Paris restaurants

[TheFoo]

Curious about the food scene in Paris. I understand there is a rising competitive tension between the old guard, Michelin-oriented giants and new, rule-breaking, more casual upstarts. Are the latter truly any good, or just hype?

Lay it on me.

 

[Despos]

From The Financial Times

France gets bout of national indigestion over restaurant rules


Restaurant standards in the country that gave us boeuf bourguignon, confit de canard and soupe a l'oignon are causing a serious bout of national indigestion.
At least that seems to be the conclusion of French lawmakers, who next week will debate a bill that would force restaurant owners to label dishes made in-house with fresh ingredients - and, by extension, signal to customers when they are not.
The "fait maison" or "home-made" legislation, which will go to the senate following lower house approval in June, comes in response to what many people in France perceive as rapidly declining restaurant standards in a nation where cuisine has long been a synonym for culture itself.
In April, the Synhorcat association of hoteliers, restaurateurs and caterers horrified France's traditional foodies when it found that 31 per cent of all French sit-down restaurants now use industrially prepared ingredients in their kitchens.
Of those, industrially-prepared food - from frozen vegetables to sauces in sachets and even fully prepared dishes - accounted for a quarter of all the food they served.
Barely a month later, France's Gira Conseil, a Paris-based food consultancy, discovered another fly in the soup: fast-food sales had overtaken sit-down restaurant sales for the first time. The "haute", it seemed, was fast disappearing from "haute cuisine".
Bernard Boutboul, Gira Conseil's founder and general manager, suggests that much of the change has to do with rapidly shifting lifestyles as France, at times begrudgingly, learns to live with globalisation.
One consequence is that lunch breaks have shrunk from an average of one hour and 40 minutes 20 years ago to just 22 minutes today, according to insurer Malakoff Mederic - a fact that has inevitably taken its toll on the three-course classic with default glass of red. "The French are becoming more American," says Mr Boutboul.
Pressured by shorter lunch breaks, and hit by Europe's economic woes, which figures this week showed has pushed the number of unemployed in France to above 3m for the first time, it is little wonder that struggling restaurateurs have looked for ways to reduce costs.
Off-premises food suppliers to the restaurant industry such as Metro and Brake France, whose website offers "3,500 products with one click", have seen sales soar.

Parliament passed a law that forced any establishment calling itself a "boulangerie" to make and bake its bread on site. Many credited that legislation with improving standards.
But as senators prepare to debate the proposals, restaurateurs and chefs are divided. Some industry voices are worried that the new measures will drive up costs while confusing tourists, many of whom consider French cuisine one of the country's principal attractions.
Others, such as the Culinary College of France, believe that lawmakers should be more audacious. "The proposals are fine but they do not go far enough," says Christian Regouby, the college's spokesperson. Instead, he wants to see the word 'restaurant' limited only to those establishments with the highest standards - in effect creating an "appellation".
If the idea catches on, next week's parliamentary debate could be just the entree.

 

[Blake686]

I ate at the following two more casual restaurants in the spring when in Paris:

http://www.frenchie-restaurant.com/en
http://www.hkmenus.com/verjusmenu.html

I didn't get a chance to go to the classics Paris Michelin starred restaurants, but compared to the Michelin starred restaurants I have eaten at in the US and London I was impressed. The wine bar portions of these restaurants were packed, especially Frenchie. I'm surprised it didn't get a star.

 

[zalb916]

My wife and I did the whole chef-trained-at-a-fancy-place-running-a-small-reasonably-priced-neighborhood-place thing (Frenchie, Le Comptoir, etc.) when we visited about two years ago. While I didn't have any mind blowing or super memorable meals, I ate very well and thought the restaurants we went to were very good. It was a really enjoyable way for us travel. It was winter. She was very pregnant. The idea of dressing up and sitting for hours at fancy restaurants was not what we wanted. The more casual, comfy vibe just seemed better suited to the kind of trip we wanted.

I will say that Frenchie was weird. Our waitress was American. I think most of the diners were American. That didn't make it bad. I enjoyed my food. It was just weird sitting there and hearing nothing but unaccented English.

 

[Blake686]

I agree with your sentiments in that the meals weren't mind blowing, but it was well executed good food. My wife wasn't pregnant, but she was appreciative to not have to get all done up to go out every night.

I didn't see any American servers at Frenchie, although I did run into other Americans eating there. I believe the chef and owner of Verjus is American though and his wife runs the wine bar portion.

 

[poorsod]

I was at L'Ambroisie recently and it was coincidentally white truffle season. To tell you the truth I don't really get it. The richness was over the top. Too one sided for me. I tend to prefer a balance between freshness and richness. Perhaps it is too advanced for my palate. The dessert was really good though. The contrasting textures were wonderful.

Appetizer, scallops with white truffles. My entire table decided to order it.

Dover sole with black truffles.

Sea bass with caviar.

Veal.

Dessert

My $0.02 is that unless you are really into classical cuisine and can appreciate all it brings, why not try the new guard if they are considerably cheaper? YMMV.

 

[UnnamedPlayer]

Lunch - L'Astrance

 

[hopkins_student]

L'Ambroisie

 

[TheFoo]

Senderens vs. Le Comptoir. Go.

 

[TheFoo]

Anybody? This thread is not as lively as I had hoped.

 

[poorsod]

Thought you bailed on this thread right after it was started. Anyway I didn't think the Paris guys check this part of the forum.

 

[poorsod]

I figure I'll put up my experiences of some restaurants I visited recently.

Restaurant Le Meurice was recently taken up by the Alain Ducasse team. My understanding is that the team from the Plaza Athenee, currently under renovation, moved over to Meurice. Personally, I preferred Meurice to L'Ambroise. The setting was beautiful and service was magnificent. For the price, I think it is more like a one time experience than a place I would revisit.

Some pics.

Poached oyster

Olive dip with steamed vegetables surrounded by seasalt.

Beets

Asparagus is in season!

I don't remember the type of fish. Maybe seabass.

Dessert

 

[Gus]

I'm probably a Philistine when it comes to these things but when in Paris we like a place with simple bistro food - seafood, steak frites, a nice beef bourguignon with a crusty loaf and a nice bottle of wine. Oh, and a good cheese assortment after the meal.

 

[ahk1979]

A few good places mentioned in this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/magazine/can-anyone-save-french-food.html?_r=0

 

[poorsod]

Le Comptoir du Relais is interesting in that there is only 1 dinner sitting at 8:30 pm. I was lucky enough to get same day reservations.

We could only get terrace reservations, but it's quite good on a nice night. They have heat lamps too.

The food is on the heavier rustic side. The service was fine but not spectacular. i.e. on occasion, I had to pour my own wine. The price was about 1/3 the price of Meurice. Still expensive but worth considering a return visit.

Scallops still attached to the shell.

Calamari

Chicken

Sweetbreads

All you can eat cheese plate

Dessert