Paris Journal 2015 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

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We wandered up the quaint Passage Jean Nicot in the 7^th arrondissement after we’d finished our errand at the American University of Paris. The university offices that we visited are in an office building tucked behind the elegant Saint Jean evangelical Lutheran church on the rue de Grenelle. Alongside the church is a little park that is popular among 7^th arrondissement tots because of its play area. The church is set back in a courtyard. When you enter through the gates on the rue de Grenelle, immediately to the left is a very old Tudor-style gatehouse. In past years, we’ve noted that the gatehouse was in shambles. This year, we’re pleased to see that it is being restored. Sometime when the workers aren’t standing in front of it, I’ll photograph it for you. It is quaint. We were in the mood for more quaintness, and that drew us into the Passage Jean Nicot. It could be a movie set, with its narrowness, and humble wooden shuttered doorways and window openings. The narrowness makes this tiny street hard to photograph. At the end of the Passage, we passed under an archway formed by a building that passes overhead. We turned left onto the rue Saint Dominique, which is a delightful street of shops. This year, it isn’t quite as delightful because there is much work going on in the substructure of the street. Lots of construction barriers and holes mar the edges of the street and sidewalk, creating considerable blockages to the flow of pedestrians and cars. We continued on because we wanted to see where our friend’s offices would be moving. Next year, he won’t work behind the Lutheran church; instead his office will be in a modern building tucked into a row of Haussmannian buildings on the rue Saint Dominique. Just before we reached the new building site, we noticed the rue de l’Exposition on our left. The restaurant where we will dine tonight is on that street, so we decided to go take a look at it, from the outside. On the way, we noticed a bistrot owned by Pierre Excoffier, a chef who has a great name for a chef (see Auguste Escoffier in Wikipedia). Excoffier’s bistrot looks attractive, so we crossed the street to examine the menu posted in the window. It was then that we noticed framed photographs in the window, featuring the chef and both Presidents Bush. One of the photos seems to have been taken in the garden of the Hotel Matignon, where the Prime Minister’s offices are located. The Excoffier menu looks good, but the menu for Le P’tit Troquet, where we go tonight, looks even better. Having satisfied our curiosity about Le P’tit Troquet, we turned back up the street toward the rue Saint Dominique. I reminded myself that the corner of rue Saint Dominique and the rue de l’Exposition is the location of a restaurant where Michelle and Barack Obama once dined, in 2009. That resto is La Fontaine de Mars, an old-fashioned bistrot. We walked on, down the avenue de la Bourdonnais and across the Champs de Mars, and then down the quieter streets to our neighborhood. We stopped in the bakery on the rue du Theatre for a baguette, and then went to the fromagerie around the corner on the rue du Commerce for butter and cheese – really fine cheese (Salers and brie). At home we read and rested until it was almost time for dinner. We stopped in an H&M store to check out the final sales, and I would have tried on and purchased a pair of slacks except that the shop closed the fitting rooms 45 minutes before closing time! Unbelievable. We continued on to Le Pere Claude, a restaurant on the avenue de la Motte-Picquet that we’ve been passing by for years, but where we’ve never dined – until last night. We were a bit early, so we stopped in Le Pere Claude’s epicerie (small grocery) around the corner from the restaurant at 4 Rue du Général de Castelnau, where Tom bought two jars of jam: one strawberry, and one fig. The prices were surprisingly reasonable. For years, the Pere Claude restaurant seemed to be overpriced for what it is. And I’m sure it was. Now, Le Pere Claude’s prices are more in line with reality. So, I’d reserved a table at Le Pere Claude via Lafourchette.com, with a 20 percent discount. We were given a warm welcome, and I’m beginning to think this is because I have reviewed so many places on Lafourchette.com (over 130, I think). This information is available to the restaurant when one reserves via Lafourchette. We were each given a complimentary glass of champagne with a bit of orange liqueur – very refreshing. We shared an order of the Pere Claude country terrine which is also available from the epicerie. It was really good. We each ordered the lamb chops, which were excellent and were accompanied by an equally excellent purée of potatoes. Tom ordered the Baba au Rhum for dessert, asking for two spoons. The server brought the Baba to us already divided onto two plates. “C’est gentille,” I said, thanking him for this extra courtesy. This Baba was different from most because it was garnished with candied fruit, and because the rum was not from Martinique, but rather elsewhere in the French Antilles. It had a reddish, amber-like color. The check arrived without the discount, but after we’d eyeballed it for a minute, the head waiter came over and apologetically retrieved the check without us having said anything about it. The corrected check then arrived momentarily. I’d thought about ordering the tête et langue de veau, sauce ravigote, but I don’t take that kind of risk until I’m sure I trust the restaurant. Now I know I can trust Le Pere Claude, and so I’ll venture out on that limb next time. This helps to fill the void left by the departure of La Gitane, a restaurant that used to be next to Pere Claude’s, and where I loved to order the tête de veau. Other places on the avenue de la Motte Picquet are full of young people who seem to be attracted by Happy Hour drink prices and tapas. That’s what has happened to the former restaurant La Gitane, alas. But Tom and I prefer the classics. We adore la cuisine Française. Find me on Facebook

Friday, July 31, 2015 Lamb chops and puréed potatoes at Le Pere Claude, 51 Avenue de la Motte-Picquet. A half order of Baba au Rhum at Le Père Claude. Le Rhum Chauvet accompanies the Baba au Rhum at Le Pere Claude. The back of the bottle has a recipe for crepes. ← Previous Next →