Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Parisians. They love their parks. They love to walk in the park, or sit in the park, for an hour or so before dinner. We joined them, first at the Square Violet by the old Violet chateau which is now the fire station for the neighborhood. It is a lovely old park, with a great area for kids to play. But much of the park was blocked off for work to be done, so the remaining open area seemed to be a little overly concentrated with kids and families. No problem. There’s always another park nearby. On the way out of the Square Violet I was surprised to see a big, looping coil of razor wire atop the wall around the back garden of the fire station. What could be so serious a threat that the pompiers had to use razor wire to protect themselves from it, I wondered? Pompiers look like they can take care of themselves, and the fire station is staffed around the clock. Weird, I thought. As we exited the gate and I saw a mutilated, dead pigeon on the pavement, I figured it out. The razor wire was a defense against those pesky, urban pigeons. It seems like overkill (so to speak), but since the pompiers could use razor wire, I guess they did use razor wire. Most structures employ more modest-looking little spikes to discourage pigeons from resting there. But with the looping coil of razor wire, any pigeon that attempts to go there is likely to be sliced and diced as it tries to wing its way back out of the coil. Not a pretty sight to put next to a children’s playground, I think. Anyway, that’s life in the city. This isn’t Sanibel, that’s for sure. Sanibel is looking into establishing a gazebo/bandstand/stage in a park. The city manager has posted about it on Facebook. The idea isn’t new – it has been floating around for a while. But now it is perhaps becoming part of a bigger, arts center planning project. I feel fairly certain that no razor wire will be deployed to keep wildlife away from this public facility on Sanibel. We walked up to the park at the Place du Commerce, and sat on a bench near the gazebo/bandstand/stage there. Yes, it has the little spikes to discourage pigeons and sparrows, but no razor wire, thank heavens. This stage isn’t used that often, as far as I can tell, but the park is heavily used, especially in that hour before dinnertime. We sat on our bench as old people (and others) do, and we took in the bucolic scene. A row of stately, trimmed trees line each side of the park. The effect is very French. Down at the far end of the park, a group of about ten French men had gathered to play cards. No boules today, just cards. Moving up the park toward the main street, the next feature is the playground. It was alive with scurrying, laughing, playing tykes. Then in the middle is the graceful bandstand/gazebo. Between it and the main street, the rue du Commerce, stretches a bit of a formal garden. At the end of the park near the street, just outside the park’s fence, are the two entrances to the Commerce metro station (line 8). Every few minutes, a bunch of people emerge from each stairway, up onto the sidewalk. Some make a beeline for the bakery to buy a baguette to embellish their dinner. Others walk into the park, to enjoy some green space before going home. As I mentioned, on Tuesday we’d dined simply at Le Commerce Café, a brasserie that faces this park. We each had the veal scallopini with Normandy sauce (escalope de veau normande). It was one of the daily specials listed on the blackboard that the server rolls over to the table.
The fries are hand-cut and good. I give half of mine to Tom. The food is just good, not haute cuisine, but simply correct brasserie fare. This plate costs 15 euros, tax and tip included.
In addition to this blackboard, there is a printed menu, and a pizza menu. Pizza man was at his post, twirling rounds of pizza dough and putting freshly prepared pizzas into the pizza oven. Last night, we had something more like haute cuisine, at L’Alchimie. I am in the process of updating my restaurant recommendations page this summer. Here’s what I wrote for L’Alchimie: L’Alchimie is a delight. Located at 34 rue Lételier in a modest, country-like cottage, it doesn’t
look like it is the kind of place where you’d be served highly creative,
modern cuisine. But that’s what it
is. The restaurant’s web site claims
the cuisine is traditional French, but I say it is French with a modern
flair. Chef Eric Rogoff attracts the locals there
with his high-quality creations at very reasonable prices. The menu is all in French, and very little
English is spoken there, but take that as a good sign. It is.
Tel. 01 45 75 55 95. That’s right, the place was full of locals. We were the only English speakers there. The server asked (in French) if we were on vacation, and we explained (in French) that no, we were living there for three months and that we do this every summer. He liked that. When we’d arrived at L’Alchimie for our 7:30PM reservation, we were not surprised that only one table was occupied (by a nice, young French couple). After all, most Parisians do not dine until after 8PM. We were led to a back, corner table with a “reserved” sign on it. I didn’t see “reserved” signs on the other tables. But suddenly, shortly after we were seated, at about twenty minutes BEFORE 8PM, so many people began to arrive at the restaurant! The place was completely full before 8PM arrived. I haven’t ever seen anything quite like that before. Parisians, arriving early, en masse, and without reservations, seemingly. It was as if they knew, if they simply arrived early, they’d get a table at their favorite local restaurant. Somehow it worked out. We did not see anyone turned away. The menu at L’Alchimie is only available on the blackboard, which the server masterfully moves around from table to table (there are actually three blackboards moving about). (The menu is only in French, is handwritten, and the server’s English is extremely limited. This resto is for French speakers only, I’d say.) I’d reserved via La Fourchette, and so we received a bit of a discount on our a la carte order. But the fixed-price menu (in purple chalk) is a good deal, without the Fourchette discount. First we were given a crab, skate and curry spread with strips of toasted bread – a mis en bouche that was a pleasant little something extra. Very nice. I ordered a starter of foie gras lacquered with dark, rich chocolate on top, which we shared. The hot rolls that came at the same time were hearty and divine, and we used them as a medium for the foie gras rather than the toast that was on the plate. Rich, smooth, and delicious – and yes, dark chocolate is a good thing on foie gras. Trust me. We were so excited by this dish that I forgot to photograph it for you. Sorry about that. It even had a little bit of green salad with vinaigrette on the plate. Lovely. The wine offered by the glass list was far too limited. I ordered a small bottle of Provençal rosé instead. It had a little zip to it, but it wasn’t sparkling. This rosé was perfect for a warm summer day. The sparkling water served at L’Alchimie is Chateldon – the best. My main course was a bass filet in a pool of sabayon sauce, with tasty, soft, fat asparagus spears. This sauce is often a sweet one, but at L’Alchimie, on this fish, it is a tangy sauce – much like the way Tom makes a beurre blanc. Tom’s main dish was two big, juicy duckling filets in a ginger sauce, with roasted white radishes instead of the traditional potatoes. Both were delicious and perfectly cooked. We loved the sauces. We shared a dessert: a chocolate-stuffed chocolate macaroon in a chocolate sauce with raspberries. Isn’t it beautiful? And rich and chocolaty. Yum. The chef, Eric Rogoff, has an interesting background. He is from Brittany. His dad was originally from Russia, and his mom from Vietnam. He initially saw himself as becoming a good server. But his mom firmly insisted that he take up cooking instead. Happily, he found that he loved that work. He apprenticed with some fine, well-known chefs, and then was on his way. At the ripe young age of 39, he decided to run his own restaurant. I believe that he purchased L’Alchimie in 2004. We remember the previous owner/chef. He was a little crazy. His dad, who was very nice, was a retired doctor who was often there to smooth over the rough spots when it came to customer relations. But Eric and the server (Steeve?) have the entire show under control. The décor is a bit stark, however, and I’d encourage them to get a decorator involved. And perhaps something should be done to expand the list of wines by the glass. Everything else is perfect in this little restaurant. Bravo Eric! |
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The
Place du Commerce.
See
the small spikes to discourage pigeons & sparrows?
The
menu at L’Alchimie.
Bass
filet with asparagus and a sabayon sauce (bar
rôti, sabayon d'huile d'olive et asperges).
Duckling
filets with white radishes and ginger sauce (filet de canette avec radis
blanc glacé au gingembre).
Macaron chocolat et framboise
I
took this photo by accident as we were walking along toward the Place Cambronne. But the
accident shows you a mélange of Parisian life. You have the park with its classic iron
fence. You have the frilly park sign,
in front of the view of the overhead metro line (line 6) as the train zips
along the boulevard Garibaldi and boulevard de Grenelle. You have the signs pointing the way to
local places of interest. And you have
the not-so-lovely medium-rise buildings.
You even have the flag of France flying, on the right.
Where
this writing takes place, atop our Indian quilt which we purchased in England
years ago, on the futon/sofa. |
