Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Don’t believe everything you read. Or at least, when it comes to restaurant reviews, take them with a grain of salt. It isn’t that the reviewers are wrong or misleading, but sometimes they may overlook something that they don’t think is important, but it does matter to you. In both the French-language professional reviews found in the press and the customer reviews found on the internet, one often sees mention of the “rapport” between price and quality. This is more than just a nicer way of saying that you get what you pay for in restaurants. It is an acknowledgement that there are times when we want to pay more and to get something better, and times when we want to pay less and realize that our expectations must be moderated. It is a very reasonable concept, and one that I do appreciate. On the avenue Félix Faure, not long ago, we passed by a restaurant called Mare-Monte that had proudly plastered much of their front window surface with laminated copies of glowing reviews in the French press. We tried to get a table that first night that we noticed the place, but it was booked up. It is a small restaurant, run by a Greek-French couple. I did get their card, and entered their phone number in my contacts list on my smartphone. But when we started our walk last evening, we were early enough that we thought we’d just walk by the place, check it out again, and make a reservation if we felt like it at the time. And so we did. I told Tom he had to go in and make the reservation because 1) I’d spoken much more French yesterday than he had, because I’d gone shopping at the open market on the rue Saint Charles, and 2) he looked so good in his black blazer that surely nobody would be able to say no, no table for you, sorry. And so Madame responded nicely to him, and promised him a cute little table right in the front window, just to the right of the door. It was situated just below some of those laminated press reviews plastered across the window. After walking for 40 minutes or so, we returned and claimed our spot at 8PM. Seafood is Mare-Monte’s specialty, and seafood is what this bistro does superbly well. That is really all that matters, and it is remarkable to offer such wonderful fish at such a great price. Just don’t expect anything much of the garnitures, such as the green beans and the fries – both were quite blah. But the fish, oh my – daurade is on the regular menu at Mare-Monte, but daurade royale was on the blackboard as a daily special – for only 16 euros. That may not sound inexpensive to you, but for a really good daurade royale, that is a great price. Good rapport between price and quality. The fish was served whole, so you can see what this creature from the Mediterranean looks like. It was expertly cooked, absolutely perfectly, and had a nice sprinkle of sea salt and just a bit of olive oil on it. I had great fun removing the bones because I’m getting to be very good at this. Practice makes perfect. And I had even more fun savoring each bite of daurade royale. The web site www.pecunia.fr describes this fine
fish: La daurade royale est très rare. Elle a une chair extrêment fine et
savoureuse très appréciée des grandes tables. Translation: Daurade royale is hard to find. It has an extremely fine and flavorful flesh, very esteemed at the best tables. Tom had a piece of poached salmon, which he said was delicious. I ordered the green beans as garniture, and Tom asked for fries, as usual. Both were unremarkable. In fact, the green beans were overdone and not flavorful. The little bit of salad had no dressing on it, and was really there for dull decoration more than anything. Oh I forgot about the starter course. I ordered the mixed feuillités for us to share. This consisted of two small, flaky puff pastries stuffed with spinach, and two stuffed with goat cheese and herbs. They were served piping hot, and were good, but again, not remarkable. And then we shared a dessert, crêpes flambées with Grand Marnier. This was very good, but nothing like the crêpes at l’Auberge Bressane. But of course, l’Auberge Bressane is in a whole different price category, so we get back again to that rapport concept. It was warm, temperature-wise, in the dining room at Mare-Monte. We were tired of being cold, so this was a good feeling. We enjoyed watching the people pass by, pause, backtrack, examine the reviews taped to the glass above us, enter, ask for a table, and be turned away kindly, with an apology about the restaurant being booked up for the evening. Here’s a link to a photo of what the interior of the place looks like. The beamed ceiling is just décor; this is not an old building – I’d say it is a early 20th Century post-Haussmann-like edifice. While it is nice, and has a certain amount of charm, it is nothing like the great warmth and charm of l’Auberge Bressane. But then, this is a whole different neighborhood, and again, a whole different price category. L’Auberge Bressane is a historic place near important sites like the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, and les Invalides. It is in the 7th arrondissement – très chic et très cher. Mare-Monte is in a non-touristy, very middle-class neighborhood in the middle of the 15th arrondissement. The locals are filling the place up because it has good rapport between price and quality; they don’t care about the garnitures or the charm all that much. Mare-Monte is also not anywhere near as highly-capitalized as l’Auberge Bressane. (In fact, the people who own l’Auberge own about five other establishments. This is not a chain, however; the five places are all very different from each other. One is a pizzeria!) Madame la patronne at Mare-Monte was very nice; I loved her French. Because it must be a second language for her (after Greek), she enunciates so well and speaks so clearly, in a lovely clear voice. She had two very young servers helping in the dining room. They did a nice job, but they are not the professionals, dressed in black and white, found at a place like l’Auberge. Contrary to what a couple of the reviewers wrote, it was Madame who was running the dining room, and Monsieur was the chef in the kitchen. On the whole, we were very pleased with our dinner. The daurade royale could not have been better. And the price was close to what we pay for an ordinary dinner at the neighborhood pub, Le Commerce Café. I doubt, however, that it would ever be possible to find a daurade royale like Mare-Monte’s at Le Commerce Café. Earlier in the day, I went out walking twice – once for errands in the local shops such as the bakery, and then again for a longer walk over to the open-air marché on the rue Saint Charles. I took my time, strolling down one side and up the other, looking over the entire market. My purchases, while not very exciting (a full-size umbrella for 10 euros, and a package of three pairs of high-quality socks for 4 euros), were bargains, for Paris. Lots of other people were there still, even though it was the last hour or two for the market; they, like me, were doing their ordinary shopping. I could not bring myself to buy food at the open market, however; I noticed the flies landing on the meat and fish flesh. I just could not get past that. The earlier purchase of bread from the bakery was another matter. I am sure that Parisians take it for granted that they can find a fresh baguette anytime during the day. But this isn’t just any baguette, like what I’d find at the grocery bakery in Florida; every day in Paris, I have a choice of places nearby where I can find a superb, crusty baguette, made the old-fashioned way. If my timing is good, the baguette’s lingering warmth from the oven penetrates my hand as I carry it home. Warm is good.
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Blue
skies and warmer temperatures at last – yesterday’s view from the balcony. Our friend Christian comments that his mom
(who lives in Paris) says “there has been so much rain on the northern half
of France this summer that mushrooms that usually thrive in the fall are
readily available now!” No doubt this
explains why the morilles were so
good at l’Auberge Bressane. Christian
says the early-mushroom phenomenon is
“Jamais vu avant! Morilles,
chanterelles, cepes... regalez vous Barbara!” And so I shall!
Mare-Monte,
a restaurant at 19 avenue Félix Faure in the 15th arrondissement,
Tel. 01
44 26 10 77.
La daurade royale. Delicious!
Flying
tigers in a shop window on the avenue Félix Faure.
Florist
shop on
the avenue Félix Faure.
Butcher
shop on
the avenue Félix Faure is changing ownership.
Okay, you French speakers: do
you think the name had anything to do with it?
Chapel
behind the construction fence on the site of the former Boucicaut hospital complex,
as seen from the rue Durantan, just off of the avenue Félix Faure. Will this project ever be finished? According to what I wrote last year,
that time will come in 2014 or 2015. |
