PARIS

 

 

RESTAURANTS

 

THE BIGGIES:

 

The following are very pricey (with good wines, plan to pay 200-300 € per person and up), and also often hard—to impossible—to get a reservation.  Some are completely booked months in advance, so you should book well in advance. (N.B.: most are closed Saturday, and all are closed on Sunday!  The main significant restaurants open on the weekend are those in hotels—of which the restaurant at Le Bristol is certainly the best for its food.)  It is often easier to get a lunch reservation, however.  These are gastronomic experiences worth the planning and the expense, however: plan to spend three hours or more savoring the Epicurean delights of these temples of hedonistic pleasure!  Also, be forewarned: most two-star restaurants are just as expensive, and they are nowhere near as good.

 

Taillevent  (15, rue Lamennais, 8e  [Metro, George V]  01.44.95.15.01, FAX 01.42.25.95.18)  I simply will never go to Paris again without eating at Taillevent! (We’ve gone five out of our last six trips –and the one time we didn’t go we felt we had made a grave error.) Perfect service, perfect food, elegant décor, a superb wine list, and an unsurpassed cheese tray—Jean-Claude Vrinat certainly knows how to run a three-star restaurant!  He personally presides over the dining rooms (the only owner of such an establishment who is not himself a chef), greeting, advising, and making welcome and comfortable all his patrons—and not just the regulars or celebrities.  Taillevent is also by far the least expensive of the major three-star restaurants in Paris, for some inexplicable reason.

 

Paris has been playing “three-star chef roulette” of late, and there have been changes in the kitchens of many of the biggies.  In the summer of 2002, the recently arrived Michel del Burgo (who had succeeded Taillevent legend Philippe Legendre) was replaced by Alain Soliveres.  (Just so you’ll realize how unusual these changes have been, Soliveres is only the fifth chef at Taillevent in the forty years that M. Vrinat has owned the restaurant!)  The 40 year old Soliveres is a native of Languedoc, and trained with Jacques Maximin at the Negresco in Nice, at Lucas Carton, and with Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco.  From 1992, he was the chef at Les Elysees du Vernet in Paris.  (To give some hint of just how much of a merry-go-round is happening, del Brugo has gone to La Bastide in Gordes, where Soliveres was chef in 1989, and Soliveres has been replaced at Les Elysees du Vernet by Eric Beffart, who was moved out when Alain Ducasse took over the Plaza Athénée.)  [I am indebted to Patricia Well’s article, “Taillevent stays on top,” of 31 January 2003 in the Herald Tribune for many of these historic details; M. Vrinat filled in the others at dinner.]

 

On our recent visit in March 2004, we found that the cooking of M. Soliveres, which, in our first exposure in 2003, had surpassed our wildest expectations, had gotten even better—although how this is even possible is unclear! (My strong conviction, however, is that it is an example of the incredibly wonderful and powerful influence M. Vrinat exerts over every facet of the restaurant's operation.)  On that earlier visit (14 March 2003), we were fortunate to have arrived at Taillevent during the season for truffes noires (black truffles), and we took advantage of the grand tasting menu (180 €; there is another tasting menu at 130 €) which was based around this extraordinary forest mushroom.  Each of its eight courses was pure perfection and gustatory delight, and included M. Soliveres’s signature risotto of epeautre (German wheat), cooked in a rich veal broth and topped by a layer of paper thinly sliced truffles; bar (sea bass) served in a spectacular truffle sauce; foie gras de canard en pot au feu—duck liver over lovely winter vegetables, again in a truffle sauce.  It was accompanied by a 1989 Nuit-Saint-Georges aux Boudots from Méo-Camuzet, which was truly one of the finest burgundies I have drunk in many years—beautifully balanced, with great fruit, just the right acidity and tannin, and with a nose that was simply dreamy.  It was the suggestion of the sommelier, after a long discussion of what I might have considered choosing from the wine list; and it was an inspired choice.  Not only is the wine list at Taillevent a thing of beauty, the wine knowledge there is truly a national treasure.  On our recent visit, we had the smaller of the tasting menus (both of which can be seen by clicking here).  Every item in the dégustation was a magnificent delight—including the epeautre risotto of wild mushrooms which the chef created on the spot as a substitute for the rouget-barbet en filet poêlé for Nancy, who doesn’t eat fish or shell fish.

 

Taillevent quite simply is our favorite restaurant in the world.

 

Ambroisie  (9, place des Vosges, 4e [Metro, St. Paul], 01.42.78.51.45) This is a small, beautiful gem in a 17th-century mansion right on the Place des Vosges. Bernard Pacaud produces sublimely simple but elegant dishes that are a total joy to the palate.  The service is excellent, and the dining experience is well worth the considerable price—although it may be the most difficult reservation in the world to get.  (Try for lunch, or perhaps a last minute cancellation)

 

Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée  (25, av Montaigne, 8e [Metro, Alma-Marceau ], 01.53.67.65.00)  In 2001, M. Ducasse moved his very highly acclaimed restaurant to a new venue in the Plaza Athénée Hotel.  Our meal there in 2002 was very disappointing:  the food was quite good and the room very attractive—but the service was completely unacceptable for a restaurant on this level (and it was by far the most expensive of the three-star restaurants). The contrast with Ducasse’s Le Louis XV in Monaco, where we had eaten a truly extraordinary meal, was mind rending.  Our return visit in 2003 was quite a different story, however: every morsel of every course was perfect and delicious (reminding us very much of our experience at Le Louis XV).  The amuses-gueule and appetizers were particularly extraordinary: one of lightly cooked tails of small langoustines topped with osetra caviar, another of a potato preparation topped with a layer of sliced black truffles, and a salad of winter greens, encased in an almost-sphere shell of sliced black truffles.  The service was very professional and attentive, if not the perfection of Taillevent.

 

Apicius  (20, rue d'Artois, 8e [Metro,]  + 33 (0)1 43 80 19 66) [IT IS NOW IN A NEW LOCATION—WE’RE CHECKING IT OUT IN APRIL]–while the décor and service of this extraordinary two-star restaurant may not be on the level of the finest restaurants of Paris, the cooking of Jean-Pierre Vigato far surpasses that of all but a tiny number of the city’s three-star establishments.  The dégustation (tasting menu) is a treat worth experiencing.

 

A warning: Lucas Carton is a restaurant to which Michelin still gives three stars (and which used to be one of our favorites, fifteen years ago), but it has gone way downhill and has been rather disappointing these days.  (I do not believe I shall ever go back.)

 

 

Special New Places:

 

These restaurants are places with chefs that have fixed price menus for innovative, well- prepared and -presented dishes: usually an entrée, main course and dessert for around 35 €.  Add wine and it’s a great meal value.  They are up a notch from the Bistrot category in food and are a bit more “real restaurants.”

 

La Régalade  (49, av. Jean-Moulin, 14e [Metro Alésia],  01.45.45.68.58)  It is back!  Although no longer owned by Yves Camdeborde, the restaurant has reopened, and while we have not been there to try this incarnation ourselves, our foodie friends in France tell us that it is wonderful, even without him at the helm.  Here is my past review of it:

 

Hélas! Il n’existe plus.  After several years of cooking this marvelous cuisine to a full-house three or four times a night, M. Camdeborde has hung up his toque!  We can only hope that at some point he gets bored and returns.   [Currently a runaway for my vote for my favorite in this class (and good for any class), La Régalade was started by Yves Camdeborde after he left the two-star Les Ambassadeurs at Le Crillon.  “Stars are very nice, but I prefer them in the sky,” he is quoted as saying in Gourmet Magazine’s wonderful Paris edition of March 2001. This simple and very inexpensive bistro that he opened in lieu of being a major player in the Michelin star-collecting race is so marvelous, it is difficult to get a table. Reserve early! The amuse-gueule that begins the meal here consists of a large tub of a marvelous country pâté, gherkins from ceramic a crock, and wonderful country bread on which to eat the combination.  The fixed-price, three course meal that ensues is as delicious as it is inexpensive (30 €).  The cuisine is from the southwest of France; the atmosphere is friendly and informal.  A surprisingly wide and interesting selection of wines for less than 30€ as well.  Pretty far out of the way, at the southern end of the 14e—and now closed on Saturday, like most of the major restaurants in Paris.]

 

La Dînée  (85, rue Leblanc, 15e [Metro, Balard]  01.45.54.20.49, FAX 01.40.60.73.76) –very inexpensive, very good, informal dining (only prix fixe meals), and a refreshingly low-price wine list in a very out-of-the-way spot (last stop on the Balard Metro line, southern end of the 15e, but right near one entrance to the Parc André Citroën). Christophe Chabanel left the world of haute cuisine to devote himself to this neighborhood restaurant.  It is so good—and so cheap—that I always feel guilty and buy a good bottle of wine (he has a superb Bandol on the menu, which is also a bargain, of course), even though the house wine is delicious.  He has also recently added an incredible café around the corner, which is worth noting for lighter fare.  (N.B.:  This is a place we have not been back to in many years.)

 

 

Other restaurants of note:

 

Au Trou Gascon  (40 r. Taine, 12e  [Métro Daumesnil], 01 43 44 34 26)  This wonderful bastion of southwestern cooking was begun and is owned by the acclaimed Alain Dutournier (who owns and runs Carré des Feuillants), and it is currently run by M. Dutournier’s wife, Nicole Dutournier.  The cooking of chef Jean-François Godiard is superb (click here for a link to a current menu), and his cassoulet is unbelievably delicious.  There is an extraordinary (and relatively inexpensive) collection of southwestern wines available—particularly the great selection of Madirans; and, for lovers of Armagnac, the restaurant boasts a collect of more than 100 rare varieties!  Dinner here runs in the neighborhood of 50€ (not including wine), although a fixed price lunch can be had for 36€.)  The service is professional and the ambience is very pleasant.   Although out of the way, this wonderful restaurant is well worth the trip.

 

L’Astrance  (4, rue Beethoven, 16 e 01.40.50.84.40, FAX 01.40.50.11.45) –moderately priced, chic new place; attractive and pleasant room, interesting and mostly excellent food, although some of the unusual combinations are a bit too too.

 

Hélène Darroze   (4, rue d'Assas, 6 e [Metro, Sèvres-Babylone]  01.42.22.00.11, FAX 01.42.22.25.40) This extremely highly touted restaurant (and its new, less-expensive offspring, Salon d’Hélène), are both thought to be wonderful (although we have yet to eat there).  Zagat says of the more expensive, main restaurant, Hélène Darroze, “Hélène Darroze, a student of Alain Ducasse and member of a respected restaurant family, has made a ‘stunning start’ in Paris, offering ‘mountains of foie gras’ and other Southwestern French fare of ‘rare quality’ in a ‘Zen’ setting (wood floors, plum and tomato-red walls).” Salon d’Hélène is, of all things, a tapas bar, presenting her southwestern French cooking in a style modeled after the Spanish format of a meal consisting of many tiny tastes of a variety of dishes.

 

 

BRASSERIES:

 

These are loud, funky restaurants which stay open late and aren’t bound by the same rigid hours as most bistrots and restaurants. They serve a standard but interesting French Brasserie menu: oysters, straightforward fish and meat dishes, etc.

Le Dôme  (108, blvd. Du Montparnasse, 14e [Metro, Vavin]  01.43.35.25. 81)  This is a highly regarded albeit much more expensive brasserie which is a major step up from the others in this class. It is quite good and a fun place to eat; but it is not completely clear that it is worth the prices it charges.  It serves almost only fish, by the way—but what fish!  The food here is outstanding.  Unlike its more inexpensive next door sister, Bistrot de Dôme (see below), however, it does have at least one meat dish on the menu—a veal chop, which is quite delicious.  Le Dôme serves a preparation of ormeaux (abalone) as an unusual and quite special appetizer.  Their turbot with hollandaise sauce is a particularly delicious main course, as are their various preparations of lotte (monkfish—a delicacy in France that is quite unlike and far superior to the fish that goes by that name in the States).

 

Brasserie Flo (7, cour des Petites Ecuries, 10e [Metro, Château d’Eau]  01.47.70.13.59)  This classic turn-of-the-century brasserie is the original of a chain of brasseries of which La Coupole [see below] is a part, and it by far the most authentic in its atmosphere. There are two ways to go: 1) very inexpensive—they serve a prix fixe menu, three courses including wine for 30.50 €; or, 2) more extravagant (although, unless you really get carried away with the oysters, langoustines, etc., it still turns out to be quite moderately priced)—ordering “plateaux” of raw seafood, and various specialties à la carte, like their choucroute or steak tartare.  Although the food is not always of the highest quality, it is always a fun place—but it is a bit hard to find, as it’s tucked away on an alley.

 

La Coupole  102, blvd. Du Montparnasse, 14e (Metro, Vavin) 01.43.20.14.20 –a Montparnasse classic with pretty much the same menu as its much smaller, less tourist-y sister establishment, Brasserie Flo; but quite an enjoyable scene, which hasn’t changed much since Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre and the gang used to go there; and if it was good enough for them…. Actually, it has been reported (we haven’t been there in a year or so) that the food here has gone way down hill (as is also perhaps the case at Brasserie Flo)—so be forewarned.

 

Bofinger is a similar one near Bastille.

 

 

Bistrots

 

There are a number of chefs of “starred” restaurants who have opened bistrots that are quite good, less formal, less courses and much more reasonably priced.

 

We have not tried the following bistrots, and this list and comments, while a bit out of date, come from an extremely knowledgeable Parisian food-friend of ours:

 

Michel Rostang’s Bistrot d’à Cote; Boulevard Saint Germain is a fun place of this sort, crowded tables, good ambiance, good bistrot food. (He has another –equally good one– in the 17e, next door to his 2 star restaurant)

 

Le Cameleon in Montparnasse (Rue de Chevreuse) is the classic French bistrot.  The food is a bit heavier, but a lot of fun, personable staff.  Patricia Wells picked it as her favorite small restaurant some years ago.  The food is not that great, but it is a good, fun meal.

 

We eat regularly at the Bistrot de Dôme. This is a small Montparnasse, all-fish place that draws a local crowd and is good value.  It is across the street from Le Dôme (see above), its more expensive, brasserie cousin.

 

 

SOME GENERAL RESTAURANT CONSIDERATIONS:  The normal restaurant hours in Paris are 12-2:30 at lunch (although they may not seat you after 1:30), and usually between 8-10 for dinner.  In the good restaurants, however, once you are seated, you can stay for life.  That applies to cafes where a coffee or drink buys you the table for as long as you like.  Be aware that almost all the great restaurants in Paris are closed on Saturday and Sunday—of the “biggies,” only L’Ambroisie is open on Saturday; and there is now a growing trend among lesser restaurants to close on the weekends as well.

 

Also, remember that by law, all restaurant and café prices include tax and service. One usually leaves the centimes change in a café and 0-5 % extra in a restaurant, but that isn’t absolutely necessary, as 0% means you are already leaving the 15% tip which is included in the price. (In contrast to American restaurants, in which wait staff get little salary and are almost completely dependent on tips to make a living, French wait staff are reasonably well paid from the government-mandate service charge.)

 

Remember, too, that in France, “entrée” is the word for an “appetizer.”

 

 

SOME THINGS TO SEE

 

SOME CURRENT EXHIBITIONS WORTHY OF NOTE:   Until 21 June 2004, there is a wonderful exhibit called “Picasso/Ingres” at the Musée Picasso (see below).  It juxtaposes works of Picasso with some by Ingres, suggesting the influence—direct and indirect—that the latter had on the work of Picasso.

 

[I have included internet links to those museums that have their own web sites (just click on the name of the museum, if it is underlined and in color); but a good site from which to get information (location, hours, collections, special shows) about any Paris museum is http://www.paris.org/Musees/, and the main page of this site, Paris Pages, is a good source for basic information and events in Paris in general.]

 

Musée d’Orsay  (1, rue de Bellechasse, 62, rue de Lille, 7 e [Metro, Solférino] 01.40.49.48.14) –a truly great museum, but not a secret: it is overrun by tourists! It is worth buying a Carte Musée (available in one, three, and five day form; can be purchased in most Metro stations) just to avoid standing in the intolerable line to enter this Museum.  (With this card, you go straight to the front of the ticket-buying line outside and walk right into the museum.  It also works at the Louvre, the Musée Picasso, the Beaubourg, et al.—and, at all of these places you get to bypass the line for buying tickets and go straight to the entrance.)  The building itself, formerly a railroad station (the Gare d’Orsay), is quite interesting; but it is the painting it contains that is so extraordinary.  Opened in 1986, the museum is dedicated to presenting art of the period 1848 to 1914. The collection combined works formerly at the Louvre (by artists born after 1820 or who emerged into the art world with the Second Republic, 1848-1852), all of the impressionist works formerly displayed in the Jeu de Paume, and work formerly at the Musée National d'Art Moderne (which, when it was installed in the Centre Georges Pompidou in 1976, showed only works by artists born after 1870).  The ground floor contains works done up to the beginning of the 1870s; and while there are some real treasures to be found there (including some wonderful work by Ingres, Delacroix, Millet, Corot, et al.), it is on the third floor that the unbelievable profusion of treasures is to be found: rooms devoted to Manet, Whistler, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro,  Sisley, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Redon, Gauguin, Signac, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, et al.  My only gripe (and it is a big one) is that the skylights in the third floor galleries let in direct sunlight –which at times and under certain conditions make viewing these masterpieces all but impossible (imagine trying to look at a subtle Pissarro painting in the glare of direct sunlight!), and cannot physically be doing the works any good, either.

 

Le Beaubourg, Centre Georges Pompidou (place Georges-Pompidou, 4e, [Metro Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville], 01.44.78.12.33)  Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Gianfranco Franchini, the architects of the Centre Georges Pompidou, designed this building in 1971 to be an "expandable spatial diagram."  In a then provocatively innovative and controversial design, the utility shafts were attached very visibly to the outside of the building, and were painted in four brilliant colors—blue, air conditioning; green, water circuits; yellow, electrical conduits; red, circulation (elevators, etc.) and security (sprinklers, etc.)  This design both freed the inner space from utility shafts and circulation devices (staircases, elevators, etc.) and gave the building its distinctive look. In addition to housing the Département du développement culturel (which organizes and develops activities presented in the Centre in the areas of living performances, spoken word activities, cinema and audiovisual presentations), the fourth and fifth floors of this wonderfully odd architectural creation are home to Le Musée nationale d’art moderne—devoted to historical and contemporary painting and sculpture, drawings, photography, design and visual communication, architecture, experimental cinema, video and new technologies, and containing the incredible national collections of art works from 1905 to the present.  Wandering these galleries, one comes across a rotating collection of totally magnificent masterpieces by Matisse, Cezanne, Braque, Picasso, Mondrian,  Miro, Calder, Giacometti, Brancusi,  Pollack, Klein, Beuys, Albers, Johns, and just about everyone else from the era you might wish to find.

                   

Musée Picasso  (5, rue de Thorigny, 3e [Metro, Saint Paul, Chemin Vert, Filles du Calvaire] 01.42.71.25.21) –an astounding collection of Picasso’s painting and sculpture; an absolute must see!  (and a good place to follow with a walk through the Marais district)

 

The Louvre is one of the world’s great museums; among its many world class treasures, it is the home to one of the three unbelievably wonderful paintings by Uccello of the Battle of San Romano (the other two being at the Uffizi in Florence and the National Gallery in London)—these incredibly modern 15th century paintings are among our favorite works of all time, and we always visit them when we are in one of the cities that has one (even when we don’t have time to see anything else in that museum).

 

 Musée Guimet - Musée National des Arts Asiatiques  (6, place d'Iéna; 19, avenue d'Iéna, 16 e  [Metro, Iéna]  01.47.23.61.65) –the newly redone building is a beautiful, architecturally interesting, and very pleasant place to see  the fabulous collections it houses:  the largest collection of Buddhist art in Europe; art and archaeology from the 17 countries of antiquity, from Afghanistan to Japan; art from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Tibet and Buddhist Japan; rare porcelain from China.

                   

Musée Marmottan-Claude Monet  2, rue Louis Boilly, 16 e  (Metro, La Muette) –an extensive collection of Monet’s paintings (essentially all of the ones you might think are at Giverny, but aren’t)

                 

Viaduc des Artes - Promenade Plantée    The most creative use ever of an abandoned, elevated railroad line. Running alongside avenue Daumesnil, Le Viaduc des Arts dates back to 1859 when it was built as a railway bridge linking Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes. Restoration of the viaduct took place in 1990 under the auspices of Semaest, an art and crafts association, and with the help of the architect Patrick Berger. Today, this massive stone and red brick edifice has become the latest Mecca for Parisian craftsmen and designers who have converted the viaduct's arches into workshops and showrooms. The arches are now filled with huge shop windows dedicated to the artistic expertise of these artists and craftsmen. Just above, the Promenade Plantée offers an exposed pedestrian footpath running across the viaduct toward Vincennes that has been planted with lush greenery and flowers.  It is a magnificent park, that is essentially 30 feet wide and a mile and a half long.

 

Parc André Citroën (Quai André-Citroën, 15 e [Metro, Balard, Bir-Hakeim]) –a futuristic park, basically laid out geometrically, but with all sorts of side areas that create various environments.  Extremely interesting plantings, including many exotic collections housed in large, glass-walled buildings at several places within the park. A wonderful, computer-sequenced set of water jets that comprise a most interesting fountain at one end of the park –aesthetically pleasing, and marvelously inviting for small children to play in on a hot day

 

Bois de Boulogne Main entrance at bottom of avenue Foch, 16 e (Metro, Porte Maillot, Porte Dauphine, or Porte d'Auteuil) –The city's largest park, known to Parisians as "Le Bois." Formerly a royal forest and hunting ground, it was landscaped by Baron Haussmann in the1850s. This 2000-acre park is home to rowers, joggers, strollers, bicyclists, game players,

picnickers, and lovers.  And contains-

 

Parc de Bagatelle  (Bois de Boulogne, Sèvres-to-Neuilly road, 16 e [Metro, Porte Maillot])  –The Bagatelle is a magnificently planted set of gardens of various sorts.  The RoseGardens (Roseraie) at the western edge of the Bois contains 11 thousand rose bushes.

 

Jardin du Luxembourg   (rue Guynemer – blvd. Saint-Michel, 16 e [Metro, Odéon]) –Built by Salomon de Brosse for Marie de Medicis, the jardin du Luxembourg is one of the most romantic gardens of Paris. Laid out around the central fountain in a French-style garden, it stretches out to the Fontaine de l'Observatoire by Davioud.

 

Place des Vosges    4 e (Metro, Bastille, Chemin Vert, Saint Paul) The Place des Vosges is Paris' oldest square. The ground floor arcade consists of 39 houses, each made of red brick with stone facings, arranged around the perimeter of a completely symmetrical park It was constructed under Henri IV from 1605 - 1612.

 

Sainte Chapelle  4, boulevard du Palais, 1 e (Metro, Cité) A rather beautiful royal chapel, built by Louis IX in the 1240s. This small gothic chapel is one of the inspiring visual experiences of Paris, due largely to its stained glass windows which essentially surround the entire upper floor. The Gothic drive to reduce the masonry and open the walls (achieved by the use of flying buttresses on the exterior), reaches its height, here, where virtually the entire space is filled by stained glass, flooding the chapel with colored light.  Below, on ground level, there are beautiful ribbed groin vaults, in high Gothic style.  Very touristy, but worth a look.

 

Of course, if you want to see a truly sublime Gothic cathedral, take the train to Chartres for the day (or half-day, even)

 

Some Hotels:

 

near rue Vavin, in Montparnasse (second is a little fancier and more expensive--but not much...rooms start at 120 €):

     Aiglon    232, bd Raspail   Tel: (33) 1 43 20 82 42

     Sainte-Beuve    9, rue Sainte-Beuve   Tel: (33) 1 45 48 20 07

 

Hotel Clement (6, rue Clément,  6e 01.43.26.53.60) –very inexpensive

 

Hotel de l’Abbaye  (10, rue Cassette, 6e 01.45.44.38.11)

 

Hotel Prince de Galles (33, av. Georges V, 8e 01.53.23.77) –a very luxurious (and expensive) right bank establishment

 

Hôtel de Crillon  (10 Place de la Concorde, 8e 01.44.71.15.00)—an even more luxurious hotel, a major gem, in one of the best right bank locations imaginable; but very expensive

 

[Hotel du College de France—students]

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