Dining in Paris

As guilty as I am of not updating this blog on a more regular basis, the past one-and-a-half weeks have been such an awesome time spent with family, relatives and friends whom I haven't seen in a long while that I felt the need to be totally selfish with my time and take the time to simply enjoy this special "homecoming". However, it is the last day of the year and while there're still lots of things to share about my stay in Paris, I'll leave you with snippets of some of the best meals I've had in Paris, places that I would return to dine (and recommend) without hesitation.
First up, 

 Le Chateaubriand, voted one of the top 50 restaurants in the world and easily the best meal I've had in 2010.  There's no à la carte menu, one doesn't have a choice in ordering and everyone gets the same menu which changes frequently, featuring seasonal ingredients and what appeals to the Chef; nonetheless, you definitely will not be disappointed with any of Chef Inaki Aizpitarte's brilliant creations.


We had these wonderfully puffy cheesy gougeres to start

Followed by a series of amuse bouches:
Foie gras in hearty consome

an amuse bouche of refreshing citrus-avocado soup

Poached calamari

Sesame seed-coated veal

The main course: scallops with celeriac and broccoli sauce

Cod with pomegranates and endives

Slightly fruity Beaujolais, the wine selection for our meal

 continuing with the main plat: Chef's take on tandoori lamb - by far my favorite dish of the evening

For dessert, buckwheat icecream

Pears with beets - quite a bizarre combination but one that worked really well

Le Chateaubriand

129 Avenue Parmantier

75011 Paris

Tel: 01 43 57 45 95

Fixed menu Euro 50 per person excluding beverage

I also had the opportunity to dine at Jadis in the 15th arrondisement, a restaurant that I've been wanting to go ever since I read about it here.

We tried the Chef's tasting menu which consisted of 3 main dishes and 2 desserts
Escargots with trumpet mushrooms in creamy risotto

Grilled veal au jus and black olives

A very flavorful Seabass with vegetables

Desserts: Jadis' take on L'Opera (frankly, the ones we made in school tasted much better) with mocha icecream

White chocolate mousse with almond cake (pain de gene), a dessert that tasted way better than it looked.

Jadis
208 rue de la Croix Nivert
75015 Paris
Tel: 01 45 57 73 20
Tasting menu ranging from Euro 45 - Euro 55 per person, excluding beverage
Next up is one of the most memorable meal I've had in this restaurant. I think I may have eaten there at least four times during my last short stay in Paris. Celebrating your birthday away from loved ones is not something I enjoyed but indulging in an excellent birthday lunch at Le Comptoir partially made up for it.
Salad legumes - mixed salad of potatoes, green beans, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and lettuce. It's not easy to find a good salad in Paris, but this was absolutely the best salad I've ever had in the city. 

 I especially loved the huge capers

Pied de porc - pork feet, braised, de-boned, breaded and deep-fried served with the most velvety and creamy mashed potato (it was more like a puree). This has to be on your must-try dish. Seriously.

 Can you tell how much I enjoyed my birthday lunch?

 Peach melba for dessert

Le Comptoir du Relais
5 Carrefour de l'Odeon
75006 Paris
Tel: 01 44 27 07 97
Euro 14 - Euro 20 per dish


Last but not least, we were fortunate enough to get into Spring (by Daniel Rose) for lunch just couple days before I left Paris. I heard that the restaurant is always fully booked and one has to make reservations well in advance; I called just couple days prior and managed to get a table for four. Pas mal.
Here's Chef Daniel (center) briefing his staff prior to start of lunch service.

Similar to Le Chateaubriand, it's a set menu and this enables the restaurant to offer fairly reasonable prices.

Amuse bouche: Grilled octopus with potatoes (they look like scallops, don't they?). Some parts of the octopus were extremely chewy and rubbery - I had to spit mine out but a friend said she got a melt-in-your-mouth piece. I wished they were cooked more evenly

Crispy deep-fried shrimps with lemon ai

Main dish of seabass in an absolutely hearty, flavorful broth and a little unexpected surprise: hard-boiled egg yolk.

....and there's no better way to end a meal in a grand way than with ice creams

After lunch, I had the opportunity for a brief chat with Chef Daniel who actually hails from US of A. It was a refreshing change to be able to have a dialogue in English and be able to ask Chef about his restaurant, his creations, what inspires him, etc. I wouldn't mind staging (interning) for Chef Daniel. One day, perhaps.


Spring
6 Rue Bailleul
75001 Paris
01 45 96 05 72