Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

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Chef Olivier Amestoy’s motto is “cultiver le goût est un art.” That means “to cultivate the taste is an art.” About the kind of cuisine that Olivier creates, Tom says “food is art – it’s edible art!” I’m going to have difficulty coming up with the right superlatives to describe Chef Amestoy’s art. We happened upon our dinner last night not by accident, exactly, but we didn’t know how much of a fantastic “discovery” this would be. I didn’t expect anything so exciting and new. In fact, I thought we were going to an old fashioned, traditional French restaurant on the avenue Félix Faure – a place called La Chaumière – that we’d passed by many times but never went to, because I think it has usually been closed for vacation most of the time we’re in the 15^th arrondissement. But we’ve been by it a couple times this summer on our walks down this fine avenue – a quintessential Parisian street that is honest, not gimmicky, and has great trees and wide sidewalks. This summer, the restaurant has been open. The sign above and the awning still calls it “La Chaumière.” The look of the people dining there has been absolutely what we want to see: French people of some means with some age on them; people who are not there to be seen, but to eat a fine dinner. We went by, and it looked good, but it was early. A 30-something year old man with glasses was in the doorway, but by the time we made up our minds, he’d disappeared into the kitchen and there was nobody there to take a reservation for 8PM from us. So we went on to the next corner and turned on rue Durantan to check out Le Granite, deciding that it would be fine, too. We went on down the avenue, looking at an Italian place that seems promising, too. We turned back around and walked slowly, so that by the time we reached La Chaumière, there were a couple tables occupied by diners. A young couple of British tourists in the front window did not meet our criteria, but we decided that it was too early in the evening to judge by them. We entered, and were pleasantly greeted by a young woman who is a server, and given a nice table. Surprise number one: the décor was all fresh and new, very well done, and obviously not what you’d expect from a traditional French restaurant called “La Chaumière,” which means “the cottage.” Here’s a web site with a good photo showing most of the interior. A credit for the design is given to “Mounia,” who I think may be a painter. The colors used are meant to reflect the tones of the earth and the sea. Quite soothing. Surprise number two: the menus and wine list indicate that the name of the restaurant is “Axuria,” not “La Chaumière.” The awning and old sign mounted higher on the building’s façade have not been changed yet. Axuria is the name of a cooperative that produces milk-fed lamb, sold from an abattoir in Mauleon, in the French Pyrenees. Milk-fed lamb is a specialty of this restaurant, as is Basque cuisine. Tom wisely ordered the selle d’agneau, this milk-fed lamb. Selle d’agneau can be served a number of ways, but last night it came as a whole little chunk – not sliced. And it was roasted to medium-rare perfection, in garlic and thyme, served as a tasty, tender island in the middle of a pool of rich, brown sauce. “Blatantly good,” Tom says. Seafood is also a specialty of Axuria. I ordered the raie, which was not the wing of the skate, but rather the middle, where there is more thickness. It came with no bones whatsoever, perfectly poached, in a frothy lemon butter. Both of us were amazed at how good the vegetables are at Axuria. Mine came on the plate, but for Tom’s, so as not to contaminate the nice, rich brown sauce on his plate, came in two separate bowls, one for the vegetables, and another with roasted tender potatoes, shallots, and mushrooms. We could not get over how good the peas in the vegetable mélange were. They must have been shucked only 20 minutes ago, were cold, sweet, and retained a little bit of crunch. The carrots had some kind of special treatment, maybe a marinade, but whatever it was turned them into carrots fit for gods. We realized that the bespectacled 30-something-year-old man we’d seen disappear into the kitchen much earlier must be the chef. And he has good help in the kitchen, allowing him to make frequent appearances in the dining room. The server indicated that it would be a good idea to go ahead and order our desserts right at the beginning, while ordering our main courses. Without thinking, and somehow intuitively knowing what to choose, I immediately asked for the soufflé au Grand Marnier. Tom didn’t have enough time to think about it, so he just ordered the same. It turns out that this soufflé au Grand Marnier is well-known and loved by fans of soufflés. Not only did it look fantastic when it finally arrived on our table, but when I dipped the special spoon into it and inserted the bite of soufflé into my mouth, I had to close my eyes and relish the supremely wonderful thing that was happening with my tastebuds. Oh heavens. It is worth many times what they’re charging for this soufflé. Please don’t tell Olivier Amestoy and the restaurant’s “director,” Jerôme Michel. Tasting this soufflé is one of the best things that could ever happen to you, trust me. So, explore some more on Axuria’s web site, www.axuria-restaurant.fr , which I just found this morning. Don’t miss the video. When you go, do make a reservation because I predict that soon, it will be booked every night. We asked the hostess if the restaurant is new. She said that it has been recently re-done, but that the chef is the same. From what I can tell on the internet, Olivier Amestoy and his partner(s) acquired La Chaumière not all that long ago - maybe just a few years? - and spiffed it up some right away. But this transformation into Axuria happened sometime between September 2010 and this past April. If you want to see what La Chaumière looked like when Olivier took it over, but before the renovation, here’s a link with photos of the older décor. There’s even a video on that site, too, showing Olivier running La Chaumière with its older name & décor. But that soufflé au Grand Marnier was there then. I’m just kicking myself for having missed out on it before last night! Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. Note: For addresses & phone numbers of restaurants in this journal, click here.

Saturday, August 6, 2011 Orchids in Axuria, a very fine restaurant on the avenue Félix Faure. The raie, or skate, at Axuria, with the stunningly delicious vegetables. In the upper right corner is a beignet made, I think, from pureed artichoke and potato. Light and fluffy on the inside, perfectly fried on the outside – a hush puppy from heaven. Tom’s veggies arrived in separate bowls. The bread basket is gleaming chrome. Last but not least, the divine soufflé au Grand Marnier is accompanied by a small glass of Grand Marnier. Flowers in Square d’Ajaccio, next to Les Invalides. ← Previous Next →