Paris Journal 2009 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Don’t always
believe what you’re told. A few years
ago, someone told us that the quaint little restaurant down on the corner of
Canivet and Servandoni was no good. We
ate there once last summer anyway, and we went there again last night. Both times, the place, called Au Bon Saint-Pourçain, served
us outstandingly good food. Maybe it has
changed since we were told it was no good.
One obvious change is that the proprietor’s daughter seems to be
taking a more and more active role in it.
I think she is responsible for the web site (link above). She’s probably in her late 20s, and her
French is that impeccable, perfectly enunciated variety. She offered to speak English with us, but
we declined. Her dad doesn’t
speak any English at all. He also does
not accept credit cards. That’s okay
with us. We don’t have to collect
frequent flyer miles with every
dinner out. The place is
tiny. A few tables are squeezed onto
the sidewalk, and not many more tables are squeezed into the dining
room. The building has some kind of
water problem in the walls, so some paint on the lower part of the walls has
peeled away. Who cares? As long as the food is good. The food is
very good. The menu is traditional, as
you can see here. I noted that
the sole meuniere is 25 euros, two
euros less even than the Corsican place, L’Abri Cotier. I also noted that poireaux vinaigrette, a traditional starter course that I’ve never
eaten, was on the blackboard. We stood
outside and studied the blackboard for less than 30 seconds before asking
Monsieur Bonduel for a table inside.
He seated us, and immediately brought us two little glasses of the
house white wine “on the house.” As I wrote last September, the restaurant “is run by two men, François Bonduel and Franck Pasquet, and François’s daughter, Fabienne. They don’t dress up at all. In fact, Fabienne looks like an American college girl, but even more casual - - - blue jeans, t-shirt, long and loose unbrushed hair, not a speck of makeup.” Also last September, I noted that the sole meuniere was 30 euros. So some prices have been reduced, probably in the spirit of the lowering of the TVA tax on restaurants. This bistro is named for the wine it serves. Last year, I wrote that it is a red wine. This year, I realize that there are both red and white Saint-Pourçain wines served there. I decided to try the poireaux vinaigrette because I had never had them before. That was an excellent decision. The dish was superb. Don’t be put off by its unattractive
name. Try it. Leeks CAN be delicious, when prepared
correctly. Tom ordered a
dozen escargots, which were prepared just the way we like them except that
they needed a bit more salt. We
noticed a French man at the table next to ours salting his snails, so we
aren’t alone in this opinion.
(Usually, I dislike foods that are salty, and I find that American
restaurants use way too much salt, on the whole. My sister, on the other hand, was once
known as Miss Salt.) We both ordered
the sole meuniere for the main
course. It was great. The preparation was slightly different from
that of L’Abri Cotier. I don’t know
which I like better. I’ll just have to
keep going back to both places until I can decide, I guess. The wine is
brought to your table in a bottle, but you only pay for what you
consume. I like that system very
much. The wine is very good. Not earth shattering, like the Touraine Sauvignon 2007 from the Domaine Ricard that we had at L’Epi Dupin. But Saint Pourçain has nothing to be ashamed of. Here’s a link to what I wrote about the Bon Saint-Pourçain last September. Last year and the year before, we noticed that the restaurant generally fills up completely by 9PM. This year, while there were several tables occupied, there were also several tables empty. Our impression has been that just about all of the clientele at this place are French. But last evening, a nice, sharp-looking American family of three came in and dined, speaking not one word of French, thanks to Fabienne’s English. The most amusing clients last
night were the four young French businessmen at the table next to us. They were there before 8PM, having drinks,
and stayed on for dinner. They were
energetically discussing some business growth proposition that involved
expanding into England, to Yorkshire in particular. At one point, after consuming their starter
courses, they all abruptly stood and exited the front door, with one of them
saying “merci, au revoir” to Monsieur Bonduel. It was a joke. They’d all gone outside for a smoke. Tom had put in
a long day at the computer yesterday, and I had only put in a half day there
before going back to the 6th to clean and pack up the rest of our
belongings for the big move to the 15th arrondissement. I was surprised that Tom allowed me to pack
his things because I think he’s a neater packer than I am. But I surprised myself. I did a good job. Around 8PM is when Tom showed up (in time for
dinner!) and we went to the little restaurant. After dinner, a bit before 10PM, we had no
trouble getting a taxi to take us and our three suitcases over to the 15th. Evening is definitely the easiest time to
traverse the city. Jim H. just
accused me of not posting an update yesterday. When I think of “posting,” I think of posting on this web site, as I have done during the summer for some years
now. The little links I’ve been
putting on Facebook
are an added nicety for all my new/old friends there (I’m fairly new to
Facebook). Now Jim has
made me realize that just posting to my web site is not enough; if I don’t
put a link on Facebook, my friends there may not bother to find my daily
website postings! Ah, I think
Facebook has changed the way the world operates. Maybe it will even change the way we
think. At any rate, if a day goes by
and you don’t see a Facebook link to this journal, check this web site
anyway and click on “Go to the latest entry.”
It may be that I just forgot to take that extra Facebook step. Sign
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Friday, July 10, 2009
The
restoration work on the Saint Sulpice church seems to be endless. But the church remains open! The top of the north tower is looking good.
Tom
chained by the parking garage entrance at the Place Saint Sulpice. See how pale he is? Too much work and not enough play . . . .
Poster
for the photography exhibit going on at the orangerie of the Luxembourg
Gardens. |
