© Andy Abramson Date: Feb 04 2001 12:25:32 EST Bonjour Mon Amis ! I arrived in Paris earlier than expected do to a flight rerouting, through of all places, my hometown of Philadelphia. So after canceling original lunch plans at La Dauphine, I caught up on some sorely needed sleep, then began getting reacquainted with the neighborhood of Bercy and my hotel, the sensational Sofitel Bercy. First off, I am a staunch supporter that you get what you pay for. As a member of the fee based Sofitel Exclusive Business Club, I get a fifty percent discount on weekends, 20% off on weekdays and when available, the best perk, the upgrade. Arriving early, 8:00 AM on a Sunday earned me that, and I was rewarded with an apartment, which is a two story duplex, with a full office lower level and a king size bedroom. Not bad, and I'll have it during my entire stay, and since this is a work trip, blended with dining, I really can't complain. Meeting and work space downstairs, sleep upstairs. Great room service when needed and lots of outlets for the tech toys. Lunch ended up at the neighboring Bercy Village Nicolas. Nicolas is an established chain of wine stores here in Paris and in London. With the opening of the Bercy Village a year ago, they branched out into what can be best described as the "wine bar and bistro" business, with menus that accompany the wines they have made for them under a negociant label, or sell from small regional producers. Each month there is a different theme, and this month the theme is South-West France, a region I really enjoy. Since Restaurant l'Oulette is in the neighborhood, cooking from the Bearn, Irouleguy, Madiran and Jurancon is not a bad idea to duplicate. What's also great about Nicolas is the abundance of wine choices and the low, low prices. 17 wines by the glass, including sparkling wines. Of course the is the required plat de jour and dessert du jour, along with 14 other choices combining salads, appetizers and main courses, five cheese courses and five desserts. Prices for individual items range from 12 francs up to 75 francs per plate so your dollar goes a long way. Knowing Ardoise is on the agenda for tonight, I ordered light, with the plat de jour, a well flavored fresh cut sauté de Veau, which is best described as a young tender veal, in a parsley herb juice, served with tiny cepes, bacon bits and boiled potatoes. The veal was fork tender, the au jus flavorful and the mushrooms very robust. My wines were the 1998 Arranoa Irouleguy Red and 1999 Domain Castera Bearn Rouge. Having been drinking wines from the southwest since my first and only visit to that region back in 1997, I have to be impressed with how far along the wines have come. No more plonk. The wines are now fine, well made and full bodied. The Irouleguy is a delight, firm gentle tannins, a bouquet of black pepper, a deep ruby color, flavors of prunes, figs and cola nuts. The second wine, was the Bearn regional selection. With a more purple than ruby color, the wine delivers a incredible tarry bouquet. On the palate you receive sweet plums, cassis and cherries. It's a perfect accompaniment to the veal. The salad course was a interesting Salad de Chevre Chauds. Two hunks of soft chvere cheese, wrapped in bacon, warmed and served over toast with a green salad in a light vinaigrette. The bacon is pan cooked, then wrapped around the warm chevre. It blends perfectly. I'm sure my friends, the Clark's would like this one. Note to Jim Curl....Piret lives. Note to Mark Squires, Larry Yasner, Doug Kaplan..Odeon lives... For those of you thinking I'm sending some secret code, let me explain. Growing up in Philadelphia I largely gained my wine/gastronomy knowledge as a result of the wine bar at the bistro named Odeon that Steve Ledbetter (now the restaurant rep extraordinaire for Kermit Lynch) operated. His wine bar always had at least 16 wines by the glass and the cooking was pure Paris zinc topped bistro. When I moved to San Diego, event developer master Jim Curl (he invented the NFL QB Challenge and the Bud Light Triathlon Series) took me to what became the start of a weekly wine hangout, the late great Pirets in Encinitas. While sitting at the bar, enjoying the wine, the food and the atmosphere, the nuclear explosion like flashback of all those lunches, dinners and wine at those two places rushed through my mind. True, you can't reinvent the past, but all that was missing were my wine drinking cronies. I think, given the proximity to the hotel, that I'll be a one glass a day visitor to Nicolas this week ! Date: Feb 04 2001 18:41:43 EST L' Ardoise in Paris 1st district is considered one of the best value bistros around. My visit last fall produced one of the more memorable meals of the trip. The young chef, Pierre Jay, whose pedigree includes serving as the number two at Tour d'Argent, was one of the first to offer the menu plate concept in Paris where each day the menu changes, but, barring supplement costs, you pay 180 francs for dinner. A light drizzle and a Sunday night is not enough to keep the crowds away, as the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms keep filling up as the night rolls along. First up is the Clairrette de Domain Gramernon, a nice sparkling wine that goes just perfectly with the Moules Ravioli (mussel ravioli) with a white fish sauce. The lightly flavored sauce is adorned with diced shallots, chives and pan fried bread bits. The sparkler offers a nice lemon zest, lime peel aroma with pure citrus on the palate. It's refreshing and easy to drink, without being too heady. Last trip one of the best wines was the 1998 Domaine la Soumard Rasteau Cuvee Confiance, which is a finely made Cotes Du Rhone Village. I was pleasantly surprised to see the wine still on the list and more impressed with its evolution. Possessing a big cedar bouquet, black pepper and herbs, the wine starts off with a candy cherry feel, then gets really deep with cola, cocoa, and plum fruit. The finish is pure young Cotes du Rhone. Sadly this wine is not found in the USA. Dessert, chosen by the precocious young waitress, was the Bar au Ruhmba, a rum cake served with strawberries soaked with rum. Yummy. L' Ardoise is a true gem and worth the effort in getting a table. Date: Feb 05 2001 11:11:21 EST Baracane Dining in Paris on Sundays and Mondays is always a challenge for so many places close either both days or part of each day, so when it came to selecting a spot for lunch today, I chose another old favorite, Baracane, from the owners of l'Oulette. Baracane is a tiny 28 seat regionally themed bistrot, where cooking of the Southwestern part of France comes from. Every dish is lovingly prepared in the tiny one person kitchen at the rear of the restaurant. The small bar and coffee service area are right by the door, and no space goes unused. The prices are so good that for under $12 dollars you can have salad, main course and a glass of wine. In today's case the 1997 Gilles de Morban Vin de Pay de Saint Sardos, it was a nice red from the Sud Ouest region, which seems to be growing in popularity, finally. The wine was fruity, lively and round on the palate, with black cherries, blueberries and plums throughout. It was a perfect match up for my lunch. Rather full from last night I opted to stay with the 86 ff formula menu salad with walnuts blue cheese from causes and bavette with shallots and glass of wine. The bavette, also known as Onglet, is a tender cut of beef, that hangs inside the rib cage of the cow. It is as flavorful as a rib steak, as soft as a filet and carries no fat. The shallot and red wine sauce is light, melding perfectly with the beef. The green salad is filling and the blue cheese slightly rich, salty and tangy. I skipped dessert, but then headed over to the new Sofitel on the Rue Faubourg, for some nice chocolate filled chocolate cake and coupe de chocolate with coffee. Date: Feb 05 2001 17:52:25 EST 5-February-2001 Dinner at Wadja in Paris Wadja is owned by a dentist. His wife runs the place, one waiter works the room and the bar. 44 people can dine here at once. Modern art adorns the walls, and upon arrival you get a small plate of fresh olives, already pitted. The fresh Poliane baked bread is moist on the inside, crusty on the outside. The coffee always piping hot. The nice wines by the glass list is very inviting. Sadly they were sold out of my good friend, Sylvain Fadat's 1997 Domain du Aupilhac Coteaux du Languedoc, for I know that wine well, and own a bunch. The opportunity to taste that by the glass would have been a treat. I opted for the 1997 Savennieres and a 1995 St. Chinian Rouge from Domain du Coujon. Kermit Lynch used to import this Languedoc wine, but stopped a few years back. The white is viscous, rich, deep withy a golden amber hue and a crisp steely nose. I always forget if Savennieres is Sauvignon or Chenin Blanc, but I lean towards the latter. The wine is really smooth, elegant, and would be an ideal Chardonnay fans replacement wine. One of the beauties of this type of wine is it needs time to round out, not buy it drink it and forget it. The red, now almost six years old is round, with blueberry, herbs, the scent of la garrigue. Its well built and has flavor, depth and a concentration of ripe fruit that lingers long after the last drop has passed. But it was the creamy mushroom soup and the salmon cake in a tomato coulis that really showed the cooking and allure of Wadja. As this is my third visit to this old bistro turned new, I am always impressed with the almost perfect cooking, nice presentation and jovial atmosphere of the locals who frequent the spot. Dinner ended with Creme Brulee. Sorry no pics. I left the digital film in my laptop..... I then headed over to the Clown Bar, a small, cash only wine bar near the Oberkampf Metro stop in the 11th. They had some very choice bottles on the list ranging from Alsace to the Rhone to the best of Bordeaux. The by the glass list was Rhone heavy so I popped for a Clairmonts 1998 Crozes Hermitage Blanc and Red. Nice wines. The white showed lots of tropical fruit, good balance, flavors of grapefruit, pineapple, melons with a nice round finish. The red was very tight, dusty with gobs of blueberries and blackberries. For today, go for the white. In a few years, the red. Date: Feb 06 2001 10:20:36 EST 6-February 2001 Lunch Maison de L'Aubrac is a gem of a place in the 8th district that one goes when one is in the mood for naturally raised beef. Freshest of the fresh and aged are found here. Sure you can get lamb, duck, fish and pork off the menu, but red meat rules in this country oriented fast paced open until midnight dining spot. Each week they feature different wines from Languedoc, hence my main reason for liking this very quick paced spot. Sadly today, the wine manager, Richard was not working thus reducing my choices and number of glasses. Richard has assembled one of the best, if not the best list of wines from the South, and tends to be willing to pull corks or bring over glasses of wines that are not yet up on the daily board or even on his fine list. The wines of the day were two very nice reds. The first was the Vin de Pays de Cevennes 1999 from Domaine de la Grande Olivette. Like so many 1999 wines I have tasted, this field blend wine is very forward and precocious, yet has the body and depth to linger on and on. The nose is pure Garrigue aroma, with rosemary, sage, mint, basil and other herbs poking through. The flavors of blackberries and cherries push through with a rich blueberry finish that is just a tad hot. The second wine was the Solan 1998 Coteaux du Languedoc. This is a producer I am not familiar with at all, but it reminds me much of a Chateau de Lascaux, La Roque or Clavel mixed with the subtleties of a Mas Jullian or Alquier with its softness, depth and character. Major syrah hits of pepper and blueberries on the nose, while on the palate you get reminders of the best Alquier Faugers red wines. This is a wine that is drink over the next 5-7 years and could easily rival La Copa Santa from Domaine Clavel. Oh, yes, I did eat lunch too. It started with the thinly sliced beef carpaccio drizzled with olive oil and served with basil, chives and fresh mushrooms. The main course, served with green salad was a perfectly aged filet, easily the rival of my San Diego haunt, Flemings. I ended the meal with a "light" dessert, pear sorbet over fresh sliced pears. Observation, French food is becoming lighter, less cream or butter based sauces and more natural in presentation. The coffee remains the most correct part of any meal as it has flavor, not like the standardized Starbucks we have grown to love the past few years. The pace--meals are not rushed, even at lunch. Service is correct but never intrusive. Sadly, non-smoking restaurants have yet to arrive. Tonight--Alain Ducasse's new spot looms ahead ! Date: Feb 07 2001 05:43:07 EST 6-2-01 I love this place. From the outside it looks like an old, traditional bistro. Inside the food and presentation tell you otherwise. This is my second trip to this spot and it is a place I will return to time and again. The reason is simple two points. A great by the glass wine list and incredible cooking. Today my wines were 1998 Domaine Arena Patrimonio This started with a slight spritz, was nice and light but adding body as it ages. Good forward fruit with sharp spearmint and lilac flavors. Easy to drink. 1998 Anne Gros Bourgone Blanc Talk about classic Chardonnay flavor and great Burgundian bouquet. Simply perfect. A poor mans Mersault with the flavors of apples, peaches, pears. Great body, perfectly balanced. Smashing good wine. 1999 Vinsobres Cotes du Rhone Village. Nice and firm. It stands up very well to lamb. My dinner started with Creme de Langoustines which with both whites was a delightful mix. Since I was switching to red wine, the Cotes du Rhone, seeded to pair best with Rack of Lamb. Dessert was a scrumptious Red Pineapple meringue. Date: Feb 08 2001 09:40:19 EST 7-February 2001, Dinner at 59 Poincare Allain Ducasse is the Wolfgange Puck of the world. With 11 restaurants around the world the chef who first gained fame in Monte Carlo with Louis XIV has done it again. After a misstep in Paris with Spoon, Food and Wine two years back, the workaholic chef who replaced Joel Rubechon as the dean of Paris cuisiners has gotten back on top with his newest creation, 59 Poincare. Foodies and trendies already have this on their must eat list as reservations in the two story mansion in the Tony Trocodero section is the hot spot so far this year. The menu choices are limited--limited to lamb, lobster or legumes with some very interesting preparations of each. You have at least five different ways to feed your hunger with each, but the wine list is the attraction to me. How Ducasse does it is a credit to his staff's prowess in finding great wines. After thumbing through the phone book size list, the best values are in Burgundy and with the Bordeaux, as most of the wines are perfect for drinking now from vintages as far back as the late 80's. Many a good restaurant vintage appears and very reasonable prices for a restaurant soon to earn a Michelin star. The service is flawless, the flatware and silverware consistent with the best tables in Paris, for Ducasse has created a spot that would be as trendy in New York or London as it is here. Entering the restaurant you find a small but lively bar. Cool white bar stools with arm rests and chair backs make you feel at home. A small anteroom with high top tables totaling 8 guests allows you a close up look at the three specialties of the house. Dinner started with a carrot and pumpkin soup courtesy of the restaurant, along with a thin bread and olive paste dipping sauce. The first course was a pine nut stuffed onion over a bed of a variety of endive, augula and butter lettuce. The flavor was stunning. My main course was the very nicely salt and black pepper spiced lamb shoulder over potatoes. The lamb was perfect with the red wine I found on the list, the very rare 1996 Les Clos from Domaine de Aupilhac. My friend and winemaker Sylvain Fadat let me try this a few years back, and actually gave me a bottle that rests in my cellar. The wine is still young. The new wood gives it an Australian feel, and the Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignane blended together perfectly. I have never tasted a Languedoc wine with so much complexity, fruit and round flavors that makes one realize how well Languedoc fruit can be when worked by the hands of a master. Think about an Elderton or Pirramina Shiraz, only with more curves and less oak. Imagine a Cote Rotie but without the olives. Think Central Coast bright fruit but without the vegetal quality. Fad at has a masterpiece. Dessert was sublime. Two for the price of one. This is a true dining spot that is worth a return visit. Date: Feb 08 2001 09:46:31 EST 8-February 2001, Casa Olympe Way up on the top end of the 9th Ard rests the tiny 24 seat in the front bistro with another 18 or so seats in the rear, Casa Olympe. Run by a nice couple, the brains behind it are named Dominique and Olympia. The menu is one price, 210 ff with supplements for specialties. It is not easy to find. the sign outside the brightly lit interior is tiny. You would not think much of this place if you did not know about it. The guests at the next table, two business men, one from Paris, the other an Anglo transplant struck up a conversation with me, inquiring of all things, how I found this place for it is not the most publicized, because of its always fully booked status. One of them said, this is not the place one walks into without a reservation, and those are hard to come by. Lunch was thinly sliced Ardeche sausage, a delightful fresh salad served with Crusty Blood sausage and wild herbs followed by farm raised Guinea Fowl with a large ravioli filled with wild mushrooms and parmesan cheese. It ended with a full plate of Corsican Cheese. To wash it all down was a perfectly ready to drink 50 cl bottle of 1999 Mas Begude Coteaux de Ardeche. This fruit forward wine was a dark red in color, with olives, herbs and coffee aromas. On the palate was toffee, black and green olives, cloves, black pepper and blueberries. An easy to drink wine, I am finding the Ardeche to be a region of great value priced reds and racy whites. Even though this is out of the way, Case Olympe is a wonderful new find, off the beaten path in Paris. Date: Feb 09 2001 11:42:55 EST Restaurant Helen Darozee, Paris Sixties psychedelic influenced and blues music and R&B music plays. Very sixties hippie looking couches, upstairs the gastronomic restaurant, downstairs the Table of the Season features a very cool laid back atmosphere. Tapas and a plate of the day are your choices. No rushed service, short, but well chosen wine list. I had a nice glass of Languedoc Cabernet from a negociant labeling things Perles of the Medeteranee and a glass of 1998 Madiran. The food is well prepared, cooked to order and totally modern Basquese cooking. No heavy sauces, light modern renditions, lots of fresh fish. The upstairs room is in the stratosphere both in price (800 ff for le menu) and also upstairs is the truffle menu. Eating downstairs lets you sample her cooking. But I would be dining upstairs if I wanted to do something special. She already earned her first star from Michelin. Watch her ascend, as this chef knows the way around a market and the kitchen. My dinner was wonderful and filling: Cannelloni stuffed with peperade and Bayonne ham Sliced carpaccio of langoustines with polenta over Papaya Chicken in a pot with winter vegetables-carrots and celery Banana bread in Bas Armagnac with ice cream Date: Feb 09 2001 11:45:10 EST Les Amonges-Paris Since the 1991 vintage, I have been a convert to the wines of my good friend, Sylvain Fadat from Domain d'Aupilhac. After meeting him in his tiny Montpeyroux winery with old friend who lived in the Languedoc Brian Wilkie with his wife back in 1996, and having the chance to taste his older wines from as far back as 1989 then, it became apparent that he was, and remains now, one of France's top young winemakers. Over the past few years I have watched with great glee how Sylvain's wines have started to dot the lists of Paris' better tables. The other night at 59 Poincare I had the good fortune to drink his top wine, Les Clos, the one that is produced in such limited quantities that it is not exported to USA. Today, I had the good fortune of drinking his newest release, the 1999 Coteaux du Languedoc. Now be warned, one little known secret is that Sylvain actually makes two versions of his Coteaux du Languedoc, so to let the cat out of the bag, the version found in restaurants in Paris sees much less time in barrel and is released much earlier. Bigger, rounder and more complex than his bistro wine, Lou Maset, the early release CdL is the same blend as the later released version, but the shorter time on the wood gives the wine a more fresh and fruit forward style, something he once told me that the restaurants prefer. For Fadat it means more demand for his already short run of wines. The wine has Fadet's tell-tale mark of Carignan. He has vines that are almost 100 years old high atop Mont Baudile. As much as he produces a wine that is largely Syrah, his ability to craft flavor in the wine with the harsh and rustic Carignan grape further shows his dexterity in the cuve. The wine is an inky dark purple so even the violet flowers on the table pale in color. The garrigue aroma comes through as does the very berry blueberry of the Syrah. The texture though is perfect for a cool rainy Paris winter day, for this wine is not for the faint of heart. Fadat has done it again with a blockbuster clearly marked Non Filtered wine. Obviously his lessons from Kermit Lynch, the USA importer are taking hold. One other note, this is that I believe this is the first of the CdL's to be made in the barrels he secured via Kermit, from Zind-Humbrecht. At Les Amonges, the restaurant of hot shot young chef Thierry Coue, the 1999 CDL shows that the parts I tasted in November of that year are really coming together. Coue is one of the chef's in Paris who has broken away from a kitchen of one of the top hotels and put his mark squarely on the Paris dining scene. All of the reviewers have take to his inventive lighter style and interpretations. As for lunch, the food was superb. The fresh sardines over a crisp and crème fraich were light and tasty. The lamb shoulder was a perfect match for the wine, and the dessert was tremendous. The restaurant may not look like much from the outside..but the kitchen sure knows what to do. Date: Feb 09 2001 11:45:10 EST Road Reports 2001 Vol #1, #11-Paris Subject: Road Reports 2001, Vol #1, 11-Paris Café Runtz Cafe Runtz was designed to replicate a true Alsatian Wistube (read wine bar). Having spent many a night in them in Alsace, especially the awesome Zim Pfifferhaus in Riebeauville and Bergheim's Wistube du Sommelier, I could not help but see the detail which designer Jacques Garcia has gone to when reworking the 21 year old establishment in 1999. Considered the top Alsace dining establishment in Paris, the accuracy and detail was amazing and the cooking dead on authentic. The wine list is typical Alsace also, a few producers, offering a range of their wines, plus a co-op's wine and some choice bottles available by the glass. The stemware is typical Alsace, clear bowel and green stem. I began the dinner with a Kir Pinot Noir. The wine reminds me of Champagne and Chambord. Served with pretzels of all things. The drink is light and refreshing and a perfect start, as my work project here in Paris has finally ended. First course is a green salad with warm Munster cheese. I am amazed how warm cheese really adds to a salad. I then went with the required Onion tart. My friend Diane Clark, wife of wine master David Clark, who like me shares a fondness for anything Alsatian---would enjoy this for it is true to her cooking style so David please tell Diane it is okay to slightly char the to a question she has posed before. Runtz's onion tart is like onion pie as opposed to the pizza like onion tarts that I enjoyed in Kintzheim at the small Auberge Saint Martin in the center of town that always packs a crowd. My main course was a delicious Onglet of Veau in a horseradish mustard sauce. It may be Friday but after this, I won't be missing Fleming's tonight==Sorry to my friend Cameron, the GM. The perfect wine for an onion tart is the Muscat. Heady, floral and delightful. The bouquet of Alsatian Muscat is totally different than what you find in Corsica or the Languedoc or even in the Rhone. It is not cloying like Viognier, but it has such floral scents that you think you are in a nursery. The Riesling is something to remember. It is rich, deep and full bodied with apples, pears, peaches and white grape flavors. No petrol here, just lots of fruit and flavor that goes well with every course. As the night is young, I am off to Jacques Melac and some wine tasting.....and then Barrio Latino... Melac--I think I have achieved regular's status. The three bartenders each pours me a glass of wine. I end up drinking a Saint Amour (Beaujolais), a 1998 Chateau de Joncquirres Le Baronnee from just south of Montpellier in the Languedoc and the very fine 1999 Cotes du Russillion by Domaine Piquemal called Les Terres Grilles. My bill for four glasses of wine, 43FF about six bucks. I then headed to Barrio Latino, currently the hottest dance bar in Paris. The line is out the door and down the street..around the corner.....a two hour wait to get in.....I walk to the door...James Bond type cool..long coat....talk in broken French/English to bouncer and show a biz card showing media affiliation...immediate entry..no cover..power of the press....So what does one drink in a bar fashioned after old Havana. It's called a Mahito. Pure rum and fresh lime leaves and lime juice. Wow...This stuff could be addictive.
Back to Andy's Road Reports index page
|
