Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Anyone can have a bad
day. And so it was for the patron at L’Épopée restaurant on the
avenue Émile Zola last night. He was the only one working
in the dining room. He was maitre d’, bartender, busboy, and
server, all in one. That’s not unheard of in a
restaurant this small. The main level
of Oh! Duo is about the same size as the dining room at L’Épopée. But I’ve seen Françoise expertly staff that
main level when it was fully occupied, all by herself, many times. However when she had a group in the
upstairs dining room, she always had help, I believe. “Help” was typically one young
apprentice-age inexperienced server. But Françoise always handled
the stress well. She was a real pro,
and she always kept her smile – a very genuine smile. The boss at L’Épopée was
clearly flustered. He was banging
around, dropping things. His smile
seemed to be forced. He didn’t
remember us at all. When I ordered, he looked
distracted. Somebody coughed. I clearly said “filet de bar.” Then he
asked, “quelle cuisson”? I was puzzled; he shouldn’t ask me how much I like for fish
to be cooked! Then I repeated, “filet de bar.” And he said, “oh, filet de bar! Pas filet de
boeuf.” Tom said to me later, “It
is a good thing you said something!” We’d started dining at
L’Épopée a long time ago, under its previous ownership. We have liked the newer regime, too, but
last night, the experience was a little uneven. We were given a mis en bouche – a fish rillette, or
spread – which was nice, but bland.
The starter course we shared, a duo of boudin, half white, and half dark (blood sausage), was
superb. The slices of delicate,
smooth-textured sausage were arranged artfully on a flaky pastry square, with
a layer of onion compote in between. That was delightful. But my main course, a seabass filet served
with Roseval potato slices in a beurre
blanc sauce was only good. To be
fair, Axuria was a tough act to follow.
My seafood dish, with its sauce and the scrumptuous vegetables that
came with it at Axuria were so wonderful that anything else was going to be a
step down. So, let me just say that my
main course at L’Épopée was simply good, not great. Tom’s, however, was great. He ordered the filet de boeuf, which arrived at the table piping hot, with
artful fried potatoes – crispy on the outside, moist on the inside –
perfectly cooked. His steak was
delicious and tender. But Tom’s dessert, a
chintzy and uninteresting apple tart, was a little disappointing. Are we ever going to miss Joel Valero’s
apple tart at Oh! Duo! The restaurant filled up;
there are not so many traditional French restos open on a Monday night. Tom ordered coffee after dessert, and that
seemed to take forever to arrive, because the boss simply could not do it
all. He really needed help. Earlier in the evening, we
had a two-hour walk around the neighborhood.
We started with a stroll down the very busy rue du Commerce and then
over the rue des Entrepreneurs to the Parc Saint-Lambert. This lovely garden had a
not-so-lovely origin. It began its
developed life on some land rented by the City of Paris to the gas company,
which built a big production facility on it in 1836. That land would have been
outside the city at that time. But
Paris grew, and in 1909, the City decided to use the land for something else
– a park. Most of the land, that is
to say. The rest, around the
periphery, was used for a housing project and a school for girls. When the factory was
demolished, the city architect, Georges Sébille, was left with what we now
call a “brownfield” -- a lot of
contaminated dirt. Georges had all
that contaminated dirt replaced (who knows where the contaminated stuff went)
with clean dirt and vegetation. He retained some of the different
levels that supported the gas production facility, and so this park has an
upper, outer level, especially on its southern side, and a distinct lower
level with a lush green lawn, spectacular flower beds, and a round basin with
a fountain which sometimes is working. One part of the upper level
has a flat area with a band shelter/stage which we’ve never seen used for
performances. Generally, kids use that
area for kickball games. You know those 1930s WPA
art projects involving frescos/bas reliefs of workers, etc., in the
U.S.? The French had their own version
of that, and some of it was used to decorate the outer stone retaining wall
that supports the upper level of the Parc Saint-Lambert. This relief was sculpted by Auguste Guénot,
an artist from Toulouse. You see it as
you enter the park from the rue des Entrepreneurs. The subject here isn’t
workers, but rather “Youth.” Indeed,
this park is very family-oriented.
There is plenty for kids to do here, including a merry-go-round and a
playground for tots. One of Tom’s favorite
objects in this park is a statue of a dog, by René Paris (1942). I personally like the Bear Cubs statue by
Victor Peter (1938), which is a little hard to find, but it is there, trust
me. After walking all around in
the Parc Saint-Lambert, we decided to hike over to the Allée des Cygnes. I thought it might be nice
to see the progress on the Beaugrenelle
project along the way. Ha. It was not nice. There has been surprisingly little progress
on this “urban renewal” multi-purpose redevelopment on the western edge of
the 15th arrondissement. It
was supposed to be completed by now, but now the web site claims completion
will arrive in September, with the rentrée. On va voir. I doubt it.
Too much remains to be done. It is incredibly
disappointing how Paris neglects this area and the magnificent Allée des
Cygnes. (Again, the problem with being
an optimist is that you are often disappointed.) With all the emphasis on pedestrian
amenities for the riverbanks, it is difficult to understand the deficiencies
of the Allée . For those of you who are
unfamiliar with it, the Allée is the long, narrow human-made island in the
Seine which has a Statue of Liberty on one end, and the picturesque Bir
Hakeim bridge and monument on the other. The island lacks water, and
so there is no lush landscaping here – only dusty dirt, weeds, and
trees. The larger trees toward the Bir
Hakeim end have survived. But elsewhere
on the Allée, sickly trees had to be replaced, and the replacements were not
very big when planted. The island also has too
much litter on it, and people let their dogs off the leash there. So there is a bit of a lawless atmosphere
in this otherwise peaceful place. It is a nice place to walk
in that there are no cars. This is
important when walking at rush hour, which can be unpleasant on many Paris
streets. Parisian drivers are like
big city drivers everywhere – impatient.
They honk their horns too much. By the time we left the
Allée to walk to dinner, the traffic had mercifully dissipated somewhat, but
I was still shocked and annoyed at all the litter on the rue Linois. Maybe it was left from Bastille Day
revelers, but I think the more likely explanation is that the 15th
arrondissement has given up on this area, out of frustration with the
unforgivably long period of construction for the Beaugrenelle project. I vowed not to go out that
way again until Beaugrenelle is finished.
So that may be the last visit to the Allée des Cygnes for this summer. There are only two ways to
get to the Allée from here, you see:
either the rue Linois, or the boulevard de Grenelle. Neither one is pleasant. And the rue Linois now is quite
unpleasant. It is a shame. While I’m on this rant, I
would also suggest that obvious locations for new Sanisettes would be on the
right and left banks near the ends of the Pont de Bir Hakeim and the Pont de
Grenelle. Okay, sure, it might not be
easy to install running water and sewer on the Allée, but at least facilities
for walkers could be provided nearby!
For heavens sake. I know Paris can do better
than this. Look at the marvelous
riverbanks projects! Come on, Paris! You can DO this! I know you can! Finish Beaugrenelle and make the Allée as
nice as it should be! The Allée is a
treasure. Treasure it! |
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Duo
de boudins noirs et blancs sur tartelette avec oignon compotés.
An
excellent filet mignon with artful fries.
This
variation of the Passion Flower also goes by the common name of “Sign of the
Cross.” This one grows in the Parc
Saint-Lambert. I think it looks like something from outer space. A far less showey
passion flower vine is native to our home, Sanibel Island.
The
section of the Allée des Cygnes that still has
mature trees.
Houseboat
barges (peniches)
on the Seine, as seen from the Allée des Cygnes.
Le Monument La France Renaissante,
by Holder Wederkinch (a Danish sculptor), just off the end of the Allée
des Cygnes, by the Pont de Bir Hakeim
(for more information about this place and the history behind it, see my
entry for July 30,
2011.) Below, a view of the Eiffel
Tower from the same spot.
View
of the right bank from the Pont de Bir Hakeim. |
