Catching Ups and Downs: Part 1

Life is tough enough, do we really need Google to make it so difficult to access one's blog that was created before Google ruled the world?  Ok, cool man, or as the tax man really did say to me the other day: 'Zen.'  Wow, it's been a while and I blame my respite entirely on my day job.  So, if you're wondering where I've been, in this installment, I offer you 180 degrees (part 1) of a 360 degree recap, starting with some good old fashioned mama's home cooking:  NOT.

Mama Shelter

Way back around early November, I finally got the urge to check out the trendy Mama Shelter restaurant, situated on the ground floor of the trendy Mama Shelter hotel on rue de Bagnolet in the 20th and just across the street from one of my go-to venues for live music, La Fleche d'Or.  Mama's has long acquired Paris renown for its funky interior spaces, lively bar, pizza corner, and hip restaurant.  'Check' on funky interior decor, 'check' on lively bar, 'check' on pizza corner, but a decidedly 'thumbs down' on hip restaurant.  As for the funky decors, check out my photos.

Funky Mama Shelter decor 1

Funky Mama Shelter decor 2

Funky Mama Shelter decor 3

Funky Mama Shelter decor 4

Yes, the dark ceiling has a number of adages scrawled in chalk, including such deep musings as the following:

 Power is standing on a street corner without waiting for someone.

           Get out of my cloud.

Deep, huh?  About as deep as big Mama''s aspirations in the kitchen.
For a place that aspires to be so ostensibly cool, the menu offerings were decidedly dull on the evening that Co. and I made our visit (and probably all the other nights when we didn't, as well).
Below, the carte, followed by some food photos.

Mama Shelter's menu, Nov. 2013 (click to enlarge)

Burratta Tomates Cerises entree (14€)

The burratta was forgettable - not that anyone's could compare to that served at Aux Deux Amis, which I revisited a couple of weeks ago with the Moose.  The cerises were memorable - with so many, how could one forget?  Meanwhile, Co. was uninspired by her poele de champignon (13€).

Salmon snacke main dish (19€)

This actually looks pretty good, but to tell you the truth, I can't remember if this was my dish or Co's, and neither can she.  So it may have been good, but who the hell knows?

Plat du jour - some kind of fish and vegetables, take your pick (17€)

I know, I know, these photos suck, but then, so did the food.  (Actually, the place is so dark, you'll have trouble impressing your partner at the bar with all your stored selfies.)  Zen, man, zen.  Okay, the food wasn't that bad, but when it comes to Mama Shelter, you go for the decor, the lively bar action, and if you and your buds are up for group gourging on pizza, there's a special room set aside for that sort of happiness.  We downed our decent Pinot noir vieilees vignes (34€) and zenned back out into the Paris night without dessert or cafe at 97€.  Next question?

MAMA SHELTER

Address: 109 Rue de Bagnolet, 75020 Paris, France

Phone:+33 1 43 48 48 48

Website:  http://www.mamashelter.com/en/paris/restaurants/


Le Boudoir

This was a decidedly strange one.  The Moose, fully inspired by an earlier visit, suggested we check out Le Boudoir, a short block or two off the insanely crowded Champs Elysee.  I must admit, I was intrigued by the online carte, but nervous that it was in English, I guess a nod and blink to the hordes of tourists swarming around the fashionably ostentatious Champs Elysee shops.  By the time we arrived for dinner, only a few tables were taken, and we were seated next to a foursome of lovely young ladies finishing up what appeared to be a rollicking enjoyable early evening meal.  By the time we left, the place was filled with button-down male suits, hardly the touristy types, seriously huddled around their tables as if mapping out their strategies for their visits to a decidedly other kind of boudoir later that night.  My mind wanders, as it did at Le Boudoir, no doubt partly a function of the whiskeys I downed at a bar along the way.

The new seasonal Le Boudoir carte (click to enlarge)

I don't know what it is about the Moose, but he is the most gregarious person I know.  When we arrived at Le Boudoir, he asked for Stefan (manager?  owner?) and they greeted each other like lifelong pals.  Stefan spent some time at our table, just glowing about how the evening of our visit they were launching their fall/winter menu, which was why half of the items weren't available.  Don't worry, I didn't get it either.  The meal's a blur, but I remember ordering 'The famous poultry pie with duck foie gras - onion confit and foliage emulsion' because I wanted to find out what was so famous about it.  Stefan explained it is famous because care is taken to use only the freshest, most natural ingredients, which is fine by me.  I was less impressed by my dessert, the 'Black chocolate cream,' that would have worked a lot better without the bananas and with black chocolate cream.  Everything in-between is but a distant memory, but check out the photos below.  I do remember being surprisingly satisfied by the meal, however, although I'm not sure that I will return.  Still, if you're hanging out on the grand old C-E one evening and you want to check out something a bit off the beaten path (literally and figuratively) at fairly reasonable prices, you probably could do worse.

The famous poultry pie

Lightly browned scallops, risotto, red squash - fresh and succulent, no kidding

The Moose's choice: Quail stuffed with dried fruits and foie gras

Black chocolate cream - this one didn't work

Not to be forgotten, Le Boudoir includes the railroad car dining space, some more intimate private rooms upstairs (no, not those sort of rooms), as well as a 'cigars smoking room' 8-seater.  Now you've got the idea.

LE BOUDOIR

Restaurant & Wine Bar

Address:  25 rue du Colisée, 75008 Paris - France

Telephone:  01 43 59 25 29
website:  http://www.boudoirparis.fr/

L'Apibo - Fresh Air and Breaking Glass

Last Friday night Co. and I ventured to rue Tiquetonne, the animated, pedestrian-oriented street in Paris's Montorgueil quarter to check out L'Apibo, a small venue across street from what appears to be a very popular pizzeria, amid a plethora of other cafes and restaurants.  This being a temperate evening in the waning weeks of the summer, we asked for one of the 10 or so tables on the sidewalk.  Our Thai hostess/owner/waitress (staff on vacation, we were informed) congenially discussed with us the absurd evening ritual of garbage collection - on rue Tiquetonne, not once, but twice - on a Friday evening when people are outside trying to eat.  She ruminated on the god-awful parking situation - thankfully, we took the metro - and how her unassuming moto was ticketed twice in the past week.  But otherwise, the street was more people than vehicles, the main form of transportation being the asundry baby carriages we espied as parents waited to be seated at the pizzeria.  Animated more than boisterous, except for the obnoxious guffaw coming from a pizzeria table of heavy drinking, but apparently harmless, Eastern Europeans. C'est la vie a Paris.

I remember reading another post about L'Apibo somewhere (now forgotten), with the author dubbing the restaurant as 'quasi-gastronomique' - I can't say I disagree.  As described at the restaurant's website, L'Apibo offers 'une cuisine d'instinct, curieuse et spontanée,' and I think you'll figure that one out even if you don't speak French.  Note that the description doesn't say 'fantastic,' 'unforgettable,' and 'super-fantastic,' but you can't have eveything.  Price/quality speaking, you could do worse.  Chef Anthony Boucher conjured up a very satisfying, quasi-innovative, summery carte on the night of our visit.  All washed down with a very good Corsican Sartene red (28€).  Grand total: 92€.

Not long after we were seated we were brought a refreshing amuse bouche in the form of a cold melon soup.  

Co. and I opted for the 3 course 32€ menu, selecting from among the options classified under the headings, 'pour commencer,' 'pour continuer,' and 'pour finir.'  There, you've just learned some more French.  The carte looked like this (click to enlarge):

A commencer:  Nearly seduced by the gambas, I ended up more intrigued by the daurade tartare, accompanied by vegetables, deli style pickles (hard to find in Paris), wasabi, and lime, the latter three being my Achille's (or is it stomach's) heel.  This was good, but nothing special until I hit the wasabi, which, when combined with the pickle, adhered to L'Apibo's promise of instinct, curiosity, and spontaneity.  Co., ever a lover of the foie gras, selected foie gras (and that's not a carrot, but a piece of melon you see).  On a warm night, these dishes hit the spot, even if they came up short of dazzling.  Meanwhile, a couple more hearty guffaws and rowdy back pats from our European neighbors across the narrow street at the pizzeria.

ALERT: Don't rush out to get your eyes examined, yes, my tablet camera failed me again and the photos below are blurry.  But consider this, if you drink a lot and then go to L'Apibo and keep drinking, this is probably what you food will actually look like.

A continuer:  The highlights of the meal fell in this category, with Co.'s bar on a bed of black rice (also hard to find in Paris), tandoori sauce, and eggplant caviar on one hand, and on the other, my stuffed encornet with blettes (chard) and pine nuts.  Both of us turned out to be reluctant to swap much of either dish and when we did, it was a jolt, with tastes apparently coming from opposite sides of the globe.  Meanwhile, some louder discourse from our European neighbors.

 

A finir: Summery selections, Co. went with the peaches and I went with the far healthier chocolate, both pretty decent.  Meanwhile, more yukking it up by our European neighbors across the narrow street at the aforementioned pizzeria.

 

And a grand finish it was:  as we stood and began to navigate our way past the tables to the left, all of a sudden our Eastern neighbors' table across the narrow street at the pizzeria thrust forward and every single plate, glass, and bottle smashed into a million pieces in the middle of the street.  Continuing with the evening's theme, an act replete with instinct, curiosity, and spontaneity.  My only regret is that I didn't take a photo, but the ever popular phrase 'it looked like a war zone' should suffice.


L'APIBO

31 rue Tiquetonne
75002 Paris
tel:  01 55 34 94 50
website: http://www.restaurant-lapibo.fr/

Tour de Tapas

Fearlessly, I've been busy, even as the mid-August tumbleweeds roll past the better establishments of a (finally) sun-drenched French capital.  Oh wait a minute, it's now cloudy.  Whatever.  As suggested by this post's pithy title, my recent incursions into the Parisian restaurant scene - more accurately carried out just prior to the mass restaurant closings of the French vacation period - center on the tapas circuit, more or less.  Once again this is going to be a quick summary-type post, rather than an indepth review of any particular establishment.  Overall, I have four dinners to discuss, and I am happy to report that each left me with a smile and a thumbs up.



AU PASSAGE
I know, I know, been there done that.  My full review from last February here.  This time, an extended meal/conversation with the Moose.  Back in town and big need to catch up, so the tapas motif served our needs well.  A last minute reservation got us two stools at the bar, which was fine with us.  Halfway through, we were kindly offered a table by one of the waitstaff, but we were fine where we were.  Our selections were each satisfying, and in fact, there's nothing really significantly different to report from my first visit's impressions.  Maybe I enjoyed the food more this time, or maybe it was just that I selected better.  Moose concurs.  The carte (click on image to view) on offer for our particular late July visit and some photos follow.

 

I started off with a refreshing and satisfying brandade de lieu jaune and Moose commenced with a refreshing and satisfying bowl of cresson soup.

 

 Next up, feeling very Irish despite his Canadian/British/Filipino pedigree, Moose stuck with the green (cucumber poutargue), whereas I've never seen a rouget dish that I couldn't say 'yes' to.

 

Finishing up, we got meaty, me with the magret and moose with the (no image) agneau.  I'd have to say my magret outshined the similar dish I had during the February visit - the grilled vegetables a very nice counterpoint to the lightly cooked magret.

Why we didn't order dessert I'm not sure, but it could be we had drunk ourselves under the bar by that point.  Too bad I didn't save the bill and I could have told you what wine we washed this all down with, but it was a tasty blackboard special - and of course, red.  Still the place to go if you are half my age - plenty of bright youthful faces at the tables - with friends, for an extended evening of wining and dining.  On this summer evening, Au Passage was a perfect choice.  We lingered outside for a while after the meal, chatting up some locals, including a disgruntled 20-something who was bemoaning her inability to snag a table that evening at Chateaubriand, and a couple enterprising young filmmakers.

AU PASSAGE
1 bis Passage Saint Sebastien
75011 Paris
tel: 01 43 55 07 52

AGUA LIMON

Much chagrined at having been left to her own devices in the kitchen while I was off gallivanting with the Moose, Co. and I followed up with our first excursion to a decidedly Spainish-oriented tapas joint, Agua Limon, situated in the 12th - and how I am starting to love this area between the Aligre market and Bastille.  Start at metro Faidherbe-Chaligny as the hub and you can walk from there to any number of terrific little restaurants.  Agua Limon itself is just a short walk from the Ledru Rollin metro, another good port of call.  

I haven't had much luck with Spanish tapas in the capital, but Agua Limon is a spot I definitely will be returning to; nothing spectacular, but pleasant, pleasing, and pretty authentic - the 3 Ps of something or another.  The open facade gave us a feeling of dining outside while inside the small front room; behind the bar runs another set of tables in a train car space.  A pleasant and helpful server guided us efficiently, but leisurely, through our tapas choices, some of which are pictured below.

To start, friture eperlans (9.30€). and poivrons grilles (5€).

Followed by friture calmars (9.30€) ...

Salicon pulpo (a highlight) (12€) ...

and poulet paprka (a bit too watery for my taste, but still pretty good, and a frequent choice among other diners) (7€).

Based on a small sample size, I'd say go with the seafood options, but you know what you like.  As I've never come across a Rioja I couldn't say yes to, we went with the Rioja Torres (25€) and were not disappointed; with coffee, the meal totaled out at 73.60€, so you can't beat the price for decent sized servings.

Agua Limon is small and informal, another great little summer venue in Paris, especially if your tastes lead you down the tapas route and you're nostalgic for those little dining sessions you remember so fondly from your last visit to Barcelona.

AGUA LIMON

12, rue Theophile-Roussel

tel. 01 43 44 92 24

website: http://www.restaurant-agualimon.com

 CAFFE DEI CIOPPI

Another new try, and admittedly, a much more challenging venue for snagging a table.  Yours truly failed in that regard on several occasions before getting a wobbly, tiny square of a table on the so-called terrace in the alley off Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine one Friday evening shortly before summer shutdown.  Close your eyes and you are off a little piazza in Milano, but when the food arrives, open your eyes and you are off a little piazza in Milano.  From Spain to Italy, a couple metro stops away.  CDC is an apparent favorite on the local celeb front, at least judging by LeFooding's postings, so of course I had to check this out because I like to be where the in-crowd crowds.

As soon as you hit CDC it hits you back as to why it's difficult to reserve - the food is very good - everything prepared in house, from the mozarella to the pastas and sauces - and it is reasonably priced.  It is inaccurate to call CDC a tapas restaurant, but I don't know why, it had the atmosphere of one.  Here's the menu du jour upon our arrival:

And our choices, beginning with the soup (not pictured) and truly, truly mozarella  ...

moving on to the linguine and filet de maigre, equally outstanding and thus we swapped halfway ...

... and finishing up with fondant chocolat and sbrisolona, the latter of which was particularly outstanding (and again, we couldn't resist swapping mid-course).

 

 

Despite their blur, I hope the photos speak for themselves.  Beverage-wise, a decent Rosso di Montefalco (20€), bringing the total (sans cafe) to 95.50€.  

I'm not a repository of recommendations for Italian dining in Paris, but you can't go wrong on that front at Caffe Dei Cioppi.  I'm looking forward to a return visit during the winter, but I'm afraid that once you take away those ten or so tables in the alley, one's chances of capturing a reservation inside this spatially-challenged venue is going to be a mighty tough 'get.'

CAFFE DEI CIOPPI

159, rue du Faubourg St Antoine

tel: 01 43 46 10 14

no website

LES MAGNOLIAS

As you no doubt know if you've been to this site before, Les Magnolias is a perennial venue for Mortstiff & Co., so I won't belabor the point (see my previous 2008 reviews here and here).  After a several month hiatus, we returned to Jean Chauvel's Michelin-starred establishment in the Paris banlieue of Le Perreux, after getting the distinct impression that M. Chauvel's magic was waning after his multiple rethinks of standard dishes.  Well, with our return during July, I have to say, resoundingly, that Les Magnolias is back.  New sauces, new ingredients, new structures, new conceptions, this was one fantastic meal, from start to finish.  Enough said.

 The carte (click to enlarge):

And some of our choices:

 

 

 

LES MAGNOLIAS 

48, avenue de Bry  

94 Le Perreux-sur-Marne

tel : 01 48 72 47 43

website: http://www.lesmagnolias.com

So there you have it - another Parisian summer almost gotten through.  August may be bleak and hopeless for restaurants in the capital, but we do what we can to survive.  That's going to do it here until the much-awaited rentree in September.  By then, I hope for a diversion along the lines of a recap of some highlights from our trip to the US southwest.  From tapas to tacos, the beat goes on.