foam, foam, and more foam...

Feasting in Paris with mom continues…
At le Chateaubriand on Friday night the culinary revolution started by Spanish chef Fernan Adria which, among many things, made foamed food a must have dining experience, was in full effect. I thought this culinary treat (depending on your tastes) had come and gone like platform shoes but apparently I was mistaken. The chef, Inaki Aizpitarte, which is a Basque (Northern Spain) name, may even perhaps have been a student of Adria’s, but that is pure speculation. In 2007 Le Chteaubriand was ‘le resto Parisien’ for media and culture types aged 25-50. The place is still going strong as evidinced by the full house with people waiting out the door for a coveted space. The vibe of the place was pretty low-key and low attitude (happily), with a very open space, contemporary brassierie style with white tiles and wood bar. The integrity and endurance of the restaurant (it is not always easy to maintain a reputation as they have had), must stem comes from the fact that the waiters are all part owners so there is real drive to be a success. .
But back to the foam. The menu was a chef’s menu that included five courses for 40 Euros- a very decent price. The first three dishes were foam heavy. The first was a small ramakin-type dish that held foam essence of petit pois (green peas) with a nice sized oyster hidden within. It was an earthy dish which for some at the table was pleasurable but for me a bit cringy. I remembered that I am not really a lover of green peas and recalled my childhood of dinneres spent scooping them onto the floor for my dog to eat, presumably without getting caught. But the oyster was big and delicious. Next: A deconstrcuted bouillabase made cold and foamy with slices of perfectly cooked veal and small sprouts of herbs. This sounded totally weired and if you took away an expectation for warm bouilliabase à la Marseille then all went fine. En suite: the most phallic of our course was the large white asperagus laying next to a rolled up filet of lieu jaune, a flat white fish. They looked like two fraternal twins as a foamed essence of seasme rested upon them with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. It was an all-white food experience but full of flavors that melted in your mouth. The final savory course was charcuterie. In past experiences I have not done well with this Norman dish, however at Chateaubriand the elements were refined, lightend up and fantastic. A small chunk of sausisson de strasbourg with its eerily red skin was accompagnied with stacked pate de campagne type elements with some light saurkraut and fresh cabbage. It was a great combination of salty and crunchy and fresh. The dessert course was a choice between a cheese plate which had a selection of a chevre, a type of blue, young cantal and tome de savioe, or fresh rhubarb ice cream set among juicy strawberries. All the wine here is biologique and we we shared two fabulous bottles of white whose names escape me right now, and were given a lovely digestive at the end which was a lovely mixture of anais and grenadine. Bon App.
Le Chateaubriand, 129 Avenue Parmentier. 75011. Metro Goncourt.

Urbane Kitchen

Urbane- A restaurant in the 10th

When mom comes to town eating is always high on the agenda. Of course we all know Paris is full of great food options, but finding that unique, stand out, and off the beaten path dining experience is always a delight, in whatever city you may be visiting. I skimmed through the new stash of articles she brought over from US magazines about Paris, but it was the recent Bon Appetite article about Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate + Zucchini fame who recommended a handful of right bank food stops that grabbed the most attention. Included in this was Urbane,www.myspace.com/urbaneparis a smallish restaurant owned by a French-Irish couple, and located near the border of the 10th + 11th arrondissements, on a quiet street just off of Avenue Parmentier. As we arrived a bit before 8:00pm we were the first or second people in the space but by the time we left after 10:00 it was packed, which is a pretty good sign for a neighborhood place on Wednesday night. The vibe is casual, table cloths are white paper with printed black abstract imagery. There are about 25-30 tables and the artwork changes monthly, usually with a small opening for the local artist who is showing. It’s clear you have settled on something special the moment you are greeted, seated and soon brought an amuse-bouche, in this case a salmon won-ton type morsel that melts in your mouth.

For entrées we ordered a Tain de crabe that was crab, avocado and herbs mixed and molded into a nice stack, topped with sliced, skin off, tomatoes and surrounded, you will think oddly, with a homemade tomato ketchup, but it worked because the tomatoes were fresh and the flavors all came together. The other entree was sliced foie gras de canard topped with a light onion-poppy seed type cracker and dabs of raspberry syrup on the side. Bread, always a real indicator of an establishment regardless of the anti-carbohydrate phase we are in, was fresh and delicious- white country and whole wheat with seeds. Moving into plats: On one side we had Noix de Veau that was perfectly cooked and seasoned and surrounded by a circle of cantaloupe-a perfect accompaniment along with the morsels of parsley filled homemade gnocchi. On the other side we had filets de St. Pierre, a flaky white fish that was set next to an “ecrase des petit pois,” or flattened bed of spring peas. The wine selection was diverse, well priced and not too lengthy nor too short, with more reds then whites.
Onto dessert where we shared chupa chups (yes like the trendy lollipops), of moist fig surrounded by a light flaky crust. It just melted in your mouth. On the side of this was a refreshing green apple sorbet which was perfectly and lightly sweetened, probably only naturally. The other dessert was a rhubarb cheesecake that was a circle of soft fromage blanc on a bed of graham cracker like crust and surrounded by lightly cooked and spiced rhubarb slices. It was hard to stop eating it. Finally, with the bill they bring a few chocolate chip cookies-that recall those of childhood days. The prices are very reasonable. For dinner the menu with entrée, plat, + dessert was 30 Euros (I think), and entrée + plat or plat + dessert was around 24-25 Euros (I guess you can tell that mom paid).

Please note that this is by memory so my non-professional food reporting should not be held to intense scrutiny—rather go and experience for yourself. Friday + Saturday nights there is a DJ and reservations are recommended. Urbane, 12, rue Arthur Groussier.