Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Even though it was brand new only a very few years ago, Le Granite has already built a solid reputation in the great tradition of la cuisine Française. The menu is always written out on the vast blackboard in the dining room. All the classics are there: escargots, pied de porc, andouillette AAAAA, magret de canard, confit de canard, sole meuniere, crème brûlée, ile flottante, tarte fine aux pommes, and so on and so on. The location, very near Axuria, just off of the avenue Félix Faure on the rue Duranton, is such that you probably won’t just happen to see it; you have to know it is there. We discovered it on August 25, 2009, during a circuitous, exploratory walk through the lower 15th arrondissement, when the restaurant was brand new. Here’s what I wrote on August 26 of that year: We circled around back onto the avenue Félix Faure and continued
in the direction of home, but Tom noticed a cute restaurant just off the
avenue at the corner of the rue Duranton and the
rue Plélo.
According to its awning, the name of the restaurant is Le Granite . .
. this is a brand-new restaurant, just opened this summer. The proprietor appears to be the somewhat
young woman who runs the front of the house.
The menu is all written out on a big, three-panel blackboard, except
for the wine list which is handsomely printed and bound. The restaurant is very tastefully decorated in shades of maroon,
gray, and brown (the colors of the moment, I’d say). The cuisine is fairly traditional, minus
the really heavy, rich sauces. We both shared a starter course of tiny ravioli’s in a light
garlic-and-herb cream sauce. Then we
each had a main course of rack of lamb, served with a good ratatouille and a
bit of nicely steamed broccoli. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and came with a sauce that was
pretty much just its own juice, browned and reduced a bit. Tom had a fresh, seasonal fruit salad for dessert, and I had the
crème brulée,
which was very good. Even though wine by the glass was not on the wine list, I asked for
just one glass of the Touraine Sauvignon (white), and that was no
problem. The entire bottle would have
been 18 euros, and they charged me 6 euros for a glass, which I think was
reasonable enough. There are some
bottles of wine on the list for as little as 15 euros, a low price that you
normally would not see in a good restaurant. Tom consumed a large bottle of mineral water for 6 euros. Our entire dinner was 66 euros.
Not bad at all for an elegant restaurant in Paris. Le Granite has not changed. The patronne is named Dalila Martinez, I believe, and I think the chef may be Eric Martinez, her husband. She wasn’t there last night, but the server who greeted us has worked there for at least a couple years now. The reviews in the media for Axuria are more mixed than they are for Le Granite. I don’t quite understand this. Axuria and Le Granite are very different; the emphasis at Axuria is more on creativity and new cuisine, whereas the emphasis at Le Granite is more classical. Le Granite may be more consistent. I know we experienced one off night at Axuria (unfortunately, it was when we had four friends with us). Perhaps the reviewers who did not like Axuria were there on an unusual, off night. But the great dinners we’ve had at Axuria have been so great, they have given us memories to last a lifetime. Judging by the number of locals dining at each place, I’d say Axuria is more popular than Le Granite. But Le Granite has those great classics . . . . Back to Le Granite: The incredibly nice server brought us a mis en bouche that looked like spring rolls, and had a fruity sweet and sour sauce that you might get with spring rolls. But the filling was more of a pierogie-like mix of puréed potato and some kind of soft cheese. The wine list is very good, and you can not only get any wine on the list by the glass, but you can also order any one of them by the 25 centiliter or 50 centiliter carafe. That is very generous, I think, to offer those options for the entire wine list. We shared an order of six escargots. They arrived in the classic ceramic dish made just for escargots. They were incredibly tender (not the least bit chewy) and perfectly cooked in that butter with garlic and herbs that is what we’ve come to expect every time. Tom ordered rack of lamb again, just as he did on August 25, 2009, and once again it was accompanied by a delicious ratatouille. I was in the mood for confit de canard. I’m so glad I ordered it, because it was the best confit de canard I’ve ever had: juicy, tender, tasty. It came with a green salad and vinaigrette, and creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. I would not call them puréed. Tom was having trouble deciding between the tarte au citron and the tarte fine aux pommes, so he asked the server which he’d recommend. The server was adamant about the tarte fine aux pommes being the best, so that’s what Tom had. It was fine indeed. There’s a lot to be said for this neighborhood in the lower part of the 15th. There are no tourists here, and it is highly residential. The leafy avenue Félix Faure is always pleasant to walk along. The location of the restaurant off of the avenue, on the corner of two quiet streets, means that the outdoor tables are not blasted by traffic noise and exhaust, and the terrasse windows/doors can be wide open, giving the entire dining room a bit of a terrasse feel, which in summertime is desirable. The reception is always friendly at Le Granite, and there is never any pretentiousness about the place. If you want a good, authentic classic French restaurant experience in a comfortable, modern décor, this is the place. No tourists, no pretention, no hype, no noise – Le Granite is solid, good, correct, and friendly. |
Saturday, August 11, 2012
The
interior of Le Granite.
Yes,
the wall really is curved.
A
superb confit de canard, above, and tarte fine aux pommes, below, with a scoop
of excellent ice cream.
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