Ate My Way through the Marais

[blvs]

As a thank you to all the friends and Chowhounders who helped me discover some great Parisian restaurants, here's a run down of the places we ate during a 12 day stay in an apartment in the Marais in January. We didn't eat at any of the poshest places and usually managed to eat at under 80 Euros for two, including a bottle of wine.

My favorite place was Le Coude de Fou on Rue Tibourg, a half block from our apartment. We ate there twice and if I lived in Paris, this would my regular. I love their Entrecote and they have a wonderfully decadent appetizer of fried pig's knuckle, which my travel partner very kindly shared with me. Meat off the bone, fried in a light batter, crispy outside and creamy inside. Oh, be still my heart. I wouldn't recommend the coq au vin. While the thigh and leg were good, the breast was dry and tasteless.

Another favorite was Robert & Louise at 64 rue Vielle du Temple, which is the only place where we made reservations. We walked in one night and laughed that we thought we might walk in and snag a table. It's a tiny place (maybe 30 seats max) and there's room for no more than 2 people to stand inside and wait for a table. It was a photo on Clothilde's website (www.chocolateandzucchini.com) that brought us there. A beautiful charbroiled steak grilled over an open wood fire in the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. Probably not the place to go in the height of summer but on a cold winter's day, lovely. We shared a charcuterie plate with rillette to die for. In Paris I rediscovered my ancestoral affinity to pork fat. We sat at a communal table which was quite friendly, and I had opportunity to practice my mediocre francais although two of our table mates spoke excellent English. We had roignons (kidneys) and entrecote. We asked for salad instead of potatoes. I would go back in a flash.

We lucked out by being able to walk into Fish one night. We arrived just as they opened and got the last unreserved table for the night. Great John Dory (filet de St. Pierre) and scallops. I discovered fish foam. I believe the owners are American and the staff all speak English.

We ate at Au Pied du Cochon and I regret that we didn't get the "pig's everything special" I think I was intimidated with not knowing how to eat a pig's ear. However, the Menu at 21 Euro offered great Steak Tartare, made traditionally with finely ground meat, raw egg, pepper and capers. I later tried their Atlanta restaurant in Buckhead which was equally good but the "pig's everything special" is replaced by a tame salumi plate. American tastes, I guess, although you would think they can deal with it in the South.

We had to try the falafel of rue de Rosiers. We got take out from L'As du Falafel and Mi-Va-Mi which is directly across the street. Two opinions, Mi-Va-Mi was the better sandwich. Both were equally packed with crispy, fresh-made falafel but Mi-Va-Mi won with their sauce and pickled vegetables additions and whatever else they threw in. A much more savory package, although a bit more difficult to eat than its simpler competitor. However, there's still two more falafel places on the street to try so we'll need a future rematch in Paris.

We found it easy to get a table at Trumilou on Quai Hotel de Ville because we arrived early (about 7:30). They offer huge portions. The terrine of vegetable soup was enough to feed 3 or 4 as an appetizer and the main dishes of sweetbreads and veal with portobello mushrooms could easily have fed two. Needless to say, we ate it all.

A few other restaurant recommendations: Cafe Breizh (109 rue Vielle du Temple) has good galletes (savory buckwheat crepes.) I thought the ham and cheese gallete with fried egg on top was superior to their brandade (cod and mashed potatoes). Cafe des Musees (49 rue de Turennes) makes their steak tartare with cubes of beef. Tasty, but a little too chewy. However, it came deconstructed, so you could mix into it as much of the various condiments as you wanted. A French dressing replaced the raw egg for moisture. Great frites, lovely staff. Le Fou en Face is a tiny restaurant on the left side of Place de Bourg Tibourg off rue Rivoli near BHV Department store. They had a great Cassoulet which was not on the menu but we discovered it when we asked our waiter about the appealing dish that was being set at a neighboring table. Finally, since I was going to language school in the Grand Boulevard area, I wandered into Les Pate Volantes, a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant at 46, rue de Fauburg Montmartre. I stood outside watching them make hand pulled noodles and then ate the most delicious Pho in cinnamon-laced broth. Unlike San Francisco-style, their Pho came with the condiments already mixed into the soup.

Les Peyronie, on rue Brantome, a little side street near the Pompidou, is a friendly coffee shop (not cafe) and the staff is helpful if you're buying for home use. I like their Palatino which I think is what, in America, we would call French roast. Much more robust than our first purchase of Napoli. The Nicolas chain is a great shop for cheap to moderately priced wines and hard liquor from 3 Euro vin ordinaire up to 30 Euro splurges. They had a pretty good French Vodka for about 10 -11 Euro. If you're in the Marais, rue Rambuteau has all the shops you need for food and drink, including Pain de Sucre and Chinese take out. Also good Chinese take out on rue Rivoli outside the St. Paul Metro stop. And do not miss the Richard Lenoir Sunday market, 2 -3 blocks north of Place Bastille. If you visit Versailles, I recommend the on-site restaurant "Flotille" between the Chateau and Le Petite Trianon. Buttery omelettes and good Chef Salad.

While the weather was wet and gray, January wasn't terribly cold and the treat of being able to walk into restaurants and museums without long waits more than made up for the weather. We probably had a total of 12 hours of sun in 12 days.

[plafield]

Thanks so much for the great report. It's always helpful to hear updates.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Next time in try Maoz near the St Michel warren of places for falaffel. Their salad accompaniment is added by diner so you can put as little or as much of whatever you can fit on the pita. As an aside this is a time when language difference can be very funny. The restaurant, Les Peyronie, shows this well. do a google search on images without filters and you will see why this doctor chuckled, and is very curious as to the menu.

[blvs]

Oh, my! Now I'll have to check the spelling. It would make a most interesting menu... specializing in organ meats? It's not really a restaurant. More of a local Starbucks-type shop where you can buy freshly ground coffee.

[apbaz]

My wife and I spent a week in Paris. Neither of us speak french. Here is our trip report. We stayed in Marais/Platz. but two of the following restaurants were near the Louvre and the Palais de Congres.

Dome (rue de Rivoli) good croque monsieur, croque madame. We walked into it at 8 a.m. French time (2 a.m. our home time), bleary eyed and exhausted from the flight over. The sandwiches, all that the kitchen was making at that time, were suprisingly good. Baked cheese, tomato, crisp thick-rind bread. Unfortunately, though, the waitress was rude. We asked for some creme for our coffee after it arrived, apparently making some kind of mistake. Instead of humoring us, or taking care or our request with grace, she attacked. “Creme? What do you mean, creme? You didn’t ask for creme.” After making us pay the toll, she finally brought us some hot milk. The sandwiches were great, but the hospitality was lacking.

Trumidou (on the Seine, Marais/Platz): Good service, brisk, friendly, attentive. For our entrees, my wife had fennel salad, which she loved. My entree was an egg cooked in a small hot dish, covered with a sauce. Tasty. Wine was around 20 euros. My wife's fish (a white fish) had a delicious sauce, and crisp red potatoes covering a succulent, steamy interior, and zucchini and sweet carrots. “It looked so simple, but everything was sweet and delicious,” she said. My pork was plain but tasty, with delicious scalloped potatoes. And for my whole life, I have always hated potatoes. But the chef managed to make potatoes delicious to me, in two different ways. Good skill. The owner was humourous, chatty, but not pushy. The atmosphere was homey, and moderately busy. Not noisy, and not packed, but at about 2/3 capacity. We would go back. The 3 course menu was in the 20-something euro range, so the bill came out to around 60 something euros for two people with wine.

L’Ambroise (near the Louvre) was overpriced, bland, and the service was poor. Our entrees were good--salad nicoise for my wife, and foie gras de canard for me. Mine came with a christmasy spicy applesauce. Our plats, however, were disappointing. I had rables de lupin. They brought me six rounds of rabbit wrapped in what looked like a tough, leathery ham rind. At one point of each was a dollop of bacon bits in some kind of sauce/vegetable. The rabbit itself was tasteless, a bland white pork-chicken meat. The rind was tough and chewy, and the only flavor came from their homemade bacon bits. My wife’s fish came surrounded by a pool of buttery sauce, on top of some kind of aubergine. It was also tasteless, and I tried it several times. “It has texture,” my wife said. “It has temperature,” I said. It looked good, and I tried it several times to make sure it had no taste. It didn’t. On top of that, the proprietress made things worse with abrupt, unsmiling service throughout the entire meal. She made no effort to win us over, or make us comfortable. We felt like two ugly warts sitting in her restaurant, unwelcome and unwanted. Our desserts, on the other hand, were great. Some kind of chocolate and creme dish that came in a jar, and vanilla bourbon ice cream with strawberries, raspberries, and a thin wafer. The bill was 115 euros for two menus, coffee, and a bottle of so-so wine. Definitely not worth it, with that kind of service, and that tasteless of a plat, and thin, sour wine. We would not go back.

Le Philosophe (Marais): friendly, smiling, brisk, efficient service, with good food. Entrees were an asian chicken salad (ginger, sesame). “It was cold, but delicious,” my wife said. I had a tasty onion soup. Her plat was a tuna plate, with a tandoori sauce, tomatoes, zucchini, and red bell pepper, all over rice. “I loved it,” she said. Her plate was wiped clean at the end. I had a fried? duck. Cuisson canard? Pretty good. It came with a thick, honeyed sauce for dipping, and thick baked potato slices, which were hot and good. Dessert was chocolate mousse and coffee. The bill was around 80 euros for two menus, a bottle of so-so wine, and good coffee. The atmosphere was busy and congenial. We would go back.

Cafe/bar de Jarente (Marais/Platz): went in by accident, as it was raining and I thought I had read that someone had recommended it. The waiter spoke good english, and was friendly, charming, and helpful. But it was mediocre bar food: an uninspired onion soup, a plain ribeye steak (entrecote) and decent frites. I had lentils and smoked pork sausage, which was tasty but nothing special. Dessert was a stale-tasting nougat glace. One menu, one plat, a bottle of wine (not great wine), and coffee was 66 euros. We liked the service and felt comfortable, but the food was forgettable. He dropped another customer's fish filet on the counter, and picked it up with his hand and dropped it back onto the plate. We wouldn’t go back.

Le Congres (near Palais de Congres): upscale. Started with Kir royal (champagne with cassis syrup), which was great. Wine (Margeaux vineyard) was excellent, too. Escargot was good. Poached egg with asparagus was delicious, I thought, but too salty for my wife. Sole menieure was buttery, not great. I had lamb with green beans. Good, not great. Dessert was ‘cabbages with vanilla ice cream inside, with chocolate sauce.’ It was fantastic, with an earthy, chocolatey sauce. I don’t know what the bill was, but it was expensive.

404: A friend had raved about tajine (also spelled with a ‘g’ and pronounced by the waiter with a ‘zh’ sound like ‘rouge’) and sweet mint tea, so we looked up the nearest North African/Moroccan restaurant, which turned out to be 404. The interior was dark, and the decor dark wood, plush velvet, with Moorish touches. The glassware was handpainted, windows ornately carved with wood to block the light. Service was good, although our waiter’s cell phone and other duties seemed to distract him, so getting his attention took a little time. I ordered the menu, with sardines, tegine with lamb, and a glass of wine. My wife ordered tegine with chicken and citrus. The sardines came out first, and turned out to be two crisply baked wallet-sized pieces of fish. The skin was crisp and succulent, and the rich flesh beneath oily and soft. On the side were freshly pureed tomatoes; on the other, an artfully carved and twisted lemon wedge. To me, a sardine was a small salty fish that came in a tin can with 11 other brethren, in oil or tomato sauce. This was nothing like that. Hot, delicous, not salty, not fishy, but slightly crisp, soft, succulent, and flavorful. We finished it off in minutes. I later saw a worker peeling tomatoes and placing them in a colander.

The tegine came out piping hot, in an untouchably hot pot covered with a pointed clay lid arriving in a woven basket, so that it could be held. Then the lid, like a witches hat, is removed, and fragrant steam fills your face. Green beans, onions, and two orange slices cover lamb, and deep down a shallow level of broth. My wife was presented with sliced potatoes, green olives, and an unrecognizable citrus fruit--lemon?--over chicken. Oddly, both needed some salt to bring out the flavors. We tend to eat and cook low salt food, and usually we are trying to diminish the salt in our food. But this time, both of our tegine’s needed to be salted, and that made them taste much better. Her’s was especially good. The lemon was a translucent, brown figure sitting on top of the chicken, sagging, struggling to keep itself whole against its slow-cooked fate. “Is that garlic?” I asked, not recognizing it. “No, it’s lemon,” she said. You might imagine a bite of it would be tart, acidic, causing one’s face to pucker and sour. Instead, putting a small portion of it on your chicken and other vegetables gave the mouthful an aromatic background of citrus, like a perfume. “I didn’t know you could do this with lemon,” my wife said. The meal was great, topped off by artfully poured glasses of sweet, sweet, hot mint tea. Our patient waiter poured the steaming drink from a gleaming, swan-necked teapot a foot and a half above our small, tall tea glasses. He humoured my wife’s attempt to capture the moment on camera, prolonging the pouring, and as the tea level rose while she still was trying to focus and shoot, he, with good-natured french, said that something like, “Hurry, up, the cup will be full soon and there’s nothing I can do!” The bill for both of us was 43 euros. “That was a hundred times better and a third as expensive as L’Ambroise,” my wife said.

Our last dinner, Le Janou (Rue de Tournelles, in Marais): A very busy popular neighborhood bistro. It was a very good restaurant. I was totally satisfied. "But I think your appetizer was a waste of money. Ten mussels, and not very big,” my wife said. We made reservations, but that might not have been necessary. I had mussels provencale, but as my wife said, they were shriveled and small. For our plats, I had duck with potatoes and mushrooms, while my wife had tuna over rice with olives. Both were very good. The vegetables and sauce made my dish successful, while my wife’s rice was aromatic and delicious. She had a delicious chocolate mousse for dessert, while I had an unremarkable blueberry tart. The waitress served the mousse out of the mixing bowl it was made in, and since my wife wanted to take a picture, she left it on our table--for 15 minutes. That presentation, which clearly showed it was made in-house, was a nice touch. The only time I’ve been given access to the mixing bowl had been in my own or my mother’s kitchen. I took an extra dollop of mousse, which turned out to be unnecessary, since we couldn’t finish what she had. I didn’t even finish my blueberry tart. With two absinthe and two cafe au lait, our bill came out to 86 euros. The place was very busy; there were always several groups of customers out front or at the bar waiting for tables, but it didn’t seem to affect the service greatly. Our waitress just moved faster, running between tables. The food was good, and the atmosphere pleasant. Our table was closest to the door, however, so we had to tolerate some second hand smoke. We would go back.