Michelin & the Street: Paris

PARIS My memories of Paris had been coloured somewhat by previous experiences backpacking there. It’s not the world’s easiest city to be very poor in, so I hadn’t exactly had the kind of food nirvana experiences other people had, at least up until now. Whilst ten years ago I’d lived on the Belgium Baguette (it’s a baguette filled with fries and mayonnaise), this visit we could afford ourselves a little more.

Whilst tempted to revisit Le Refuge des Fondues (an eccentric, cramped fondue joint where the wine is served in baby bottles), we settled on Bistro des Dames in low-key Clichy for our first night’s meal. My salad was a huge bowl of frighteningly fresh greens adorned with ruby-red smoked duck breast, half white, soft fat, slivers of saucisson sec and rich, liverish, odorous slices of gooseneck sausage. A salad for the non-believers I would say though it didn’t stop me poaching forkfuls of my husband’s crisp and melting duck confit.

It’s almost not worth visiting Poilane when in Paris considering they ship their wonderful bread to so many places now, however it’s the experience, oui? All the bread and pastry products are baked at the same temperature in the same oven at the bakery. That means only pastries that can cook well at the high temperatures required for bread are produced – many very rustic and from very old recipes. Amazingly, the mother (sourdough starter) has been constantly in use here since the 60s. This is such a famous bakery that you can buy souvenirs such as an aprons and bread slicers.

The almost side-by-side ‘gourmet’ food stores Fauchon and Hediard are similarly famous foodie joints. After being given tours of both stores I’d say they’re both worth a look-in if you love preserves, for which both stores are justly famous. Otherwise I think you’ll find all the spices, foie gras and bits and pieces you need elsewhere and to be honest, I was a little concerned with the coffee storing techniques at both places where style seemed to win out against freshness! I was really impressed though with the artfulness of the food displays, particularly at Fauchon where the take away and eat in café serves food that would do well on display in the Louvre. Priced to match, of course.

A pleasant surprise in Paris this visit was the Lavinia wine store. It’s innovative in design and function with tastings available for many bottles of wine (for a fee per taste), making lunch there an informal wine tasting if you choose it to be. We were even let into the vault for a poke around (I don’t mean that literally, I was too scared to breath on most of these wines…). There are two sanctums in the vault. The first contains some of the most sought-after wines in the world, including about forty extremely fine wines from Australia (such as Hill of Grace and The Armagh), but the second is literally behind steel bars and the average cost per bottle in this little cave is $16,000. Apparently its contents are big with Russian mill/billionaires.

Christian Constant is a big-name chef in Paris who seems to have nurtured an inordinate number of protégés. Our lunch at his flagship restaurant Le Violin d’Ingres would be a sample of his new menu: one adjusted to make dining a little less formal and more accessible. Having said that, the restaurant is frequented by the biggest wigs Paris has.

We were offered tiny sweet new season radishes served with butter taken off a great wheel on the restaurant’s sideboard and salt flakes as we decided on our courses. Standout entrée for me was my enormous slice of brioche stuffed with mind-numbingly creamy foie gras and just-set pinot noir jelly. My main was the restaurant’s signature dish of almond-crusted sea bass with sauce ravigote. The fish was sublime however the crust seemed too thick with breadcrumbs, which soaked with oil meant I could only enjoy so much. Across the table the cassoulet was deft and competent but I suspect the real winner was the melting lamb and ratte potatoes, a simple dish of meat and potatoes slow-cooked in a sealed pot. Here was a fine example of the best of the season: milk-fed lamb and beautiful, tiny, incredibly tasty rattes from Bretagne. Winter was still apparent in dessert however: a blissful cream of chestnut made serious with strong coffee jelly set over it and studded with one fat, chewy glace chestnut. I wish I had written down the name of the chardonnay from Bordeaux that we tried however, as it was seriously one of the best wines I’ve ever drunk and if I’d the cash I would have kept drinking that all afternoon.

What’s the winning experience though? Well, it’s got to be cruising the Bagnitolles market in Clichy idly grazing on sausage, cheeses, tapenades and honey. The sheer range of honeys there is astounding, from oily, mechanical chestnut to buttery sunflower. More substantial snacks can be found in huge pans of creamy potatoes or racks of fresh breads and pastries.