Abri Soba, Paris 10eme

I recently received this question from a reader named Brian:

“Our son and his girlfriend will be in Paris for 3 nights this spring. They both enjoy great, shareable meals at memorable restaurants with good cocktails, and breakfast places with great coffee. Any recommendations for a couple in their 20’s?”

First off, thanks for this question and for following my blog, Brian.  Glad to hear that you still enjoy Le Pichet. If anyone else has questions I can answer, please feel free to leave them as a comment on one of my posts, I will get back to you as soon as practical.

What in the world do people in their 20’s want these days?  That is a question that strays into thoughts about mortality and aging in this world.  Deep sigh…  Food, cooking and dining are all so wrapped up in trend and fashion that recommending a restaurant to a 20 year old is sort of like talking about music that I loved in my youth to a nephew or niece.  They just give you a slightly sad look. I eat out in Paris as often I can and try to keep up on restaurant news and reviews. But, at the risk of sounding old, many of the rave reviews I have read recently concern restaurants that I find completely unappealing.  Such is life.
At the same time, making restaurant recommendations is always tricky, as what a person enjoys in a dining experience is so, well, personal.  Everyone has different expectations.  However, since you asked, I will do my best to hazard a few suggestions.

Source:  A good place to start would be the French TV show called “Très Très Bon”, which is all about what’s new in the Paris culinary scene.  It features not only restaurants but street food, coffee roasters, micro breweries and distilleries, wine bars, cocktail bars, caves, boulangeries and patisseries, pretty much anything that involves eating and drinking. The attitude leans decidedly young but even I find  many of  the places featured interesting. We watch on a channel called Paris Premier but it has a very good website, with a food map, clips from the show and even an app.

Arrondissement:  In recent visits to Paris, I have really enjoyed spending time in the 10th arrondissement, which has an energy that reminds me of Belleville 20 years ago. Formerly avoided as that kinda ugly area that surrounds most train stations (the 10th is home to both the Gare de Nord and the Gare de l’est), the 10th is now loaded with bars, cafes, restaurants, organic stores, wine bars, coffee roasters, street food places, it even is home to le Passage Brady, a kind of mini Indian district.  It still feels a bit scruffy, which helps to keep out the chain stores that are the surest sign of gentrification.

Abri Soba:  One of the restaurants we really enjoyed in the 10th, this tiny place is run by a chef who’s first restaurant had one Michelin star. He closed that place to focus on more traditional Japanese food, notably handmade soba noodles.  But there is also an interesting selection of izikaya-style dishes and sashimi.  No reservations, arrive 10 minutes before opening or figure at least a 30 minute wait.

Try a bouillon: I think that it is fair to say that one of the most recognizable trends in Paris dining in the last 5 years is the revival of the Bouillon,  working class restaurants, many of which date fromthe early 1900s, and are sort of a cross between a brasserie and a cafeteria.  The combo of well prepared traditional food served without fuss and prices that are borderline philanthropic, have been rediscovered by euro-conscious Parisians who still want to dine well. Think œufs mayo, leeks vinaigrette, veal blanquette, gratin of macaroni…almost like eating in a  museum of French culinary arts! My favorite bouillon is Bouillon Racines, but to be fair, it is significantly more expensive than the classics of the genre like Bouillon Chartier or newcomers like Bouillon Pigalle. Warning, many traditional bouillons dont take reservations, and, once you make it to the front of the queue, you are often sat at a table with other guests. But then, that is part of the fun.

Classy cocktails: I am not a cocktail person, so I dont have a favorite cocktail bar in Paris. However, almost every high end restaurant in Paris (and many that are less high end)  now  has a fairly well developed cocktail program. And since formal dining is an essential part of the Paris culinary experience, why not blow the budget  at least once?  One of my favorite splurges is Restaurant Prunier.  The room is an art deco dream classified historical landmark, the chef is one of the icons of modern French culinary arts, the food is impeccably prepared and seafood focused and, as high end Paris dining goes, it is not insanely expensive.  Get dressed up and dine like an aristo!

Coffee and breakfast:  Coffee is not one of the things that the French do extremely well. In fact, most of the French people I know will say that there is better coffee in Italy than in France. I had the best coffee I have ever tasted in Vienna.  That having been said, boutique coffee roasters are an up and coming thing is Paris.  Check out “Tres Tres Bon” above for recommendations. As to a breakfast with good coffee, I can recommend  l’Atelier des Sœurs on the lovely little place Franz Lizst in the 10th.  Or, try L’Endoit in the Batignolles neighborhood in the 17th. I love their soft boiled eggs with toast soldiers. However, I am not sure that I would make a trip to try either of these places, as there are likely good options close to where you are staying. Ask someone at your hotel what their favorite place is for breakfast. Or, if not in a hotel, ask the bartender at a bar near where you are staying. A good friend says that bartenders and hairdressers always know the best places.

Over the years, I have been lucky enough to have eaten and drunk very well in France. Since my first visit in 1989, through the years of 1990-1991 when we lived in Paris, through frequent return visits after we were once again living in Seattle, until today, when we live full time in Orthez, some the the most memorable moments of my life have taken place seated at a table or standing at a bar somewhere in France. It occurred to me that some of these memories might be of interest to you who read this blog.

So I am inaugurating a new post category which I call “Petites Histoires”, which will relate some of my favorite memories of eating and drinking at restaurants and wine bars in France. These recollections should in no way be considered recommendations:  some of these places are long gone and much lamented.  If the establishment in question still exists, its likely that I havent been there for many years, so I am in no position to recommend or not.

By way of disclaimer, I would point out that these are memories, and experts tell us that a significant amount of what we remember is false. And I would note that a very intelligent and much adored man I was privileged to know was fond of saying that people prefer a good story to the absolute truth, a sentiment which I have taken to heart.  Buyer beware!

Coming soon, wine bar Le Tartine, Paris

One of the food blogs that I consistently enjoy is Alexander Lobrano’s “Diner’s Diary”.  His accounts of dining experiences in Paris and his thoughts on dining, cooking and food are always entertaining, accurate and insightful.  Best of all, his opinions generally jive with my own, making his blog a valuable source of info for my (too infrequent) visits to Paris.  His book Hungry for Paris  (which includes photographs by Bob Peterson, good friend of Le Pichet and Cafe Presse and a hugely talented photographer)  is a great resource for anyone who is more interested in finding a great meal in Paris than in being seen at  the American media’s current “It” restaurant.

This morning I noticed a nice post about the École Supérieure de Cuisine Française Jean Ferrandi in Paris, where I did my formal training in 1990-91.  Although Ferrandi is still not well known by Americans,   inside France it has the reputation of producing some of France’s finest chefs (including three star chefs such as Yanick Alleno of the the Hotel Meurice in Paris and a number of chefs named “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”, France’s highest honor for technical proficiency…if you have seen the film The Kings of Pastry, you will have a idea what a great achievement this title implies).

I especially like the following bit from M. Lobrano’s post:

One of the huge global misapprehensions about professional cooking is that it’s all about creativity (much of this nonsense comes from the inane cooking shows that have become so popular). It’s not. Instead it’s all about a relentlessly rigorous execution of technique and ferociously exigent and ingenious sourcing…with a just pinch of creativity.

Well said.

After reading my recipe post for Le Pichet and Cafe Presse favorite  “Ouefs Plat Jambon Fromage”, Seattle based photographer Bob Peterson forwarded me these photos.  Seems I am not the only one to have tried this  dish at Paris Bistro a Vin and veritable institution “A la Cloche des Halles”.  Bob notes that there seems to be a lot more ham on the original;  my take is that the staff at la Cloche  distribute the ham differently than we do and uses a plate instead of a gratin dish so the meat is more prominent.  Or maybe Bob got a little extra love during his visit.  Either way, these look pretty tasty.

Thanks to Bob for sharing these photos.  You can check out more of Bob’s work at his website or in this earlier post.