Local knowledge is one key to a great trip, whether in Costa Rica or Paris. On our first night, I asked the clerk at the hotel Louvre Montana where he would go for dinner in the neighborhood. He said go out, turn right, pass the church (the venerable landmark Eglise St. Roche, and look for the red sign on the left. And there it was, right on sushi row in the right bank. An assuming, softly lit, neighborhood place, with the classic chalkboard sign out front. Our waiter, David, was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and genial. He has hoped of opening a restaurant in Amsterdam. Given his energy, expertise, and sincere interest in his customers, it should do well.
We chose the menu (prix fixe) which offered updated takes on classic French bistrot dishes. My companion and photographer opened with escargots en casserole. The escargots were shelled and accompanied with crescents of tender, fresh mushrooms in a light cream sauce, delicately savoring of garlic and other good things, but all so perfectly balanced that I couldn’t separate the flavors. Definitely a Top Chef quickfire challenge. I’m looking at you, Tom Colicchio! It was all I could do not to rip the dish from his hands and dash out with it. Fortunately for all concerned, my warm chèvre salad arrived. The chèvre was presented on perfect little toasts, with mint and honey on a bed of rocket, rather than the usual frisée. Delicieuse! We both had duck breast, thinly sliced, crispy skin, with a light sauce that featured honey and lemon. Perhaps a Vietnamese or Lebanese touch? Desserts were the classic creme brûlée and profiteroles, but the chocolate sauce on the profiteroles was dark and decadent.
The restaurant itself was in a building older than the United States, or as we like to say in France, just last week. Its ancient brick and stone walls looked as though they should be lit with candles in sconces or even torches. The dining rooms were separated by a magnificent archway formed by huge, hand hewn beams with the chisel marks still visible and some of the original, hand-forged flatheaded nails still visible.
It was altogether a great way to start PFW. Pix will follow once I figure out the new tech. Sometimes the 18th century seems more user-friendly than the 21st!