Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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When we started our evening walk in the direction of avenue Félix Faure, my intent was to walk by a few of our favorite places to see who was and who was not closed for vacation. By the time we approached Restaurant Axuria, it was 7:45PM. I could see that the restaurant was open, but that there was a sheet of paper taped to its window – just the kind of thing used to announce a vacation closing. But when we were close enough to read it, I was delighted to see that it announced that Restaurant Axuria would remain open, 7 days a week, through the entire month of August! How wonderful! We entered the restaurant, which at that point had only two tables occupied. We knew that would change quickly after 8PM. A server who is new to the place greeted us, and we politely asked for a table for two. He asked if we reserved, we apologetically said no, and he indicated that it was no problem. He simply needed to know, if course. He indicated that we could take any one of the little tables lined up against the left wall of the dining room. As we began to move toward one of those tables, another server appeared. He’s someone who has been at the restaurant for some time, and he recognized us. He indicated to the newer server that we should be seated in the front window, at the round table that is the best table for two in the house. I was in the mood for some good fish; Axuria is a good place to go for fish. And veal. And lamb. And vegetables. The chef, Olivier Amestoy, is good at everything. And nothing can match his soufflé au Grand Marnier. Let’s talk about vegetables. Chef Amestoy knows his vegetables. He treats them very well. He never overcooks them at all. He knows how to bring out the best in them. The server brought us each a mis en bouche that was a little bowl of cool, green soup. The soup was slightly sweet, light, smooth, and so delicious! I tasted peas, and other green vegetables, perhaps a bit of honey, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. When the server came to collect the little bowls that we’d emptied, I told him the soup was excellent, and asked if it was made from peas and what else? Small peas, he answered, and leeks, and a mélange of green beans. He was pleased that I asked. We shared a starter course – the croustillants de queues de langoustines au basilic, balsamique de Modène – prawn/small-lobster tails wrapped in the thinnest possible crispy pastry, served with a salad and delicious vinaigrette. As I said, I was in the mood for fish, and the bass (filet de bar) was to be served with a vegetable risotto. I am very fond of the Chilean sea bass and risotto at Traders on Sanibel Island, so of course I ordered the bass at Axuria. I’ve never had such good risotto! It was loaded with a mix of wonderful little vegetables, and what seemed like a short-grained wild rice mixed in with the regular risotto rice. It wasn’t the thick Chilean sea bass, of course, but it was a delicious, perfectly cooked filet of bass. The entire dish, with its frothy, light sauce, could not have been better. Tom had an outstandingly good mignon de veau which came with great mushroom sauce, and on the side, roasted potatoes and delicious, barely cooked vegetables. There was no question about what to order for dessert. It takes a while, but it is worth the wait: the incomparable soufflé au Grand Marnier. Absolutely heavenly! In addition, we had a big bottle of San Pellegrino, and I had a glass of Chateau Gantonnet white wine. The total bill was only 72 euros (including tax and tip). Why would we dine anywhere else? That’s how we felt. So we made a reservation for Saturday night. Restaurant Axuria is to be rewarded for staying open through August. In Paris, many other French-cuisine restaurants that do stay open through August will cut their hours – for example, if they are normally open 7 days a week, during August they will be closed on Sunday and Monday, or Saturday and Sunday. So we are especially pleased with Axuria’s decision to go full steam ahead through this quiet month. Other people seem to agree; the restaurant was just about completely full last night. There were no tourists in it. There was only one other table where English was being spoken. That was a table of six people in their late 20s. Four of them were French, and two were Americans. I had the impression that they work together. There was a woman dining alone when we had arrived. I never heard her speak, so I am not sure. But her facial muscles were held like an English speaker’s. Yes, there are differences in the way we use our faces when we speak English, vs. when we speak French. I can feel it, and I can see it. We had an interesting conversation, in French, with the pharmacist around the corner the other day. Tom’s Eustachian tubes have been clogged in his ears, and we’d gone to the local pharmacy to see what they might have that would help. Tom was willing to go by himself, because he could see that I was wrapped up in the novel I was reading (All Cry Chaos, a Henri Poincaré mystery, by Leonard Rosen). But I could sense that he’d like to have my help, and so I put the book down and accompanied him. We took our place in line in the pharmacy, where three pharmacists were working behind the counter that had three cash registers. It is amazing how busy these little pharmacies can be, and that there is enough business to support so many pharmacists, so many hours of the day! And there are so very many pharmacies in Paris! They’re everywhere! When it was our turn, we approached the post that belonged to a 40-something year-old female pharmacist. Tom explained in a few words what he was looking for – some sort of decongestant that would work for his Eustachian tubes. I listened to the pharmacist’s response. For some reason, I understood every word she said, even though she did not speak slowly. I repeated everything for Tom, in English. That was helpful, because I don’t think he could understand everything she said. Of course, with this ear problem, he isn’t hearing anything as well as he normally does. The pharmacist doubted that any decongestant would work on the Eustachian tubes. But Tom wanted to try something like that, before resorting to antibiotics. So we ended up buying a spray decongestant. (It didn’t work for Tom, but Ibuprofen does seem to help.) We’ll see. When I left the pharmacist, I said thanks for your patience (in French). She smiled broadly, and thanked me for interpreting her French. |
Friday, August 10, 2012
Interior
of Restaurant Axuria.
Mis en bouche: a sweet, cool soup of puréed little peas, leeks, and a mélange of
green beans.
Croustillants
de queues de langoustines au basilic, balsamique de Modène.
Filet de bar with vegetable risotto.
Mignon de veau
The incomparable soufflé au Grand Marnier. |
