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Italian Dinner & Wine in Paris? Mais oui!

PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 4:59 am
by Noel Ermitano
Again, this is a mere excerpt from a longer post. Those who would like to read the entire write-up are welcome to visit my blog.
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Sunday, 7th April 2013

It was a leisurely, uneventful drive from the Loire to Paris' St-Germain du Prés in the 6th arrondissement, where Catha had chosen to rent an apartment at 100 rue du Cherche-Midi - 110 square meters, 2 bedrooms, living room, complete kitchen, tiny dining area, 2 shower rooms, and 1 separate toilet*, around 2300€ or so for 6 nights. It had WIFI, a TV, DVD player, washing machine (which we didn't use), and dishwasher (we didn't use that either). Not bad, I guess.

* I agreed to renting this apartment because I was made to understand there would be 2 toilets. I initially panicked because only 1 toilet for all of us, I believed, would be unbearable. It turned out that we were just ok with the one - but I ain't doing that again.

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All settled in, Lorenzo and I returned our trusty rental 2013 Peugeot 5008 (7-seater) to the Hertz station in the Gare de Lyon along rue du Bercy in the 12th arrondissement. I felt a little sad leaving it behind, alone in the dark, dank, underground garage - after all, it served us well and got us around safely all around France for 2 weeks. There was no getting around it, though, as I hate driving in Paris. Let's not even begin to talk about parking.

We took a quick cab ride back to the apartment, where we all whiled away the time surfing on our respective laptops, iPads, and smart phones. Later that night, we hoofed it to dinner. I had planned to take the family to a small bistro run by a 4th generation butcher, reputedly serving the best old-school boeuf entrecôte in Paris. Of course, I got lost looking for it. Since the kids were already hungry, we decided to just eat at the first nice-looking restaurant we came across...

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...which happened to be an Italian restaurant named La Locanda (8 rue du Dragon, 75006, Paris, France). La Locanda, situated in an 18th-century edifice with thick stone walls, was established in 1997 by Martino Grossi, a charming, very friendly, spry, little Italian fellow who speaks English very well. He personally welcomed us in and settled us in our table. Very nice fellow.

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A couple of plates of Tapenade & Crostini were immediately served as we went over the menu.

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I started with some pasta - an absolutely heavenly Linguine w/ Langoustines (a.k.a., "scampi", Nephrops Norvegicus). Beautiful. Superb. Excellent. I loved it. Though Lorenzo had completed his order, he got an extra plate of this for himself.

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Catha & Mauro started with orders of Gorgonzola & Pear Bruschetta.

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Lorenzo & Joaqi each got an order of the Burrata Salad, the burrata just flown in fresh from Italy.

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Joaqi's Gnocchi.

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Catha also had pasta for her main course: Penne "Absolvt Vodka".

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Mauro's Langoustine Risotto.

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Lorenzo's Truffle Risotto (both Black & White). As earlier mentioned, he also got a second appetizer of Langoustine Linguine like mine.

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I had a nicely rare Steak w/ Arugula Salad. Very nice.

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By way of wine, I got us two bottles of 2010 Parusso Langhe Nebbiolo - Very pleasant. Youthful, slender, firm structure, healthy acidity, just a shade over medium-bodied. Typical tarry lilt to the dark fruit, as well as nuances of black olives and violets. The finish is medium at best. Could be longer with just a bit more body and middle, but, at its reasonable price, one can't fairly complain. I'd have it again with a nice Italian meal - hopefully, one as good as this.

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Cin cin!

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For desserts: Mauro's Panna Cotta

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Renzo & Joaqi each went for the Molten Chocolate Cake.

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Nice center.

Catha and I were finishing up the red, so skipped dessert and had double espressos after. Happily carbo-loaded after 2 weeks of very little carbs in the French countryside, we said our goodbyes and walked back to our little "home" for the rest the trip.

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rue du Cherche-Midi by night.

Re: Italian Dinner & Wine in Paris? Mais oui!

PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:43 am
by Jenise
Fun! Food looks great, was surprised to see a dish like the "penne Absolut vodka", though, as I believe this to be an American invention. One would not see many American inventions in Paris, I would think.

Re: Italian Dinner & Wine in Paris? Mais oui!

PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 11:26 am
by Noel Ermitano
Well, McDonald's is all over the place in Paris you know...

Seriously, I think Paris could do with a bit more of the creature comforts of America - especially their hotels.

Best,

N

Re: Italian Dinner & Wine in Paris? Mais oui!

PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 11:51 am
by Rahsaan
Noel Ermitano wrote:Well, McDonald's is all over the place in Paris you know..


Yes, despite their peculiar brand of cultural chauvinism, France does not seem immune to the influence of other countries or even the glamorous exoticization of other cultures.