Dans Les Landes

Since Yves Camdeborde's success with Le Comptoir, s'wine bars (everything pork, cochon, ham, pig, hog, boar, jambon, & wine) have become more trendy.
Upcoming openings include Gregory Marchand from Frenchie and Guillaume Delage from Jadis. 


Why this trend? It's more convivial, you get to mingle with the locals by sitting in communal tables, it's affordable and you can nibble on a large variety of dishes while sipping your wine.

Julien Duboue from Afaria, recently opened Dans Les Landes in the 5th district. Immediately when you walk in, you can tell you're in Basque region. In the background, an iPod is playing typical regional music, from the terracotta roof tiles on the ceiling you see hanging piment d'espelette and dried hams. 


It's a small restaurant, with a capacity of about 25 people and for such a small venture, the menu selection is surprisingly varied. 

Unlike L’Avant Comptoir, there are seats - most of them are high tables made of wood, just like the interior decor.  Dishes here are served tapas style and reflects the Chef's combination of different ingredients - all high quality creating the longest chalkboard menu I have seen with prices ranging from 4 euros - 21 euros. 

Expect a lot of pork, duck, foie gras and grilled meats. I would definitely go back with a large group of friends to eat and drink and sample different dishes. I was very impressed with the creative presentation - a very rustic feel including wooden cheese boxes, staubs, terra cotta tiles and a slab of pork belly..yes that was the 'plate'. 

Sabot de Jambon Ibaïona 

Pot de boudin tiède aux pommes (warm pot of boudin noir) - my favorite, very sweet and you can taste the sweetness of the apples

Poitrine de porc croustillante aux épices (pork belly croquettes in 5 spice) - very Asian I thought

Mini-croissant au Jambon truffé - (melt-in-your-mouth) Croissant with flaky buttery layers of béchamel sauce, jambon and black truffles

Travers de porc Ibaïona, Sauce Barbecue (Pork ribs)

Pied de cochon en escabèche - croquettes of pig's foot

Bocal de foie gras - house made foie gras

Guindillas sur ventrèche - sweet green peppers wrapped in crispy bacon and served on a slab of pork belly

Chipirons frits au piment doux - fried baby calamari

Gambas aux crémeux thai épicés - Fried shrimp in coconut milk

The wine list is also varied, it offers interesting AOC choices organized by region and start at 5 euros per glass and 20-40 euros per bottle. 

No reservations needed (for the time being) - come before this place gets too trendy - which I know will happen very soon!

Dans Les Landes

119 bis Rue Monge, 75005

Metro: Censier-Daubenton (Ligne 7)

Telephone: 01 45 87 06 00

Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie

After a shopping day at your local cuisine shops (e.g. Mora, Bovida, Simone and the likes), you can take a break at Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie situated next to Bovida. Before coming to Ferrandi, I had always passed by this restaurant/boutique and often saw many people coming out of the shop with bags filled with gastronomic ingredients including fresh fois gras d'oie (goose foie gras) to boudin noir (blood sausage) even wine as well as others sitting in the restaurant next door. 

The restaurant is rather old (supposedly existed since 1894) with wooden banquets and tables. You have a view of the open-boutique that looks like an antique épicerie with its own side entrance. Whatever you find in the boutique you will find on the menu with a couple of more choices of foie gras, cassoulet and magret de canard (duck breast). 


Soupe à l'oignon - simple, traditional but very tasty with the caramelized onions matching perfectly with the the grated cheese

Royale de Foie gras

Salade de Canard - different parts of the duck including foie gras with a subtle vinaigrette

Foie gras poêlé - seared foie gras - melted in your mouth with the sweetness of the honey, went ery well with the crunchyness of the pain d'épices. 

Magret de Canard - perfectly seared (inside was rosé, just as it should be)

Moelleux au Chocolat - to die for!

Yes, I know it's a lot of duck to handle but this is their specialty - everything revolving around duck, goose and the likes. If you're in the mood for duck, definitely come to this place that will satisfy your hunger for foie gras. 


Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie
34 Rue Montmartre, 75001
Tel: 01 42 33 31 32
Metro: Etienne Marcel (Ligne 4)


Website: www.comptoir-gastronomie.com

Robert et Louise

Robert et Louise is a small restaurant, easily missed on the Rue Veille du Temple.

Try not to miss this hidden gem for carnivores. The walls are adorned with kitchen utensils and pictures of the old days - makes you feel like you're back in 1930s. In general, the decor is rather minimal, everything around you is made of wood and in the back you can see the great big wood burning fire where most of the meats are grilled. Yes...that's the 'kitchen', at the back of the restaurant - actually it's an alcove with an open fire and a giant wooden chopping block. 

It's all about the meat - which the Chef grabs from the hanging fridge and slabs it on the grill, serving it on a hot wooden plate. The meat is cooked to perfection - saignant/rare and you can taste the smokyness of the meat coming from the burning wood. 

To start, we had an assiette de charcuterie and the boudin noir (yummy blood sausage and very sweet as well) which were both delicious and served with baguette and cornichons. 

The starters were a great introduction to the country-style food we'd be getting but it was the meats that came afterwards that were brilliant. All served with roasted potatoes and a side-salad. 


The confit de canard was juicy, tender and fell of the bone.

The plat du jour: Tête de veau melted in your mouth. It consisted of different pieces of the veal's head served with diced cornichons, eggs and caper sauce.

The entrecôte, served saignant is a meat lover's dream. It's dark on the outside, pink, juicy and tender on the inside, so tender you can cut it with a butter knife with fat to make it have plenty of flavor. 

I found out that Anthony Bourdain came here and loved it, and I can see why. Another great meat find in Paris with an inexpensive menu (try to come during the week, they have the best prix-fixe in town: 12 euros for starter and main or main and dessert - who can beat that?!). Prices here are kept at a low and the portions are generous so definitely a great value for money. No need to reserve here, perhaps only for dinner on weekends.

Robert et Louise
64 Rue Veille du Temple, 75003
Tel: 01 42 78 55 89
Metro: Saint-Paul (Ligne 1)

Les Fines Gueules

In culinary school, we're told that not only does our cooking techniques matter, but for French food to be truly good, it should consists of the freshest available produce so that ingredients shine. I believe that Les Fines Gueules (an equally cozy wine bar and perhaps what might be the best steak tartare in Paris), right off Place des Victoires, embodies this principle. 

It serves the best quality produce in a generous serving but without overdoing it in presentation. The restaurant is not cheap, serving also vins naturels from France but serves some of the country's best oysters, cheese, meat, etc...

The daily menu that changes - apart from the steak tartare and the Rumsteak

I have read mixed reviews about the restaurant and agree that the staff, as nice as they are, were inattentive. I think it was the amount of customers kept tightly in the tiny restaurant or perhaps it was the lack of staff but by the end of the meal, it was very difficult to actually pay the bill and leave. 

Entrées

Assortiment de Charcuteries fines (12 or 24 euros), we opted for the latter as we had hungry bellies. The meat was freshly cut (I believe a vintage hand-worked machine was used)

Carpaccio de veau elevé sous la mère - sans bio - 36 mois, huile d'olive extra-vierge (Carpaccio of veal - raised by its mother for 36 months)

When I read this on the menu, I thought to myself...I have to have it. It's as fresh and clean as you can get. The meat was divine, it did not even taste (or look) like meat as it melted in your mouth. The more pinkish the meat, the better it is.

Ravioles de Boudin Noir de Christian Parra (one of the great Charcutiers of the Basque country) - Ravioli of Blood Sausage...a very familiar yet interesting take on blood sausage. 

Emiette de Tourteau, Crème de Concombre à la Menthe (Crabmeat, cream of cucumber) - it was very refreshing and cleaned your palate, would have loved to see this on the menu during the hot summer months.

Tarte fine de St. Jacques, Coulis d'Espelette -- Scallop tart with Espelette pepper coulis

Plats

Noix de Veau Desnoyer, Pieds de Moutons et Pleurotes, Coulis de Truffes Noires (Veal tenderloin, mutton's feet and pleurotes mushrooms, coulis of black truffles) 

Coeur de Rumsteak, Purée Maison, Sauce of Vin Rouge -- Rumsteak with red wine, potato purée

The pièce de resistance: Fameux Tartare de Limousine au Couteau -- Hand-cut steak tartare (17 euros). The Desnoyer meat (from Limousin) was draped with aged parmigiano reggiano and parsley with more potatoes and a light salad (provided by vegetable King, Joel Thiébault). This was probably the best steak tartare we’d ever eaten.

Desserts

Mi-Cuit au Chocolat Valrhona (Half-baked Valrhona chocolate cake)

Nage de Clémentines et de Raisins à la Menthe, Billes de Chocolat (Refreshing clementines and raisins with mint and mini Chocolate marbles)


To be honest, I could have done without this dessert. There wasn't anything unique about this dish - it was clementines, its juice with some raisins and chocolate bits. I could do this at home. A bit of a disappointment after a nice meal. 

Les Fines Gueules roughly translated as “The Fine Mouths” serves simple dishes to demonstrate the quality of the produce. It's refreshing to find someone who understands the balance between serving good quality ingredients and not pushing the extremes of your taste buds. 

Les Fines Gueules
43 Rue Croix des Petits Champs, 75001
Tel: 01 42 61 35 41
Metro: Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre (Ligne 1)

La Chaumette

La Chaumette is one of those hideaway restaurants only known by locals of the neighborhood that they keep secret themselves from others in the 16th arrondissement. You won't find tourists here, just friendly neighbors serving traditionally french dishes that one's grandma might make on a Sunday afternoon. This bistro reminds me of a grand aunt’s living room, with cookbooks and French classic literature on the shelves, wood paneling and shaded light fixtures making you feel just like at home.  

The tables are  adorned with Chaumette branded china.  Of course, the wait staff bring fine French silver for each course, depending upon what is ordered.

The tables are cozy and small, and closely positioned side by side to the one next to it. Just like your own family, the staff could not be more charming. They were helpful, smiling, and spoke English. 

The best thing about Chaumette, however, is the food.  Focused on traditional French cuisine, La Chaumette brings mama’s and grandma’s dishes, French comfort food that is always satisfying and full of flavor, to the table.  

Côte de bœuf (roasted cut of beef) with classic bearnaise

Blanquette de veau (Veal stew)

Filet de Canette au foie gras (Seared duck in foie gras sauce)

Vegetable dish - pot-au-feu style

Desserts:

Crêpes Suzette

Verrine aux marrons, mascarpone à l'Amaretto

A quaint restaurant in the 16th district. You might enter as a tourist but you will come out as a local. 

La Chaumette

7 Rue Gros, 75016 (Metro: Passy - Ligne 6 ou Boulainvilliers - RER C)

Tel: 01 79 97 32 66