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Post by trechic on Oct 20, 2007 7:10:47 GMT -5
Hi All! I posted a few days ago with regard to jcjflorida and her sister and I meeting for dinner one night. jcj and her sis will be staying in the 3rd (rue Charlot) and I will be in the 4th (rue du bourg-tibourg). What would be your favorite choice for some good meeting place for dinner for us? Le Pamphlet Le Petit Pamphlet Le 3 Any opinions on these or suggestions of others would be greatly appreciated!! Tre
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Post by trechic on Oct 20, 2007 13:23:53 GMT -5
Why is it seemingly so impossible for me to get any help with this question?
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Post by annettecinca on Oct 20, 2007 13:37:25 GMT -5
Sorry Tre, but I've only wandered these areas in the daytime, so I for one, don't have any suggestions for you
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Post by GitteK on Oct 20, 2007 13:40:49 GMT -5
Hi trechic Would love to help you, but I am not very well aquainted with Le Marais.
Truffaut had talked very highly about "Le Pamphlet" in Rue Debelleyme, so that's where I would go, if you are looking for really good food. Look:
>>>> Bad news and good news!
The bad news is that our beloved Le Petit Pamphlet has, indeed, been sold to the infidel (or at least to someone we don’t know).
The good news is that the original Le Pamphlet has re-opened after two years of recovering from “une petite fuite”—a small flood.
OK, so here goes....
First of all, the room is elegant in a modern, minimalist way. The entire front of the restaurant is an enormous window looking onto a quiet street. The walls are whitewashed exposed stone, the floor is covered in slate gray carpeting, and each table is dressed in a heavy pale caramel damask cloth that falls completely to the floor. The restaurant is rather large by Parisian standards and the tables are spaced far apart--a real luxury. One could easily have a rather private evening here.
We each ordered a glass of champagne, which was served with a plate of good saucissons secs.
The amuse bouche immediately made us realize that the standards had not fallen a bit from "Le Petit...". The "melon gaspacho"--a chilled soup of cantaloupe (which Truffaut generally does not like)--was fabulous. The texture was silky and the flavor was sweet enough that I thought it might have been enriched with honey. The server avowed, however, that it contained only cantaloupe and wine pureed together. Melon is always good with prosciutto, so it was not surprising that the last few slices of saucissons got eaten up along with the last few spoons of soup.
I ordered "roule d'agneau confit en aubergine"--a roll of thinly sliced roasted eggplant containing a stuffing of lamb confit. I'm a big fan of duck confit, but had never heard of lamb confit. I was a bit doubtful and thought it could potentially be really heavy and greasy. The roulade was sauced with small puddles of basil oil and scattered with toasted pine nuts. The slight astringency of the pine nuts cut through any potential greasiness and the basil oil added just a touch of sweetness.
G's entrée was a large blini topped with marinated "saumon cru"--salmon carpaccio, scattered with bits of lemon zest anc chives and topped with a quenelle of mild goat cheese beaten into a mousse with crème fraiche.
We both ordered a roasted pork chop for our plat. The chops were thick and juicy, and were served on a bed of haricots verts and scattered with sautéed cepes. We both felt they needed more salt and really could have come of the heat about a minute sooner.
My dessert was a clafoutis aux peches served with vanilla ice cream and a light drizzle of raspberry coulis. I’ve had the standard clafoutis with cherries and with apricots, but this was a first with peaches. Tres yummy!
G's dessert was a huge platter of roasted apricots, topped with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and scattered with (very original) gingerbread croutons!
A bottle of Chateau de Terrebrunne Bandol 2003 rounded out the evening.
And finally a small plate of mignardises--miniature financiers and clusters of chopped almonds covered in bitter chocolate.
Altogether, about 135 euros--a really excellent value considering the quality of the food, the outstanding service and the ambience. It's definitely on our list of favorites!
Le Pamphlet 38, rue Debellyme (3eme) 01 42 72 39 24 <<<<
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Post by Jody on Oct 20, 2007 13:49:45 GMT -5
Other than the Place de Vosges and the cafes around Place de Bastille, I've not ever found any places that had good "people watching" in Le Marais for the evenings. There certainly are more than enough museums and an excellent street market and craft fair on the week-ends , but those are all daytime activities. Maybe I've just really never looked.
But it is close enough to other quartiers that you could find lots of activities for evenings.
Gitte beat me to it! I have not been to any of those restaurants but have put Le Pamphlet on my list on Truff's recommendation
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Post by GitteK on Oct 20, 2007 13:58:26 GMT -5
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Post by luckyluc on Oct 20, 2007 15:21:43 GMT -5
An other good classic addres in the Marais is Le Dos de la Baleine at 40, rue des Blancs Manteaux, in the 4ème. I have not been for a while for is it a valeur sure, I do remember how great their terrine de lapin aux pruneaux et foie gras is. You will need to reserve a day or two ahead.
Also le Petit Marcel at 65, rue Rambuteau (not a resto is it a bistro) near Beaubourg. Simple good food, not expensive at all and if you get a window table lot of people to see.
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Post by geordy on Oct 20, 2007 17:20:22 GMT -5
And for people watching, lively, head to the Pl. de Bastille and the streets behind the new Opera house.
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Post by trechic on Oct 20, 2007 19:16:40 GMT -5
Thank you so much for all the input here...Very much appreciated! Gitte, that was soooo generous of you as always...and have you ever considered being a good critic/writer? OMG, that was amazing to read...I feel full and I have not eaten all day!! Thanks, Luc...those suggestions sound great, too!
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Post by Truffaut on Oct 20, 2007 22:15:00 GMT -5
I've eaten at Les 3, and was sorely disappointed. Au Dos de Baleine was good, but I thought a bit pricey. I'd be willing to try it again, though. Le Pamphlet continues to rank high. Au Bourguignon du Marais is good. We had a good meal at Le Rouge Gorge.
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Post by GitteK on Oct 21, 2007 0:49:52 GMT -5
trechic - the vivid resto review was Truffaut's, hence the quotation marks.
He is my gourmet hero and I hurry to exalt him for that !
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irishRover
New Member
I don't care where the water goes if it doesn't get into the wine!
Posts: 28
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Post by irishRover on Oct 30, 2007 0:35:13 GMT -5
Hello Tre. Dont know if you remember me from that "other place" but I think you were around there for a while before I got fed up with it and left...
And while I'm about it hello to everyone else too, both those I recognize and those I do not! It's good to "see" so many familiar faces and I hope to get to know all of you very soon. It's been a long and busy summer but I'll have more to say on that topic in another post...
Here are a few more suggestions for places you might try in the 4th. Hope this post is not too late for you...
Café de la Poste, rue Castex — a great little neighborhood place with good food at very fair prices.
Le Temps des Cerises, rue de la Cerisaie — another good local hang-out open only for lunch. (Be prepared to be gently teased by the locals and the owners here but all in a spirit of fun and without malice!)
Baracane, rue des Tournelles — a good little bistro with a southwest influence to the menu, more sophisticated than the previous two.
Vin des Pyrénées, rue Beautreillis — one of our favourite bistros in the area. Hearty traditional food and a great atmosphere. Take a big appetite with you! (I hope you are not a vegetarian. If so, this is not the place for you...)
Auberge de Jarente, rue de Jarente — another good bistro with Basque cuisine. Warm and friendly. Go there hungry!
L'Épouvantail, just across the street from the A. de J. — a pleasant little place with good food. Check their menu if you happen to pass by.
The Place du Marché Ste. Catherine is between the rue de Jarente and the rue St. Antoine. There is a pleasant bistro on the east side of the square, NOT the one on the corner of rue d'Ormesson (which is not good) but the one next door with the big funky mirror. Another friendly place. I think phread likes Pitchi Poi on the square but I have never tried it. There is a good bar/café on the square as well but our favourite café in that area is the one on rue St. Antoine at the corner of rue de l'Hôtel St. Paul.
I am pleased that Truffaut has recommended Le Rouge-Gorge. I like it a lot and I think he went there on my recommendation. I thought he had been a bit disappointed by it but perhaps my memory is at fault. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It's really not much more than a glorified wine bar, but a very good one and I found the owner delightful. (This did not have anything to do with the fact that he has a map of Ireland hanging on the wall and, as I discovered, loves to spend his vacations fishing for trout there, so we had a great chat about places in Ireland we both knew. And my judgment was certainly not the least bit influenced by the fact that he gave me an absolutely superb glass of Armagnac and didn't charge me for it...)
Of all of these Le Rouge-Gorge would be my top pick.
One of my favorite hang-outs in the 4th must be just round the corner from where you are staying, Au Petit Fer à Cheval on rue Vieille du Temple. When we stayed fairly regularly in the 4th this was always the place we headed to for lunch our first day because it felt so quintessentially Parisian. Ity's just a café and nothing really special but it always feels right to us.
You might take a look at Les Fous d'en Face on rue du Bourg-Tibourg. (Support your local bistro!) It's old-fashioned and traditional and used to be very good and a decent value but we haven't tried it in a while and their prices have gone up quite a bit in recent years.
On the Place des Vosges I think Ma Bourgogne is over-priced and the service leaves something to be desired. Not a bad place for a splurge breakfast though if the weather is pleasant enough to sit out under the arcades.
There's a little bistro, À l'Impasse, on the impasse Guéménée off rue St. Antoine between rue de Birague and rue des Tornelles, that used to be great but then lost the plot. We haven't been there in a few years since our last disappointing meal but I hear it has recovered its old form (new owner?) so take a look and see what you think if you're around there. if you decide to risk it let me know how it was.
And besides L'As du Falafel there's the charmingly funky tea-room, Le Loir dans la Théière (The Dormouse in the Teapot) on rue des Rosiers.
I'm not so familiar with places in the 3rd but there is a very good Italian restaurant on rue de Beauce. I don't recall the name but I think "Stagioni" was part of it. Anyway, rue de Beauce is only about a block long so it shouldn't be hard to find.
If you should find yourself near the passage Molière (between rue St. Martin and rue Quincampoix) take a look at Au Vieux Molière. They used to have (and hopefully still do) a lunch special that was remarkably good value and if the dinner menu is more expensive it's still a good place and you might find Audrey Tautou or Bertrand Delanoë sitting at the next table!
IanK has raved about l'Ambassade d'Auvergne on rue du Grenier St. Lazare in another thread so I won't add to what he has said except to say that you can find aligot (should you be so inclined) at La Lozère on rue Hautefeuille in the 6th (between Odéon and St. Michel) and you will do a lot less damage to your wallet there! (Our British cousins need to show a little empathy to those of us who are buying our Euros with feeble US dollars rather than the almighty British pound!) They only serve aligot on Thursdays and you will need to book at least a couple of days ahead if you want to try it.
Finally, a fair distance from the Marais (though we have walked back there after eating dinner here) our favourite place on a cold fall or winter evening is Le Petit Marguéry on blvd. de Port Royal on the extreme southern edge of the 5th. (Actually it's in the 13th.) If you like game this is a wonderful place and the wild mushrooms are splendid also. The Grand Marnier soufflé is an unforgettable dessert. Over the years we have always found a warm welcome here.
I hope all this is not too late for you and that you will find one or two of these places to your liking. And if none of them fits in with your plans for the rest of your stay in Paris then hopefully someone else will find the list useful!
Bon séjour à Paris et bon appétit!.
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Post by GitteK on Oct 30, 2007 1:01:00 GMT -5
It must be the real you this time ! No troll could produce such an impressive list of gourmand secrets - this has to be someone who has eaten his way through Paris for decades ! ;D
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Post by annettecinca on Oct 30, 2007 1:24:37 GMT -5
Woohoo!!! It's Irish! I'm so glad to see you "over here". I'm jotting down some of your recommendations for our trip next month--thanks!
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Post by Shoesy on Oct 30, 2007 1:48:06 GMT -5
"Glad" isn't the word, Annette. I'm ecstatic.
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Post by iank9 on Oct 30, 2007 2:41:13 GMT -5
Hi Irish, Welcome, and as you will realise your input has been missed! Last Saturday, 20th, (although it seems like ages ago now ) we had a very good meal at Le Rouge Gorge, and as part of our enjoyment of a restaurant is the overall experience, I heartily agree with your comments re the patron. Very welcoming, very sociable, and very knowledgeable, and a very good meal. We also dined at La Lozère on the Thursday and enjoyed that to. The difference in the Aligot (between here and AA, was not just the price however, but the seasoning as well! ). AA was spot on (for my taste).
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Post by Happygoin on Oct 30, 2007 6:49:23 GMT -5
I actually WOOHOO'd out loud and I'm alone in the office . I'm so happy to have you in the forum, Irish (and just in time for sistereurope's and my trips to Paris in Dec ) Welcome!
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Post by Jody on Oct 30, 2007 7:08:19 GMT -5
Thanks so much for the second recommendation of the Rouge Gorge. I've looked up the location and put it on my list for next month. I see it is very close to the Sq, du Marché de Ste-Catherine so will stop there too. We had lunch at le loir dans la théière last year and funky really does describe. As I recall it was quite good. I know I enjoyed my lentil alad and my friend Maurice loved his dessert. I thought it looked more American than French however!
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Post by sistereurope on Oct 30, 2007 7:30:20 GMT -5
Wow Demarais, that is truly a 'murcan sized dessert!!
What a delight to log on this morning and discover a post from Irish! YEA! And as happy mentioned, just in time for our trip. Welcome Irish, needless to say you've been missed.
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Post by Truffaut on Oct 30, 2007 8:19:11 GMT -5
Just in case, there's any question....this is the real IrishRovr. As Administrator, I have access to the poster's personal email and it matches the address I've had for Irish for some time. Of course, his veracity is also confirmed by the quality content of his first posting Welcome back!
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