It used to be easy to recommend restaurants in Paris. A different dining experience could be had at distinct price points. If you’re willing to take out a second mortgage, you could spend it all at one of many Michelin-starred restaurants. Alternatively, any number of classic bistros satisfy most travelers for a quarter of the price. And then there are the inexpensive corner cafes where you can dine on comfort food with the locals and at least one dog (under the table).
But this hierarchy doesn’t work anymore. A number of innovative bistros have entered the Paris dining scene and shaken up my list of favorites. Their well-trained young chefs have rejected the high-end dining model, where you work your way to the top over many years in a large operation. They don’t trust the quality of the goods that bear the seal of France’s appellation system. They seek out quality ingredients independently. Just how does one recognize one of these new bistros?
Here are the criteria: 1 A space that accomodates no more than 30 seats, 2. Low-budget decor, 3. Limited menu choices that change monthly, 4. Moderate pricing: a three-course dinner at 35 euros, lunch is half that and 5. The inclusion of ‘natural wines’ which are unfiltered, unfined and, mostly unsulfered (read more at http://www.morethanorganic.com). George and I found one within easy walking distance of our apartment and tried it out.
L’Office at 3 rue Richer (9th arr.) is a 28 seat store-front in a quiet business district on the right bank. Inside, each table is covered with a white cloth (napkins are heavy woven paper) and is set with attractive, inexpensive stemware and heavy stainless flatware. The only table decoration is a votive candle. There are no flowers in sight.
When we arrived at 8:00 the place was empty. By 9:30PM, though, it was packed with attractive young people, mostly couples, and one table of ten friends. Everyone looked to be about half our age. The noise level rose accordingly but remained tolerable as the mood became more convivial. Service was friendly and attentive.
Rather than give a play-by-play description of our meal, let me tell you what impressed me most. The first thing was my soup, an unusual combination of mushrooms and sweet potatoes. It was garnished with an oval mound of chilled fresh goat cheese and dill. The dish combined an intense mushroom flavor with s subtle sweet potato finish and velvety mouth-feel. The cool, tart cheese was the perfect complement to this warm vegetable puree.
A second revelation was the flavor of the veal rump George ordered for his main course. (We always trade tastes.) The waiter did not asked him how he wanted it cooked, which is unusual. His plate arrived with several rosy meat slices fanned out over a bed of pureed celery root and fennel. The meat was tender and more flavorful than any veal in recent memory.
We could have been satisfied after two courses, but I was curious to order the blueberry-pecan- bitter chocolate dessert. To my surprise this combination worked beautifully. It consisted of a nut brittle encased in dark caramel trailing just a whiff of star anise. Fresh blueberries and candied pecans were strewn around it and a warm dark chocolate sauce was drizzled over and around it all. The play of flavors, temperatures and textures made it fun to eat.
Also impressive was the natural wine from the Jura region
that we ordered at the suggestion of our waiter. This young chardonnay was bone dry, with a mineral-rich taste and light, smoky finish. The winemaker? Jean-Francois (Fanfan) Gavenat.
Down in the basement kitchen, I was greeted by a balding young man who appeared relaxed and smiling even though he had two skillets on the stove, only one helper and two dozen diners waiting upstairs. He’s from England and has had this job for just a year while the chef/owner is opening another restaurant in London. How was he able to produce such tasty food in a space that a Hinsdale teenager would reject as a closet? A talented chef can adapt his (or her) skills to the smallest imaginable spaces. And in the new Paris bistros dining can be experienced as a living art form.
