Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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We dined with the locals again last night. We decided to go back to an old favorite place, L’Épopée, on avenue Émile Zola. Normally, we would have reserved a table. But we decided rather last-minute, and the restaurant only very recently re-opened after a brief vacation, so we thought we’d be able to get a table by walking in. However, the server was not sure if there was space. The problem was that many of their tables for two were already reserved. A number of the tables are a bit larger, for four and six people, at L’Épopée. At least, the server didn’t turn us away. He was nice about it, and he went to the boss. The boss finished talking with a couple other customers, and turned his attention to us. At first, I thought he didn’t remember us. But he kindly figured out that yes, there was a table that we could have. It turned out to be in the part of the dining room that I like best, in the nook between the front window and the handsome wood bar. In many Parisian restaurants, the management would have tried to squeeze another table or two into this space in the front. But not at L’Épopée. We feel very comfortable there. The physical place, with its space and décor, is one reason for that feeling. Another reason was the music. The music was at low volume, not obnoxious at all. It was American blues, of a somewhat funky variety. I loved it. For most of the evening, we were the only Americans in the restaurant. Then a single young American woman came in to dine alone. She struck up quite the conversation with the boss, whose English is a bit limited, but she ploughed ahead anyway in that overly friendly American way. The boss remembered us then, and came over to our table to ask how we’d been, etc. That was nice. He took our drink order (a bottle of sparkling water), and brought the wine list. Our server was a tall young man who is relatively new to L’Épopée. He wanted to speak English. His English was excellent, and it was of the American variety, which we naturally prefer. First came the mis en bouche which can also be called an amuse bouche. One term means “put in mouth,” and refers to the fact that this little treat is just something small to nibble on before the real meal begins. The second term refers to its role in waking up or tantalizing your tastebuds, “amusing the mouth,” to get you ready for what comes next. Our server, using his English, said, “Here is something to open your appetite.” As he said it, he gestured by opening his closed hand toward the sky, and he smiled. It was a delicious, very thin slice of grilled baguette, with some finely diced tomato pieces, herbs, olive oil (just a dot or two), and a few tiny cubes of super-high-quality mozzarella cheese. Those same fine little cheese cubes came on the tomato tarte that I ordered as a starter. The tarte was very small, and its bottom crust was a wonderfully flaky pastry. It was beautifully presented on the plate, and came with a bit of green salad in a side dish. Tom ordered the homemade country terrine as a starter. It came with the typical cornichons (gherkins), but also slices of delicious morel mushrooms and a bit of sauce. It was outstandingly good. The menu is changed every six months at L’Épopée. That is as it should be. So of course it has new items on it that we’ve not experienced at L’Épopée before. One of those items was a pluma. I’ve had pluma before, at the Bouillon Racine, so I knew what it was. The preparation at L’Épopée was a bit Spanish: Pluma de Pata Negra au chorizo et risotto au safran. I know I’ve researched pluma before, and so I googled “Barbara Cooley pluma.” Ah, there it is, in the July 11, 2010, entry of this Paris Journal: “Basically, this is a plume-shaped prime piece of pork from the shoulder-blade area of black-hooved pigs that feed on milk and olives. Their metabolism concentrates the omega 3 and 6 fats in the best part of the meat.” My source for this interesting morsel of gastronomic knowledge was a French-language web site called Food Intelligence. Naturally, this excellent, flavorful, tender piece of pork had a 4-euro supplemental cost. You can’t see it in the photo, because it is hiding under the pluma, but this dish came with a great risotto. I’m a risotto snob, since I make excellent risotto myself. This risotto was definitely up to my standard, although I didn’t detect the saffron that was listed as one of its ingredients. Never mind, it was smooth, flavorful, and delicious risotto. Sprinkled over the risotto and pluma were little chunks of fantastic country ham. Our server had said that Parma ham is made from that same cut of the pork, the pluma. Perhaps this was it, the same part of the pig in a different form, but instead of thin slices, these were little roasted chunks. The dish was topped by one round slice of very fine chorizo sausage. The entire serving was copious (both the meat and risotto), so I kept giving some of it to Tom, to supplement his warm, meager ravioli. Yes, Tom ordered the ravioles de langoustines au saté. This is an old favorite at L’Épopée, dating back to the previous ownership of the restaurant (pre-2008). The current owners, two young men who graduated from the École Supérieure de Cuisine Francaise Grégoire Ferrandi à Paris, wisely kept it on the menu so they’d keep the old clientele. However, it has evolved away from its former curry-like sauce to something milder, more classically French. It is listed as a starter, but it can be ordered in larger portion as a main course. That’s what Tom did. If there was anything to criticize about this otherwise superb dinner, it was that these raviolis and their sauce could have been hotter. The dish was only warm. I’m sure that part of the problem is that in heating a creamy sauce like this, you don’t want to “break” it by heating it too much. Anyway, it wasn’t such a bad kind of dish to serve not quite so hot; it was far more acceptable than the cold, undercooked rabbit I was given at a restaurant recently (which restaurant shall go unnamed, because I think this was a fluke, albeit a seriously unappetizing one). For dessert, Tom ordered L’Épopée’s wonderful specialty, the tarte aux citrons et sorbet passion which must be ordered at the beginning of the meal. He was glad he’d done so, because this tarte was divine. Tom was kind enough to let me try a couple bites, as well as a nibble of the delicious sorbet that came with it. I asked for a glass of Calvados, but the restaurant didn’t have any. The boss suggested Armagnac instead. I went with his suggestion, and was pleased with it. It really put a smile on my face, it was so good. Oh my! I had totally forgotten about L’Épopée’s pralines! Tom ordered an espresso, and with it came a plate holding two pralines, two tiny chocolate muffins, and two pieces of wrapped dark Valrhona chocolate. These pralines you will find only at L’Épopée, because the restaurant staff makes them, I believe. They also date back to the previous ownership. Obviously, recipes were a part of the sales transaction when the resto was sold. We felt great as we said our goodbyes and left the restaurant. This had been a meal to write about; a memorable, wonderful dinner – a dinner we’d been wanting for some time. I leave you with this appropriate description of the restaurant from its web site: “L'Épopée représente l'harmonie entre une
cuisine inventive, fraîche, délicate, un service discret, efficace, courtois
et une atmosphère chaleureuse, confortable et intimiste. ” “L'Épopée presents harmonious cuisine that is inventive, fresh, and delicate; with service that is discreet, efficient, and courteous; and a warm, comfortable, and intimate ambiance.” Well said. |
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Tomato
tarte at L’Épopée.
Terrine
de campagne aux Morilles et son jus corsé.
Pluma
de Pata Negra au chorizo
et risotto au safran.
Tarte
aux citrons et sorbet passion.
Lacy
pralines made at L’Épopée.
The
moon over Paris, on Thursday night.
Lovely
Haussmannian apartment overlooking the Square des Écrivains
Combattants in the 16th
arrondissement. |
