One Spoonful At A Time: Paris districts: 5eme

Sunday, March 6, 2011

L'Agrume

If you're willing to trek east between the 13th and 5th arrondissement, you might as well try L'Agrume. Headed by Franck Marchesi-Grandi who worked at the Plaza Athénée in Paris and Le Bernardin in New York, I expected this place to be a treat.

This small neo-bistro, with a capacity of 20 customers has had rave reviews, and with good reason. The decor is simple, modern with a lot of glass artwork. To find an under-40 euros prix fixe menu is not a hard find, but to have an impressive meal along with it, now there's a challenge.

Alone in a small open kitchen, Marchesi-Grandi can't be bothered with elaborate plating and I believe he sends food that looks like what he'd made at home for his close friends. You can sit at the 'kitchen bar' just like in L'Atelier where you can see the Chef at work. No time for public meltdowns here. The restaurant has 2 seatings: 19.30 and 21.30. We opted for the second seating as we were still full from lunch. The service was attentive and unintrusive: one woman who acted as hostess and waitress and another waiter helping to serve the plates.
I thought I would be ordering a la carte, but the 5-course tasting menu for 37 euros seemed like a good bargain for me so away we went.

Entrées: Thon Rouge et Pamplemousse, Radis et Mousse d' Avocat

Raw tuna with seaweed vinaigrette, radish and avocado mousse

Pommes Charlottes, Céléri et Crème de Truffe

Poisson: Filet de Sole, Emincée de Poireaux et Citron Confit

Filet of sole, quenelle of leek and lemon zest

Viande: Joue de Boeuf Braisée, purée de carottes et pignons

Braised beef cheeks with carrot puree and pine nuts

I thought the plats were less alluring than entrées - I found the sole to be a bit bland and the cheek of beef to have been oversalted but both were perfectly cooked and had nice combinations.

Dessert: Panna Cotta Vanille et Boule de Chocolat en neige

Silky vanilla panna cotta with a raspberry coulis and a chocolate mousse “boule”

classic milk chocolate ganache rolled in cocoa powder and floated in mint broth with a basic vanilla panna cotta with raspberry coulis

You can get fancier meals in Paris, but for a bargain price of 37 euros, this place tries to pull out all the stops to impress you.

L'Agrume
15 Rue des Fossés Saint-Marcel, 75005
Tel: 01 43 31 86 48
Metro: Saint-Marcel (Ligne 5)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

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