259712 Thu Oct 05 00:04:25 -0700 2000 23 26 International 0 1372785 Going to Paris in 2 weeks...looking for some really good food, specifically fish dishes, in the 4th, 6th and/or 8th Ar.....WOuld love some ideas....Haven't been to Paris in 14 years... Thu Oct 05 00:04:25 -0700 2000 0 Lisa Pincus 1 1372793 Here are my diary entries from a visit to Paris in March 2000 from the three restaurants where I had seafood dishes. The seabass starter at the first one was so memorable, I can taste it still and it was perfect with a glass of Champagne. LES BOOKINISTES Quai de Grand Augustines (6e) Part of the Guy Savoy empire. NV Champagne Chouilly Guy Savoy blanc de blanc 12cl 60ff med gold, yeasty & rich complexity, rounded acidity. VERY GOOD 96 Bordeaux Rouge Guy Savoy 14cl 25ff simple, soft, fruity, not very interesting, cleanly made. GOOD 88 Coteaux du Layon Moulin Touchais 14cl 38ff brassy yellow, honeyed nose w/minerality & white smoke, clean acidity, in the mouth pineapple, roasted pears & touch of bacon fat, lightly sweet, round finish. VERY GOOD Seabass tartare in lemoned oil w/black radish, soja & purslane 68ff Veal shank stewed with lucques olives and sage 108ff Assorted cheese plate 48ff perfectly ripened Comte, Chevre St. Maure & Bleu d'auvergne * * * * * A walk along the Champs d'Elysee brought me to Spoon, an Asian/Italian/French casual bistro owned by Alain Ducasse, the 6-starred Michelin chef. I had made my reservation on the web site but never received confirmation back. When the hostess check her lunch list, and said a firm "Non", I mustered up my best imitation of Gallic attitude to say, "a la e-mail!", at which point she conferred with the manager, and they decided to seat me. No wine for me this meal, however the list was 2/3's non-French heavy with selections from Calif., Oz, New Zealand and South America, and some of the top Italian & Spanish producers. SPOON FOOD & WINE 14-rue de marignan (8e, in Hotel Sofitel) tel 33 03 1 40 76 34 44 fax 33 01 40 76 34 37 www.spoon.tm.fr menu in english amusees of asparagus mousse & white cheese with toasted croutons crab minestrone w/nori leaves 80ff molded block of colorful diced vegetables layered w/dried seawed, then crab bisque poured from a pitcher at the table raw and cooked grilled squid 150 ff rouoaille mango, flattened potatoes w/parsley & olive oil very spicy, out of balance, this chef doesn't understand Asian ingredients yet plate of greasy from too much butter chocolate chocolate chip with walnuts and white chocolate chip. * * * * * Dinner was at a relative newcomer to the Paris wine bar scene in an area known for fish markets. The name is a play on words, the prior tenant was a poissonerie. When the Brit owner heard I was from San Francisco he asked me to give his regards to Tony Poirer of Hayes & Vine and his new assistant (who used to work for him). I attracted a bit of attention from the locals with 5 glasses of wine on the table, but at these prices I couldn't resist. FISH – LA BOISSONERIE 69 rue de seine (6e) 61 43 54 34 69 95 Rapatel Costieres de Nimes Blanc 12cl 24ff too cold at first to show much, then floral, peach pit, blanched almond nose & palate, more viscous & almost oily in texture w/warming suggests Rolle in the cepage, mouthcoating finish. VERY GOOD 98 Puech d'Hortes VDP Cotes Libron 14ff young nose w/anise, smoke, toast, blackberry, hint of prunes & reductive notes in fruity nose, leaner in the mouth w/black fruits, licorice & some gaminess, tight & linear impression. GOOD 98 Ferrer Empreinte des Temps Cotes du Roussillon 22ff black fruits, prunes & leather in quiet nose, chewy tannins on entry w/balance & stucture to benefit from a couple-three years in the cellar, broad, not that deep yet. VERY GOOD 98 Dom Piccinini Clos Dangeley Minervois 27ff black fruits & berries, anise & stoney character in very ripe nose, gripping entry w/chalky tannins, some new wood contribution of roasted nuts, good core of blackberry fruits, mineral & spice, rich & deep, lasts well, finishes on the tart side holding down its score. VERY GOOD 98 Aurelles Solen Coteaux du Languedoc 38ff broader & deeper nose, some VA lifts black stone fruits & blackberry character, hint of garrigue, rich & open knit in the mouth w/impressive concentration & intensity, bite of youthful tannins cloaked by richly nuanced fruit expression, ripe, bold & aggressive, full bodied w/ warm alcohol, turns earthy in heavy ending. Needs a few years in the cellar. EXCELLENT filets de rouget provencal 87ff cantal w/seasonal greens & hazelnut oil 30ff tarte au chocolat coulis au poire au gingembre 92 dom maury dore maury 38ff - the tarte was created for this wine, a perfect match with a rancio nose, deep black fruits, chocolatey nuance, moderate sweetness & a hint of spice. VERY GOOD Thu Oct 05 17:50:45 -0700 2000 1372785 0 Melanie Wong 2 1372794 Holy cow melanie, are you drinking GLASSES of wine at these places or are you having three to five bottles per meal? If the latter... I hope you went with some friends! Either way, Sounds like you had a blast... Thu Oct 05 18:19:44 -0700 2000 1372793 0 Jason "damn!" Perlow 3 1372795 I mentioned this somewhere before, but there is a small place that just opened in July on Rue Ponthieu in the 8th, called La Maline. It isn't specifically a seafood place, but I had a very good fish dish. I think it was dorade, pan-fried on a bed of fava beans. Rue Ponthieu runs parallel to and east of the Champs-Elysees. La Maline is on the east side of the street, a couple of blocks north of Rue du Colisee. If you are interested, I think I could dig up the phone number. I also ate a couple of times at Cap Vernet. It isn't my favorite place in terms of atmosphere (though I never got to eat outside, which might be more pleasant) and tends towards the touristy, but it has a reliably yummy cold seafood platter. This is served in many places in Paris and shouldn't be missed -- a decent version will have oysters, clams, mussels, two kinds of shrimp, periwinkles, and another kind of snail. Cap Vernet is on the Etoile/Place Charles de Gaulle (the traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe). Approaching the circle from the Champs-Elysees, it's to the left one or two spokes. Also just off the Etoile is Maison Prunier, a two-Michelin-star seafood place. It's beautifully decorated in 20s/30s style and has a small room upstairs modeled after the dining room on an old trans-Atlantic cruise ship. I didn't think the food was quite so wonderful, but it was good. Another not-really-seafood place is Benoit, an old, lovely place south of the Pompidou Center on (I think) Rue St Martin. I had terrific skate wings there. This is a really old-style, not-too-formal French restaurant -- great food, great ambiance, and warm service. Thu Oct 05 18:36:52 -0700 2000 1372794 0 Sirina 4 1372796 I had another thought . . . if you are on the Champs-Elysees and want to get something to eat quickly, walk down Rue Washington (runs east from the Champs, about 3-4 blocks south of the Arc de T). On the left just a few shops down, there's a pretty decent Middle Eastern place that does both takeout and table service. Further down (maybe two blocks) and on the right is a great traiteur (caterer/takeout). I don't remember the name, but it's between a bakery and a dry cleaner. Everyone in my husband's office used to get lunch here. Real, home-cooked French food -- boiled crayfish, poached salmon, roast beef, creamed spinach, couscous, pureed carrots, eggs in aspic, blanquette de veau, cheeses, drinks, bread, salads, and desserts from creme caramel to plum tarts. The slight drawback is that their packaging is very flimsy -- you can't stick your tin of potatos au gratin in your backpack and run to the Metro. But it's much better than getting a hamburger on the Champs. Oh, another seafood place in the 8th, but not French -- there is a Danish restaurant on the east side of the Champs, north of Rue Washington. Lots of salmon and also has a takeout area. Thu Oct 05 18:48:31 -0700 2000 1372795 0 Sirina 5 1373870 really enjoyed your notes......wife and i are going to paris march 19 for three days, then on a river boat for seven days, ending at nice....and stay there for three days. neither of us has traveled in France.....any other suggestions for rests. in the heart of the city would be appreciated Sun Feb 11 22:54:54 -0800 2001 1372796 0 g hud smith 3 1372800 Last time I checked, 12 cl meant twelve centilitres. (g) Thu Oct 05 21:25:37 -0700 2000 1372794 0 Melanie Wong 4 1372801 is that (g) for grin or grams? It may be what the rest of the world is doing, but boy am I glad the US hasn't been forced to convert to the metric system yet. I dont think I could ever get used to it. It blows me away that the english are managing to sort of pull it off. 12 centiliters? what the hell is that? 500 ml I understand.. sort of ... Thu Oct 05 22:23:05 -0700 2000 1372800 0 Jason "Metric SUCKS!" Perlow 5 1372802 12 centiliters=120 milliliters. In Europe, they talk cl, not ml, but so what? Just divide by 10. Thu Oct 05 22:50:34 -0700 2000 1372801 0 Caitlin 5 1372855 Prices for a glass of wine were so low, I had to try as many as looked interesting to me. Since I dined alone, it attracted some attention and a fellow diner or two would have to ask about my interest. In Fish, a woman brushed by and jostled my table and ratteled the 5 glasses of wine. Instinctively, I grabbed the nearest glass with my right hand, leaving the water bottle to crash on the tile floor. A Frenchman who was sitting across at the bar, who I hadn't noticed at all, turned and said, "good show, you saved ze wine, zat is only water!" Mon Oct 09 01:44:30 -0700 2000 1372801 0 Melanie Wong 1 1372798 I was in Paris in August. Like Melanie I also ate at Les Bookinistes.I had a big lunch there,same menu as for dinner. For dinner you should reserve way in advance ,otherwise you will only get a 10 o'clock table.The Maitre De and the staff are very friendly. I had a tuna steak perfectly cooked,leave it up to the chef.Desserts are very good. Drank a fruity Pouilly Fume,very reasonable and tasty. The place is a Yuppie modern type restaurant with very good food. It's right by the Seine. They also have Chilian Sea Bass but they call it Hogfish. I told the Maitre de you can also call it by another ugly name-Patagonian Toothfish. Thu Oct 05 18:54:02 -0700 2000 1372785 0 howard 2 1372799 I'm glad you had a good time at Les Bookinestes too. I understand it's in Patricia Welles book and many Americans are disappointed apparently. I had a wonderful time. There was a problem with my reservation, but the maitre d' said - you're here now, we'll find a way. I was expecting the cart to roll out for the cheese course. When my waiter said the kitchen will choose for you, I could feel one eyebrow go up, but I decided to trust 'em. Probably would not have made the same selection of cheeses myself, but each was at the peak of maturity and just the right thing. Thu Oct 05 21:24:22 -0700 2000 1372798 0 Melanie Wong 3 1372806 Pat Wells Paris restaurant columns can be read at www.iht.com the site for the International Herald Tribune.She writes very well and has good taste. Thu Oct 05 23:46:04 -0700 2000 1372799 0 howard 4 1372807 One of my friends has had very bad luck with her recommendations. But he's the only one, everyone else has been happy. I picked up her provencal cookbook at a used bookstore recently and have been experimenting. Fri Oct 06 00:33:20 -0700 2000 1372806 0 Melanie Wong 5 1372808 Even though I read the IHT everyday in Paris I only read her archived reviews when I got back home. One opinion I agreed with, another I didn't of the places I've been to.For Les Bookinistes I got the recommendation from a friend who was lucky enough to be in Paris for the 2000 New Year. I love that city.God is it beautiful. Fri Oct 06 00:48:01 -0700 2000 1372807 0 howard 6 1372826 I was at Les Bookinistes in Easter week 1997, and while I only remember one dish ( escargot appetiser served in litle pasta shells - cute, but no big deal) I do remember the lousy attitude one member of the staff gave us. When we got to the rest., the young woman hostess "sized us up" as a couple of non-francophone rubes and when our server came over to us, graciously serving our dishes with appropriate comments in French, she leaned over the bar and said to him, (in French) "you don't need to do that, they don't understand French". Needless to say, I was incensed, and the meal, at least for me, was ruined. Fri Oct 06 16:57:01 -0700 2000 1372808 0 Maria Eng 7 1372827 That was rude and would upset me also. I fortunately had thw opposite experience. During the meal the Maitre De asked me my opinion after each course. After the meal we had a nice discussion about the wine and the fish. Even though I am no expert he gave me a glass of red wine to taste after the meal and asked if I thought it would pair up with seafood.I don't speak much French but I only got attitude at one place. Fri Oct 06 18:22:46 -0700 2000 1372826 0 howard 7 1372848 That's terrible. I hope you'll try again (but run away if that same woman's there), as it seemed to me that the staff bent over backwards to make an American feel comfortable and answered all my questions. Sun Oct 08 23:40:09 -0700 2000 1372826 0 Melanie Wong 6 1372847 Last night a friend made an incredible appetizer of mussels in a white wine egg yolk-enriched creme fraiche sauce from PW's bistro cookbook. He said it was from Chez Toutoune in the 5er. It's one of his favorite places in Paris, although each time he's been there, they're out of moules. Sun Oct 08 23:38:35 -0700 2000 1372808 0 Melanie Wong 7 1372851 Today on PBS they had a recipe for mussels with cream and egg yolk on the cooking show Great Food with that tall thin chef with the spiked hair, Gary Rhodes (If I remember his name correctly). It looked very good. When I cook at home I usually saute because it's quick and easy. My cooking philosophy is whatevers fast and needs the least cleanup.(Pots and pans) Mon Oct 09 00:14:40 -0700 2000 1372847 0 howard 8 1372852 This recipe from Chez Toutoune was delicious, the secret is the creme fraiche, lots of freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme. I'm sure it's a one pot dish. I had a bunch of leftover Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from the morning's tasting. Had to pick out the least offensive and least oaked for the cooking pot. The mussel dish was accompanied by 93 Roederer l'Ermitage sparkling wine from Mendocino County and 90 Dauvissat-Camus Grand Cru Les Preuses Chablis. Mon Oct 09 00:39:12 -0700 2000 1372851 0 Melanie Wong 9 1372853 In the last year or so a few new Belgian restaurants have opened in New York so you can always get mussels and beer stew. Belgian makes some pretty interesting beer but I'm not really a beer drinker. I did have a very refreshing peach beer that I liked. I keep thinking of the Monty Python Belgium skit. Mon Oct 09 00:51:55 -0700 2000 1372852 0 howard 10 1372854 I'm not much of a beer drinker either. Last year during harvest I brought a selection of different Chimays (3 or 4 bottlings?) to a winery party. The crush staff were very happy to see these. I remember writing tasting notes but they've disappeared. As they say, it takes a lot of beer to make good wine! Mon Oct 09 01:25:03 -0700 2000 1372853 0 Melanie Wong 1 1372844 In May I ate @ Le Dome in the 14th. I was skeptical because of the locale and the rep, but bas it was refered to me by a pal who knows his stuff I went. I had a great sole mueniere and my Dad had a really good paella for 1 (in fact on of the better paellas I've ever tried outside side of Spain). Also for big buck budgets try Marius and Jeanette (?) on George the V right near where princess Di bought it. Most of the brasseries have a decent selection of fish as well oysters, clams etc.. Sun Oct 08 11:38:30 -0700 2000 1372785 0 ivan stoler