Sunday, July 8, 2012

1/2Baked Paris Summer 2012: "Waiting on a Miracle"

My current wish list of food I want to eat in Paris in Summer 2012 while await the unattainable Yam T'Cha reservation (hence the reference to the Springsteen song title above, though I'm pretty sure the Boss wasn't thinking that scoring a Parisian hot reservation was so miraculous):
In the 7th:
LA TABLE D’AKI, 49 rue Vaneau, Paris 7. Tel: +33 1 45 44 43 48. Métro: Vaneau. Open: Tuesday-Saturday. Closed  Sunday & Monday.
www.latabledaki.com. Lunch & Dinner: A la carte 38-50€
--Here's what Patricia Wells had to say (and we love her): http://patriciawells.com/blog/3496

"Akihiro Horikoshi brings new meaning to the phrase "one man show." His new, 16-seat restaurant has a single employee: Aki. He shops, he creates the menu, he cooks, he takes orders, he serves, he cleans up. And this is the way the Tokyo native wants it. He has been on his own at La Table d’Aki since January 10, having worked under the tutelage of Bernard Pacaud at the Michelin three-star L’Ambroisie since 1991. The spotless, tiny restaurant is bathed in light and white from head to toe, with a few flashes of red from the lamp cables that bring the room together in a quiet, festive way. His food, too – pure, simple, and sensational in an understated way  – is white. A giant. alabaster ravioli filled with sweet, fresh langoustines dotted with herbs arrives with a thin but potent meat sauce that makes the dish look like dessert (photo). A delicate, moist fricassée of chicken with carefully turned potatoes and baby onions tastes as though it was dropped from on high by the angels. The delicate lieu-jaune (Atlantic cod) is offset with the punch of a brunoise of celery root, all those precision-cut cubes, and a nice hit of capers. Dessert, all white again, arrives as silken crème brûlée, paired with an apple baked with a touch of cake inside, a pleasant surprise on the palate. At night, Aki cooks only fish. On the menu now, the freshest scallops from Brittany. The food has the Aki signature, as well as the echo of Pacauad’s sublime perfection. La Table d’Aki is a nice little new star in Paris’s ever-glistening sky."
Also, check out Paris by Mouth: http://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-la-table-daki/

COUTUME CAFE: I'm looking for Coffee (really good coffee!) and light bites (salad to justify all that carb-loading I do in Paris) at the hot new place described here: http://www.60by80.com/paris/restaurants-brunch/coutume-cafe.html
Address 47 rue de Babylone; 75007 Paris
by rue Vaneau
Neighbourhood 7th Arrondissement | See on map
Metro Saint-François-Xavier [M13], Vaneau [M10]
Telephone +33 1 45 51 50 47
Website http://coutumecafe.com/
Price EUR 10-15
Hours Tues-Fri 08-19. Sat-Sun 10-19

RESTAURANT LE CHARDENOUX DES PRES: This bistro in the 6th was dubbed among Gayot's top 10 new restaurants in Paris for 2012 and is open 7 days a week (and that means Sundays too).  It garners 14/20 from Gayot, which is pretty great praise, actually: http://www.restaurantlechardenouxdespres.com/fr/# and here's the Gayot link to the restaurant: http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/le-chardenoux-des-pres-paris-75006-france_10pa110707-02.html

SATURNE: A moderately priced new find in the 2nd where a Passard alum (our beloved veggie 7th heaven, Arpege) and a good sommelier, have teamed up to garner 14/20 and make Gayot's top 10 new restos of 2012.  Front room is a no reservation bistro. Back room is more upscale and takes res.  Here's the Gayot review: http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/saturne-paris-75002-france_10pa101001.html  And this review makes it sound like the perfect place for a pretentious foodie like me: http://www.60by80.com/paris/restaurants-popular/saturne.html

GUY SAVOY: It's time...for years, I have toyed with the idea and kept wondering whether the hype had outlived the quality but seeing the 3 star rating again from Michelin and the top ranking in Gayot this year (18/20) means that the time has come to take the plunge: http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/guy-savoy-paris-75017-france_10pa02293-04.html and here's the link to the restaurant itself: http://www.guysavoy.com/en/guy-savoy-autres-maisons and here's what Michelin has to say: http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurants#description@poi=6477_41102

CHEN SOLEIL d'EST: I admit that I am on the fence on this one...with 16/20 from Gayot and a nod for best Chinese in Paris, I am intrigued (especially since they said that it has a wine list that matches well...) http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/chen-soleil-dest-paris-75015-france_10pa060204.html

What about Spring? Check out the GQ coverage: http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-richman/201105/best-restaurants-paris-alan-richman

And there's more for me to explore: like some of those in this article: http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2012/04/best-restaurants-in-paris-fran.html

Frenchie looks yummy and fairly priced: http://frenchie-restaurant.com/
These two women are causing a bit of a stir in the 18th: http://en.le-bal.com/

We have friends in the 9th and there's a wine store nearby that i quite like, so...http://lepantruche.com/

Is she the real deal? Not sure, but this Argentine chef has been feeding Paris' star chefs of late: Le Baratin, 3 rue Jouye-Rouve (20th); +33-1-43-49-39-70.  What I save on food, I will spend on the cab -- because this is in the 20th, no really, the 20th: 0
Nearest transport: Pyrenées or Belleville (11)
Hours: Closed Sunday and Monday
Reservations: Book a few days in advance
This is also touted in http://parisbymouth.com/le-baratin-2/ and here: http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/07/paris_wine_bars.html (which mentions Edith Piaf's birthplace, right nearby)





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