Paris Journal 2014 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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I love that time of day when it is time to quit working. Even if we must run routine errands then, I’m still excited to be going out. I must be part Labrador retriever or some similar creature. Errands – going to the bank, going to pick up this or that at whatever shop, going to the grocery – errands are all about going out and retrieving something. In French, running these errands is faire les courses – to do the courses, as if it were a race. Racing about is how many busy Parisians fait les courses. We, on the other hand, are more in the mode of play and exploration, instead of racing. Paris is always fun and adventure for us, even after all these years. At the bank (BNP Paribas), for example, the ATM machine screen features this cute animated creature that looks like a cartoon green computer terminal with a big, expressive eye and mouth where the computer monitor’s screen is supposed to be. And then there are these long, pink arms and fingers that come out from the sides of the monitor and seem to operate the keyboard to demonstrate the instructions you’re being given on the ATM’s screen; the character shows you what to do next, in a charming and amusing fashion. Yesterday, the silly cartoonish thing on the ATM screen made me smile.
The cartoon creature is named GABI, and there is a little video about her on YouTube at http://youtu.be/-aLKyDSzOVE, and another on DailyMotion at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ktgy_bnp-paribas-fete-le-printemps-avec_lifestyle . Tom went to exchange his recently purchased shirt for a slightly different size. The Iranian-French tailor could not have been nicer. Good jazz was playing on his stereo. He seemed as pleased as if Tom were buying twelve new shirts. The discount grocery Dia always has surprises; the chain often stocks odd lots of great buyouts recently made, with savings passed on to us. This makes up for the relatively limited choices at Dia otherwise. Sometimes there are great buys on fresh roses; other times, the deal might be on special olives, or dates, or pistachios. You never know! After we had fait les courses, we talked about where to go for dinner. That way, we could plan our pre-dinner walk. Tom made the excellent suggestion of Restaurant le Blavet, and so he called for a reservation. Bon! The restaurant was open; often restos are not open on Sunday and Monday nights because Rungis, the wholesale food market, is closed then. But if a resto has other suppliers for items that must be fresh that day, like fish, it may well be open on Monday. Le Blavet is one of those, evidently. More about the restaurant in a moment. First, we set off on our walk – the Allée des Cygnes – the best place in the 15th arrondissement for walking during rush hour on a beautiful autumn day. As we walked back down the Allée, approaching the Statue of Liberty, a beautiful bride and handsome groom, accompanied by the wedding photographer and assistant, came toward us. Many newlyweds like to be photographed on this island, but often it is at the other end of the Allée, where the elegant Pont de Bir Hakeim is located. Since that bridge is undergoing renovation right now, I guess the opposite end of the Allée is now the choice spot for post-wedding photos. As the bride passed us, I glanced down at a French man who was sitting in the grass. Upon noticing the bride and groom, a mesmerized, dreamy look and smile took over the man’s face – reinforcing the notion that French men are romantics. We left romance behind and went into the Beaugrenelle shopping mall to explore Muji, a store we know from visiting the older Muji outpost in the 6th arrondissement. (In the U.S., Muji stores can be found in New York and California only.) Muji is a Japanese chain of retail stores that started in 1979. While it started by offering just 40 products and I think was originally thought of as a stationery store, it now sells several thousands of different things, including stationery, clothing, food items, housewares, and even some appliances. Its shtick is that items are reasonably priced and somewhat simple or minimalist in design and packaging. We’ve purchased a number of small things at Muji over the years. Muji used to have an eraser pen that Tom loved. This time, we bought a pair of nail scissors that we both need, and a little zippered wallet with attached key ring – the sort of thing I can keep chained and safety-pinned inside a zippered pocket, utterly thwarting pickpockets. I already had such a wallet, but the one I found at Muji is thinner and lighter in weight. The Muji shop at Beaugrenelle is nicer and better organized than the one we know in the 6th. The sales people were super nice, cheerful, and helpful in this new Beaugrenelle shop – a big improvement over the taciturn clerks at the older location. When we left Muji, it was time to go to dinner. Off we went through Beaugrenelle’s Magnetic section, exiting at its eastern point and making our way through the throngs of shoppers on the sidewalk of rue Linois and the Place Charles Michels. We left the crowd behind as we veered off on the rue des Entrepreneurs, which always makes me think of George W. Bush once saying, “The French don’t even have a word for entrepreneur.” At the rue de Lourmel, we turned right and voila! There is Le Blavet, in an unlikely, out-of-the-way spot. (You see that I’ve just told you how to find Le Blavet from the Charles-Michels metro station on the line 10.) Le Blavet is an extraordinarily good value for wonderful, creative French cuisine. Tom and I both noticed indications that Le Blavet has recently been turned over to a younger generation. Everything – from the paint to the lighting to the menu to the presentation of the food – all seems newer, brighter, fresher than before. But there are still some things that are oddly out of date for Le Blavet. For example, the restaurant has no web site. And it does not participate in LaFourchette.com’s reservation service. There are two fixed-price menus at Le Blavet, with several choices on each. One is 26 euros for three courses, and the other is 33 euros for three courses. The items Tom wanted were on the 33 euro menu, and the ones I wanted were on the 26 euro menu, so we sampled each. It is possible now to have just two courses instead of three at Le Blavet, but the difference in price is only two or three euros, so it doesn’t make much sense to only have two courses. I solved the problem of too much food by simply leaving a lot of it on my plate. The server was a little worried that we didn’t like our selections, especially when she was removing our starter course dishes, which still held plenty of food. We assured her, however, that the food was excellent. And it was. My starter course deserves mention because it is based on a classic French starter, the oeufs en cocotte, or shirred eggs – eggs that have been baked in ramekins. The French version can mean the eggs are cooked in liquid in these ramekins. That’s what I had. It was called petits pots d’oeufs en cocottes because there were two of them; I really only needed one! In the version I had, the egg whites had been beaten until they formed a thick, decorative foam island floating on a light, creamy soup that contained lots of delicious mushrooms and some foie gras. The slightly cooked egg yolk was intact in this soup, but I didn’t eat the yolks, knowing that it would just be too much rich food at the beginning of a meal. Upon seeing me choose this starter, Tom said, “You’re a lot more adventuresome eater than I am,” and I suppose that’s true. But this year, I have not yet ordered tête de veau (calf’s head) or andouillettes AAAAA (tripe sausage of the first order) – not even once. Well, at least I finally ordered oeufs en cocotte this summer. And I loved this dish. My only complaint was there was too much of it. I dealt with that by not eating half of the dish, which seems wasteful, but necessary. Tom had the same situation with the prawn ravioli that he ordered for a starter. The ravioli were superb, and came with the most finely julienned veggies that when cooked in the sauce, became much like colorful spaghetti. (Sorry that those veggies are hidden in the photo.) His main course was steak with foie gras, and it was tender, juicy, and delicious. My main course, the rosy slices of tender magret de canard aigre-doux with potatoes au gratin and baked apples and plum were absolutely outstanding. I think this is the best duck breast ever – and I’ve had some very fine magrets de canard! And the nicely textured aigre-doux (sweet and sour sauce) was an explosion of flavor. Bravo! Dessert was a tarte fine aux pommes (thin apple tart) for me, and a fandarole (assortment of little desserts) for Tom. All were exceptionally good. The restaurant was not crowded. Only a couple of other tables were occupied when we left. The only possible explanation is the lack of advertising or publicity for the restaurant. With food this good at such good value, Le Blavet should be packed. There should be a five-day wait for a reservation. The only thing that keeps us from going back more often is the copious amount of food served in those fixed-price menus. Also, the menu is necessarily limited, so if you go often, you end up ordering some of the same dishes again and again. And then there is this whole great big city full of places to explore. Yet, it is nice to know that reliable, known (to us, anyway) places like Le Blavet are still wonderful, and are even becoming more so. La cuisine Française is alive and well in Paris.
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Tuesday, September 2, 2014
The bottom level of the Magnetic section of the
Beaugrenelle shopping mall has metal chairs like the ones we know and love in
the Tuileries and the Luxembourg Gardens.
Our starter courses at Le Blavet (above and below).
The sweet-and-sour duck (above) and steak with foie gras (below).
Tarte
fine aux pommes with ice cream and whipped cream (above) and
the fandarole (below).
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