds of years old.

The place in tiny, we count 30 seats at most. This seems to be a family operation with father, mother and daughter handling the dining room. Chef Pierre Neveuserve was not very welcoming to Paul and Manny when they were offered a look into the kitchen, Granted it was tiny, and a fairly busy night (though we waited until things had quieted down before even approaching the kitchen!) It is not possible that everyone could be as open and welcoming as we had been experiencing, and the dining room staff was pleasant and professional at all times.

We started off with some excellent appetizers. I had a simple dish of Squid over Pureed Potatoes that was beautifully presented and terrific eating. Absolutely fresh, perfectly cooked squid with lovely edible flowers, and greens. Excellent!

Paul, had the same dish and as you can see it was presented a little differently. A nice touch.

Marc and Henri and Chef had the Foie Gras Terrine and the consensus from both sides of the Atlantic was that is was great. I had a taste and couldn’t have agreed more.

Chantal had a Pumpkin Cappuccino Soup with Prawns that she was also very enthusiastic about. I didn’t taste it but she is a wonderful cook and knows her food!

We then moved on to the Main Course, Paul and I had the Breast of Duck with Beets (you can see that we were slipping from making sure we all always ordered something different) An attractive presentation, though the plate looked a little bare. Neither one of us was too thrilled with this dish. The duck breast was huge, and a little tough, that might be the nature of the bird more than anything else, but the big beet didn’t do anything for us and didn’t seem to complement the duck in any significant way.

Our friend Henri had the Lamb, as you can see a beautiful presentation and he liked it very much. It appeared to be cooked perfectly and was accompanied by an attractive stack of Mushrooms and a Celery Root Puree.

Chef had the Cod over Risotto with a Lemon Grass Foam. Great to look at but disappointing in the mouth. Again a very fresh piece of fish, but poorly seasoned so that the overall experience was bland.

For dessert I had a poached pear, because I love pears and we do one at Bistro Rollin, so I was interested in the presentation and the taste. It came out looking great and it was very good eating. The tuile cooking with it had chocolate woven into the mix and was delicious and pear was poached perfectly and nice fresh finish to the meal.

Chef had Chocolate cake with a Molten Chocolate center and Meringue topping. He thought it was excellent, and reminded him very much one they did at L’Absinthe in Manahattan where he was the Sous for several years. I tasted some of his and got a great chocolate jolt!

All and all a very good meal. We would all go back, though not up to the standards of Regalade, Saturne or Jadis, but all the same a meal that anyone would feel lucky to have had!



 I am picking up the blog with arguably the best meal we have had during the trip, at a restaurant named Jadis.

Chicken sous vide with black truffles.

First — a little explaining. We won’t be getting to our 12 bistros in 6 days. On Wednesday night, we were swayed off our path by a friend of my father’s who lives in Paris and suggested that a must for me and chef, essentially both first-timers in Paris, was to meet for drinks at Cafe Flor on Boulevard St. Germain. It was great, a tourist spot for sure, but still a great place to have a drink and people watch. We did not have dinner reservations that night but were planning to pick from one of our extensive list of back up bistros. But Marc, our Parisian friend insisted that we needed a break from French food and that we must go his favorite Indian restaurant. The more I protested that I really didn’t like Indian food very much the more Marc insisted I had never had really good Indian food!  So it was that we were dragged kicking and screaming.  Suffice it to say, we had a great time and the food was OK – a slight detour to cleanse our palates and a lot of fun.

But now, a little background on Jadis……. typical Parisian bistro decor, spare room, about 30 seats, no table cloths.

Me, left, chef Manny in the center and on the right, chef is William Delage:

He was trained by Michel Bras, Pierre Gagnaire and Frederic Anton. The place has been open around 5 years, chef is 30 years old. So as you can see – a perfect example of our target restaurant in Paris, young chef, classically trained in top-notch Parisian kitchens who strikes out his own to make his own mark on the world…..and quite a mark it is, lets get started because this was a FANTASTIC meal in every aspect.

To start, the waiter not only remembered that we were restaurateurs visiting from the states but that we were from Pelham…very impressive.

A couple of recurring themes that we saw once again at Jadis, as I mentioned before, no tablecloths but elegant linen napkins, high-end crystal and cutlery, no bread and butter in the table until the apps arrived. The bread and butter thing was intriguing so we asked the waiter about this custom and he said it was a very simple economic decision, the bread and butter is so good  —

— that diners would fill up on it and not order a first course, makes sense doesn’t it…I wonder how our customers would react if we held ou on the bread until apps arrived (cue sounds of riot starting).

So onto the food…and oh what food it was.

I started with the charcuterie platter, seven different types of cured meats on the plate, saucission, blood sausage, chorizo just to name a few of them, each a unique and contrasting taste…check it out:

As good as my appetizer was, it paled in comparison to the two others. Manny put himself in the chef’s hands (smart man), and his first course was a beef, spider crab and mackerel tartare…observe:

It’s hard to describe the ethereal blend of textures and flavors, the fish and crab mellowing the rich flavor of the beef, the most interesting take on tartare I have ever experienced. Arthur had an equally impressive appetizer. It was called oeuf poch’ en muerette, salade de pissenlits et lard ce cul noir what we called it was the best bacon and eggs that could ever be conceived. Egg was medium poached (perfectly, of course), the lard and sauce complemented each other perfectly…..truly amazing.

As good as the apps were, the entrees exceeded them, so without further adieu…I chose the grilled scallops with Jerusalem artichokes and chorizo.

The scallops perfectly cooked, light, sweet and juicy, the chokes and chrizo sat in a greaseless emulsion that complemented the ingredients without overwhelming any aspect of the dish…in a word…..WOW.

Manny had chicken cooked sous vide smothered in black truffles (chefs choice again) that was without exaggeration the most perfectly cooked fowl I have ever encountered. And although I am prone to overstatement and irrational exuberance (as our Parisian friend tactfully pointed out at dinner the other night), this is no joke – moist, tender, full of flavor with each ingredient discernible without overwhelming any of the others.

Arthur had a stuffed veal breast also cooked sous vide, and the result was the same. Perfectly cooked meat, with the sauce melding together with the stuffing to create a cohesion of flavors that was outstanding….another triumph.

Almost forgot – a wonderful wine to accompany the meal as well, a St. Aubin white burgundy – crisp and delicious.

On to desserts – check these out…visually stunning…oui?

Pot de crème au cafe for Manny:

Pistachio floating island in a chocolate crème anglaise for me:

Sicilian citrus tart with meringues for Arthur:

I could go on and on again about how awesome they were. This was very special. Chef Delage has been getting the respect he deserves and we discussed his plans for his second restaurant scheduled to open in June on the Boulevard St. Germain near Notre Dame! Keep and eye out for it!



Well, now we are hitting our stride! Paul is back and chomping at the bit (literally!) But, before I describe our second day, I have to digress to the original title for this trip (by way of full disclosure – not my idea!) which was – “12 Parisian Bistros in 6 Days- Can it be Done?” We have only been here two and a half days but we (or at least I) have the answer, and it is a resounding NO! At least not by me. This does not mean we are not hitting some great eateries, but twice a day is tough, very tough.

Yesterday, we had lunch at Saturne, a new bistro in the financial district, that had received a wonderful write up in the Sunday NY Times a few weeks ago, It is under the direction of Chef Sven Chartier, all of 23 years old! Our hopes are high again after our fabulous dinner at Le Régalade the night before… and we are not disappointed! We had another outstanding meal by a young man who would barely be out of college if he had gone that route. (Thank goodness, he chose cooking instead)

Once again, we introduced ourselves as the owners and chef of restaurant in New York, and explained where Pelham was. (Sometimes necessary even for people from Westchester!) and were warmly welcomed and told that “their home was our home.” Pretty nice way to start a meal. And, what meal! Anybody who claims that the French have lost their culinary way, is clearly not paying attention.

The menu at Saturne is extremely brief, at least at lunch. Three choices each of apps, mains and dessert. I apologize for not having a copy of the menu, we simply forgot to ask for one or to photograph it. We were too wrapped up in the food! But, as a result of the small menu between the three of us, we were able to sample everything!

Paul started with a Scallop Soup with Seafood Custard and Fresh Herbs:

.

Chef had a plate of paper thin slices of Spanish Ballota Ham, sliced in front of us on a beautiful had cranked slicer:

More gorgeous photos — and the chef — after the jump.

and I had a extraordinary salad of Charred Scallions, Cockles, and Wild Foraged Greens with a light Foam Dressing.

Wow!  Every dish was superb, with surprises coupled with absolute freshness and quality of ingredients, under the guidance of real talent. The Scallop Soup had the wonderfully flavored seafood custard at the bottom, so as you dipped you spoon into the soup you picked up the custard from the bottom! The ham was just that – perfect in its simplicity, with chunks of their wonderful bread. My salad was again creative and delicious. Lightly charred baby scallions, tiny cockles out of their shells, and unidentifiable but wonderfully fresh and perfectly seasoned herbs.

We had asked for a wine recommendation and our waiter (no sommeliers in these places) recommended a red from Languedoc that I had never heard of, called “Promise” from the Domaine Fontedicto, that was fantastic. A perfect balance of fruit and structure, with a clarity that reminded us of the food we were eating. It is primarily Grenache and Syrah, with some Carignan.

Don’t know if it is available in the States but if it is you will find it on Bistro Rollin’s wine list!

For main courses, I had the Merlu ( a white meat delicate fish reminiscent of a sole) with a sublime white sauce of what ingredients I do not know, but I do know it was great and perfect with the fish. Served with lightly braised onions, and accompanied by baby red lettuce.

It was Paul’s turn to try a Roasted Suckling pig and this time we were in the right place for it. Moist and flavorful, served with a deconstructed Boudin Noir (Blood Sausage) that had been taken out of the casing and puréed and smeared across the plate to mix with the pork. A root vegetable quenelle the color of pumpkin and locally sourced field greens.

Chef Pintard, which is a Guinea Hen, Roasted to perfection, the skin crisp, and the meat moist and full of intense natural flavor. It was served with the same garnish as Paul’s Suckling Pig.

Dessert was herb ice creams, by this time were in conversation with the chef and I neglected to get pictures of the desserts, but they were two varieties offered. One a bright green that our best guess was sorrel, and the other might have been yams. They were beautiful to look at and refreshing and delicious. Ah, yes, I forgot we did order some cheese before dessert and it came in an unusual format. A thinly sliced pile of perfect Comté cheese, which when eaten with the house made bread was excellent.

The just about perfect meal from a 24 year old chef. Innovative, perfectly balanced locally sourced. Chef Chartier explained the difficulty of sourcing local ingredients in the winter. He said even the fish he buys directly from dayboats was hard to find because of the very tough winter they had been having. He is in the process of developing his own farm in Brittany and hopes to be sourcing a lot of his ingredients from there next year.

A delightful young man with an equally young and totally pleasant young and professional staff.

A great experience in every way. Highly, highly recommended!!

Related:
Paris Day 1: Lunch at L’AOC and dinner at Le Régalade St. Honoré.
Paris: Massaging our Itinerary.
Paris: Our Itinerary.
Paris: Bistro Rollin Does 12 Bistros in 12 Days.



Hi, Arthur Bratone, owner of Bistro Rollin in Pelham here, reporting on our first day in Paris!

What a day! It all started off looking pretty good…in fact very good. Our flight over was uneventful and an hour early. We had arranged for someone from the apartment rental agency to meet us and turn over the keys and other basics, but since we were so early she wasn’t there yet when we arrived. So we parked our bags in the little courtyard inside the door from the street (we had the door code via email) and went off looking for a place for coffee. We found a spot around the corner, with folks on their way to work popping in already for their cup of coffee (at 1.5 euros-a lot cheaper than Starbucks) and we settled in to soak up a little Parisian street life. After a bit I called our contact who apologized and said she would meet us at the apartment in a few minutes. We finished up our second round of coffees and headed back to the apartment where Agnes was waiting, She was gracious and helpful and apartment is gorgeous and huge. Three bedrooms and baths, two living rooms, a full modern kitchen, all spread over three floors and facing a courtyard.
We unpacked and began to get ready for our first meal but some ominous signs began to appear. My son, Paul, said he wasn’t feeling very well but we all thought it was jet lag and everything would be fine, so we headed off for lunch at L’AOC on the rue Fosse Saint Bernard in the 5th not far from where my wife and I had lived, and while not one of our first choices, had come highly recommended.
We took the metro —

— and by the time we got there Paul was sinking fast. We all sat down for lunch in a very attractive wood paneled and mirrored dining room with a nice crowd for a Tuesday during school holidays. But, in a couple of minutes Paul had to excuse himself and headed for the men’s room! He then spent the rest lunch throwing up or walking in the cold sunny air trying not to. He had contracted a stomach virus at the worst possible time: Our first day of an eating tour of Paris. He was distraught to say the least! And, so were we. This was meant to be a group exercise all lending our differing views and all sharing in the experience. Losing one of us was very depressing. Our only hope was that he would rally quickly.
By that time lunch had been ordered and was on its way, so Manny and I soldiered on. Paul did not miss much in this first very disappointing meal. Before Paul crashed he had ordered a frisee salad, something that we pride ourselves on at Bistro Rollin. It came our looking very attractive, but the egg was hard-boiled! A cardinal sin. You need the yolk soft so that when you cut into it the yolk will mix in with the vinaigrette and create the wonderful silky smooth texture that works so well with the slightly bitter frisee and salty bacon lardons.

I had ordered a fish soup that was a daily special. It looked good as it was ladled into my bowl by our server, but lacked any distinctive flavor, was not hot enough, and had a dollop of a rouille of some type in the center that was actually cold and tasteless. All and all a very disappointing dish.
Manny had chosen much better and had ordered the bone marrow with garlic toast. It looked and smelled great when it arrived and tasted delicious, though Manny and I agreed that the toast had too much garlic and that overwhelmed the subtle taste of the bone marrow.

Small problem in a very good dish.  We both had pork dishes, he a suckling pig and I had a chop. Neither very good, both rather dry and tasteless. Nothing learned here,,,except maybe that Bistro Rollin is a lot better than at least on Paris bistro!
We were scheduled for dinner at Le Régalade St. Honoré, the second restaurant for chef Bruno Ducet, who has established a stellar reputation over the past 7 years at the original Régelade in the outlying 14th arrondissement. In spite of his reputation and our deep desire to go, to tell you the truth with jetlag catching up with us and Paul going down, Manny and I weren’t sure we would be ready to go again in 3-4 hours, but we decided to go back to the apartment take a short nap and decide then.

Fortunately for us we felt revived after our nap and even though Paul was still down we decided to go on to Régelade for dinner. And, boy were we glad that we did. An outstanding dining experience in a modest, unpretentious place, but suffused with warmth and hospitality and some of the best food that chef and I agreed we had had in a very long time — all for 120 euros for the two of us.

We introduced ourselves as the owner and chef of French bistro outside of NYC and were immediately asked if we would like to meet and talk with the chef. We, of course said we would be delighted. Two very efficient and professional young women handled the entire small dining room. Food was prepared in a small but very well equipped kitchen partially open and passed directly to the servers at one end of the dining room.

We studied the menu and the specials written on a chalkboard – no restaurant computers here. As they ran out of specials one of the young ladies who come over with a damp cloth and wipe it off the chalkboard. We, of course, each ordered a different dish at each course. But, before you even order they bring a huge beautiful paté in a ceramic crock to the table with large jar of cornichons, wooden tweezers to pick them up and some fabulous freshly baked bread. This could easily be a meal in itself.
As we started on the paté (which that night was chicken liver and pork) we placed our order. I started off with Calamari over a Risotto cooked in the ink.

Chef ordered Vegetable Cannelloni.

Sounds like we are in Italy not France, but almost every bistro offers a pasta and risotto option, but done in a very French style. They were beautifully presented and utterly delicious. Perfectly seasoned, and  wonderful combinations of textures and tastes. As we were scraping up the morsels, Chef Doucet came out. A young, dynamic handsome guy, who is working like crazy running two great restaurants in the opposite sides of town.

Later on, as we were walking away after dinner, we saw him hop in his motorcycle and head off to his other restaurant to check on things before they closed. He was interested in what we were doing and chef and he had a great conversation while I listened in.

He went back to work and so did we! After the fabulous starters we find a mid-course arriving as Chef Doucet’s treat. A menu item which we had considered. Scallops still in their shells with paper thin slivers of late winter black truffles on top and tiny croutons to soak up the natural juices from the scallops.

Only one thing to say – Outstanding! Again gorgeous to look at, and even better to eat.

Next, were our main courses. I had the Turbot over Sautéed Mushrooms of several varieties —

— and Chef had Pigeon with Black Truffles that came with a side of Whipped Celery Root. Both excellent, but not quite up to the extraordinary standards of the first courses, but only because the bar had been set so high!

I finished with Grand Marnier Soufflé and Chef had a Cheese plate.

My soufflé was light as air and perfect end to the meal.

Chef’s cheese completely unadorned. No dried fruits, no quince paste, no nuts, nothing but three perfect pieces of chevre and some more of their delicious bread!

So ended our first day. It is now Wednesday, and the good news is Paul has fully rallied and was able to join us for another fabulous meal today for lunch, but more on that tomorrow!



One that we were very much looking forward to visiting is “Afaria” under the direction of Chef/Owner Julien Duboué, but they are one of those closed next week. Fortunately Chef Doboué has just opened a new spot at 119 rue Monge in the 5^th about two blocks from where my wife, Barbara, and I lived in Paris, under the name “Dans Les Landes” and they are open.

Patricia Wells had this to says on his new venture

“Anyone in the mood for a quick, inexpensive, hearty lunch should head over to the 5th and the month-old Dans les Landes, the second restaurant of a 15th arrondissement favorite, Afaria. A rambling café just steps from the Rue Mouffetard market and the charming St Médard square, (It is a wonderful neighborhood and I am looking to revisiting it!) this smart little spot is full of varied tapas-style tastes from France’s southwest, including meaty grilled quail breasts; tender fried chipirions (baby squid) sprinkled with a touch of sweet pepper (photo); good spare ribs (travers de porc) marred by a sauce that was much too sweet; and an adorable salade landaise, a take on Asian spring rolls: foie gras, salad and duck breast wrapped in rice paper and cut into bite-sized pieces.”

Looks good and sounds good to us! We are scheduled for lunch here next Friday

The second change is our first scheduled meal, next Tuesday’s lunch. We were planning on going to Le Baratin a very highly regarded bistro under Chef Raquel Carena, but they are also closed next week, so we have substituted “Restaurant L’AOC” that has gotten some rave reviews for the quality of their ingredients, and the hospitality of the owners. L”AOC is developing a reputation as a place for meat lovers. With dishes like:

Beef prime rib of Normande breed, for 2 people

Entrecôte Normande

Beef prime rib Simmenthal of Bavaria, for 2 people

Entrecôte Simmenthal of Bavaria

Flank steak tartare, chopped when ordered

Beef tartare (French bovine) chopped when ordered

We are looking forward to doing our part in sampling and reporting on the beef of France!

The rest of our schedule is as planned, but we are always prepared for any last minute changes. There is no shortage of alternatives in Paris!



Here we go. We arrive in Paris about 7:00am on Tuesday, February 22^nd and there is no rest for the weary, we start right in with lunch at noon (A.J. Liebling would be proud of us!) at. Le Baratin 3 rue Jouye-Rouve, in the 20th arrondissement where chef Raquel Carena's fabulous home-style cooking draws the likes of Joël Robuchon who is often seen there after hours.

That evening at 8pm we go to La Régalade Saint-Honoré, 123 rue St-Honoré, in the 1st arrondissement, the very heart of Paris. Chef Bruno Doucet's menu has been a phenomenal hit ever since it opened seven months ago. The fresh tasting and precisely executed cuisine du marché includes dishes like free-range Basque pork belly on a bed of lentils and cod steak with wilted spinach.

On Wednesday, it is lunch at Restaurant Saturne,17 rue Notre Dame des Victoires, Saturne is dedicated to elevating wild and rigorously sourced artisanal ingredients.under the direction of 24 year old chef Sven Chartier.

Wedneday night it is Frenchie, 5 Rue du Nilin the 2^nd arrondissement, again the heart of Paris. We have selected our dinner sites a little closer in to make getting around easier. The brilliant market-menu cooking of chef Gregory Marchand features cosmopolitan dishes like crab-stuffed ravioli with parsley juice and shellfish. Sounds interesting!

Thursday lunch is Jadis (which means “in times gone by”) 208 rue de la Croix-Nivert, in the15th arrondissement. Talented young chef Guillaume Delage serves a menu that veers between contemporary French bistro cooking, like sea bream in a wasabi cream sauce with sweet potato purée—and stalwarts like roast shoulder of lamb with white beans, tomatoes, and black olives.

Thursday Dinner is at L'Epigramme, 9 rue de l'Eperon, in the 6^th. A very tony and elegant part of town. Chef Pierre Neveu serve's first-rate contemporary French bistro cooking that includes dishes like braised veal with roasted artichokes and duck filet in a jus of blackcurrant liqueur with a side of new potatoes.

Friday lunch is open at the moment, believe it our not, but Friday night we go to  Le Chateaubriand, 129 avenue Parmentier, n the 11^th. Alec Lobrano, an American food writer located in Paris says The first time I ate chef Inaki Aizpitarte's cooking, it knocked me out, and he's only gotten better since he set up shop at this sepia-toned former grocery store. Aizpitarte's globally influenced "cuisine de vagabonde" exhibits stunning imagination, as in dishes like sea bass with red chicory and lemon crème fraîche

Saturday Lunch is at L'Ecailler du Bistrot 22 rue Paul Bert, in the 11^th. Again quoting Mr. Lobrano, ..this may be the best seafood-oriented bistro in Paris, with impeccable fish at reasonable prices. Try briny Utah Beach oysters from Normandy or a terrific line-caught grilled sole with baby potatoes sautéed in salted butter and fresh tarragon”

Saturday night is L'Ami Jean 27 rue Malar, in the 7^th. Not too far from the Eiffel Tower. Chef Stephane Jego, who worked under bistro wizard Yves Camdeborde, founder of La Régalade serves market-driven southwestern French and Basque cooking.

On Sunday we rest and on Monday we fly home!