La Tête dans Les Olives

 

Tucked into a funky street in a seldomly visited part of the 10^th, not too far from the Canal, you’ll find La Tête dans Les Olives, where Cédric Casanova, a former tight-rope walker,  sells amazing hand-picked Sicilian olive oil and other seasonal products. 

The shop itself is miniscule, with shiny metal vats lining the walls, tagged with names like Angelo, Bianca and Nunzio, evoking the artisans who produced these fragrant, delicious olive oils, each with their own distinctive taste.  Depending on the season you might also find organic lemons, wild oregano, fennel seeds, pink peppercorns, heads of garlic, divine sun-dried tomatoes, salted capers, ricotta salata, bresaola and bottarga of tuna, and—not surprisingly—olives.  Each product has a story and name behind it and you get the sense that Casanova knows each producer well. 

Happily, the store has begun doubling as a table d’hôte during lunch and dinner with one—yes one—lone table of five squeezed into the middle of the shop. The 30€ menu takes you through most, if not all, the offerings Casanova has on hand.  If you want to try the tuna and anchovies, it will cost a bit more, but not much. 

On the day that I visited, Marco presented us with an antipasti of olives, tomatoes, tapenade, cucunci, and oil-soaked bread infused with salt, oregano and fennel seed.  Next up was minted carrots and ricotta salta, stuffed mushrooms, and a truly incredible Sicilian sweet and sour pumpkin. We opted to try the fish plate with anchovies, and two types of tuna–bresaola and a tuna “saucisson” –all caught by Captain Cangemi, a fisherman Casanova met in Italy.  Then, miraculously, our host Marco whipped up some buccoli pasta with tomatoes, eggplant, pesto and ricotta salata, all this with no real kitchen in sight and only a hot plate to cook on.  We lingered a bit with espresso and almond cookies, taking in the unique experience.

 

 I was a bit worried that with one single table it might be impossible to get in, but at least for now it didn’t seem too difficult.  Perhaps the fact that you need to have a party of five in order to book is a detterent.

 To reserve send an email to casagumi@gmail.com.  

La Tête dans Les Olives
Lunch served from 12-13h30 (the shop opens at 14h00)
Dinner from 20h00
Closed: Sunday and Monday
2 rue Sainte Marthe, Paris 10^th.

Avant Comptoir, Yves Camdeborde’s latest

This tiny “bar à hors-d’oeuvres” recently opened by Yves Camdeborde, one of Paris’s most coveted chefs and proprietor of the impossible-to-book Comptoir du Relais, is certainly one of the best places to open in Paris this year.

Anyone knowledgeable of the Parisian food scene will easily recognize Camdeborde, the jovial chef who unintentionally started the bistronomique food trend in 1992 when he gave up the world of Michelin stars by leaving the two-starred Les Ambassadeurs to open La Régalade, a modestly-priced bistro in the outmost corner of the 14th arrondissement. Other chefs soon followed suit and the Paris restaurant scene was transformed. Much to the dismay of foodies around the world, he turned over la Régalade to Bruno Doucet to open Le Comptoir du Relais, which soon became one of Paris’s most talked about tables.

His latest endeavor, in a narrow non-descript space which adjoins the Comptoir, turns out delicious, affordable small plates of the highest quality along with interesting small-production wines. Steamed Camus artichokes dipped in olive oil, piping-hot, addictive croquettes filled with Eric Ospital’s Ibaïona ham, delicious chipolatas fried in duck fat with garlic, pig’s feet croquettes, plates of excellent charcuterie, and wonderful seared cêpes are only some of the tasty offerings on hand. Claustrophobics might want to abstain as it’s standing room only at the zinc bar laden with a communal bread basket, a tub of Bordier butter, white jars of pickles and peppers meant to be shared amongst your neighbors.

Rumor has it that Inaki Aizpitarte is contemplating a tapas-style annex to his Chateaubriand, so hopefully Chef Camdeborde will have started the next new Parisian restaurant trend…à suivre

L’Avant Comptoir
3, carrefour de l’Odéon, 6th.
See the map here

Wines from 2 € a glass
Plates: 3-6 €

Open daily 9h-24h

Urban Honey

Strangely, it appears that honey bees the world over are suffering from a mysterious illness named Colony Collapse Disorder and are disappearing at a rather alarming rate. Bee keepers are finding their bee hives disserted and speculate that pesticides may be destroying the bee’s natural homing powers leaving them unable to find their way home. You may wonder why this is such a big deal, but bees are a pretty big part of the food chain and play a major role in agriculture by pollinating crops. In other words–no bees, no crops. Interestingly, at the same time country bees are disappearing, their urban neighbors seem to be thriving and more and more city dwellers are getting into apiculture.

Paris, with all of its magnificent parks, turns out to be a perfect place to be a bee and hives are being found throughout the city. In fact, there are said to be some 300 registered hives in Paris. I had already heard of the glamorous honey bees found on the rooftops of the Paris Opera and Grand Palais, but was delighted to find an even closer producer in my own backyard thanks to Spring Boutique who carries Remy Vanbremeersch’s honey.

Vanbremeersch’s honey is produced in hives found in the 19th and 20th arrondissements of Paris and, in addition to Spring Boutique, it can be found on certain days at his stand at the marché aux Place des Fêtes. Thanks to the thousands of species of plants and flowers which can be found in Paris parks, the honey has a delicious fragrant taste, which is unlike the honey of bees who often feast on mono-culture crops.

If you insist on the more chic honey from the Opéra de Paris, it can be bought at the Opera’s boutique and also from Fauchon. You can also find Parisian honey at Les Abeilles a shop devoted to all things bee related in the charming Buttes aux Cailles. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until autumn of 2010 to taste the “miel de Grand Palais” whose hives were only installed this past May.

Remy Vanbremeersch

Fauchon
Place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris

“Miel de Grand Palais”

Les Abeilles
21, rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, 75013 Paris

Spring Boutique

Daniel Rose’s latest endeavour “Spring Boutique” opened earlier this month just a few steps from the Seine on the rue de l’Arbre Sec.

Opening night was mobbed and so I decided to go back this weekend to get a better look at the products Daniel and Marie-Aude have on hand.  As you might imagine, its shelves are lined with hard-to-find, top-of-the-line products. I came away with Soluna Peruvian coffee, organic flour, D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes, which are grown in the Agro Sarnese Nocerino region of Italy and are said to be the world’s best tomatoes for sauce, Valrhona Araguani chocolate disks for soon-to-be-made chocolate chip cookies, haricots de soissons and some very local honey.  They also stock Spanish olive oil, mustard, an assortment of vinegars, several varieties of fleur de sel, organic local vegetables, and a very nice selection of wines with a focus on small producers chosen by Josh Adler.

I will definitely be back to try more of Daniel and Marie-Aude’s finds.

Spring Boutique
52 Rue de l’Arbre Sec
75001 Paris
01 58 62 44 30

Tuesday-Saturday: 10h30-21h00

See the Map Here

Rosa Bonheur, Part Deux

Rosa Bonheur, the funky buvette in the Buttes Chaumont, which opened a little over a year ago without much fanfare, but then went on to become the darling of the press and bobo Parisians this summer, has metamorphosed into a full-fledged restaurant—well really a cross between a resto and rotisserie—this past week. 

 

I fell in love with Rosa Bonheur this summer when it was still somewhat unknown, but as word got out that this charming little spot had opened in the Parc, serving drinks and tapas late into the night, it quickly became a victim of its own success and—at least on the weekends—overwhelming crowds of hipsters spilled out the doors, making it more of a headache than an oasis. 

Then came news that they were opening a real restaurant in the fall and there were unconfirmed rumours that Armand Arnal, the newly-starred chef of La Chassagnette in Arles, the first organic restaurant to have a star in France, was a partner and so I was eagerly awaiting its opening which finally came about this past week.

I am still not sure to what degree, if any, Arnal plays a part (our waiter confirmed the connection but did not say to what extent and it may well be that one of his chefs is overseeing the kitchen).  In any event, traces of La Chassagnette can be found, as they use organic products for the most part, or at least agriculture raisonnée, and like the owners, many of the ingredients come from the Camargue. 

The three-course 29 € menu is simple, with a handful of first courses to choose from including a very nice crayfish bisque with Pastis and a “correct”, as they say in French, cabbage rémoulade with crisp apple, carrots, cabbage and shrimp, that was good, but could have used a bit of pizzazz .  The main courses include a choice of two rôtis, one that changes daily, along with a roasted free-range demi-coquelet.  On Thursday you’ll find a fricassee of rabbit with mustard, Friday Sète-style cuttlefish with olives, Saturday was slow-roasted spiced spare ribs, which are not something you find too often in France, and on Sunday roasted lamb shoulder, each served with seasonal, organic vegetables.  

Desserts, if I remember correctly (because at this point we had finished our bottle of red and my memory is a bit foggy), included a very good rice pudding, chocolate mousse and cheese.

While the food was certainly good, it’s more the feeling of the place that would lure me back, with its choice of ingredients, amiable wait staff and unusual location hidden in one of Paris’s most beautiful parks.   It was just the thing for a dreary Parisian October afternoon.

Rosa Bonheur
2, allée de la Cascade
Parc des Buttes Chaumont
75019 Paris
Métro:  Botzaris
Telephone: 01 42 00 00 45 ;  To reserve at the restaurant call: 01 42 03 28 67

Bar, Café open Wednesday-Sunday, 12- midnight (however the park gates close at 20h);
Restaurant is open for lunch 12h00-13h30, dinner from 20h00 until 21h30.
See the Map Here

Bread-o-Matic

I’m not really sure what this says about the state of French cuisine, but Paris has its first automatic bread distributor, which spits out freshly baked baguettes for a euro. I was quite sceptical at first, imagining that the bread would be a mass-produced, frozen, tasteless loaf that unfortunately you find too often in Paris. To my surprise, these were “baguettes de tradition”, bread which is decreed by a 1993 French law to be mixed, kneaded, leavened and baked on premises, without ever being frozen. They must also be additive-free and can contain only four precious ingredients–wheat flour, water, salt and yeast.

The baker proudly explained that he keeps his freshly made baguettes in a cold room which can keep up to 250 baguettes for 72 hours and then can program the machine (the Panicho Automate) to automatically bake a certain amount each hour where they are kept warm while waiting to be purchased. Drop in your euro and out pops a warm crusty baguette in its familar paper sack.

A taste test revealed that while this baguette can’t compete with Kaiser, Gosselin or Saibron, it was certainly better than the frozen junk that some boulangeries pass off as baguettes.

Panicho Automate
Boulangerie/Patisserie
Avenue Mathurin Moreau
75019

Zinc Caius

It’s too bad that every neighbourhood doesn’t have a restaurant like Jean Marc Notelet’s recently-opened, pocket-sized bistro, Zinc Caius, which is just a few minutes walk from Etoile.  The décor, like the food, is simple yet soignée with steel grey tones and a hip, industrial feeling. 

Notelet, who once worked at the three-star Boyer Les Crayeres before opening the since closed “Le Troyon” in the 17th and the more grown-up Caius up the street, is known for his judicious use of unusual spices and original take on traditional French cuisine. 

The food here is simple, yet very good.   I am not really a boudin fanatic, but this house-made boudin noir Bernais with Bordier’s beurre au sel fumé was delicious, as was the warm salad of Puy lentils garnished with Lardo di Colonnata, walnuts and tarragon and the Piquillos peppers with creamy goat cheese, basil and yellow pepper coulis.  Mains were equally good with a perfectly seared Simmental strip steak and hand-cut steak tartar served with crisp, fat polenta fries.  Desserts didn’t disappoint either with a crème caramel, nage de rhubarb with fromage blanc ice cream and mint, and chantilly de semoule with Amarena cherries. 

A lot has been written lately about the demise of French cooking and how it’s not all that easy to find exceptional cooking in France these days, but thankfully inexpensive neighbourhood bistros like this, with high-quality products and cooking at affordable prices, continue to pop up and prove the naysayers wrong. 

Entrees: 7€-12 €
Plats: 13€-16€
Desserts:  5€-8 €

Zinc Caius
11 rue d’Armaillé
75017 PARIS
Telephone: 01 44 09 05 10
Métro Argentine
See the map here

Open daily for lunch and dinner, except Sunday.

Corso, a new Costes in the 10th

I’m not usually one to run out to try the latest Costes establishment; spending a small fortune on so-so food, served by glamorous young things who know nothing about cuisine, no matter how beautiful the setting, is not really my thing.

If your ever spent time in Paris, chances are you’ve been to one of establishments of Jean-Louis and Gilbert Costes, the two brothers who have managed to build a small culinary empire in Paris.  They started some 25 years ago with the Café Costes, designed by the then up and coming designer Philippe Stark, and now can count a long list of establishments owned by the brothers themselves or one of their kin.  Places like Café Marly in the Louvre, le Georges with its stunning view from the Centre Pompidou, le café Beaubourg, L’Avenue on rue Montaigne and the Hotel Costes and Costes K, are all owned and operated by the Costes brothers or a member of their family.

I broke my anti-Costes stance when their latest establishment (or one of the latest, as they seem to open left and right) opened in my neck of the woods, on the place Franz-Liszt in an up and coming part of the 10^th.   The large terrace, which overlooks the Place and Saint Vincent de Paul, was just thing for a hot Sunday night in August, when many decent restaurants have packed it up until the rentrée in September. 

The food—and prices—were surprisingly not bad with neo-italian dishes that included an artichoke salad, smoked breaded mozzarella, several pasta dishes like penne alla boscaiola, rigatoni all’ arrabbiata, jumbo shrimp risotto, and a puttanesca which strangely included eggplant, zucchini, olives, tomatoes and ricotta in the list of ingredients.  Main courses include a whole grilled sea bass, grilled calamari, veal Marsala, and the entrecote Montana.  We opted for what turned out to be delicious fried smelts with tartar sauce, a perfectly acceptable, although a bit bland, artichoke and arugula salad, a so-so linguine with baby clams and an impressive grilled entrecote served with delicious looking fried potatoes that my companion devoured before I could steal a bite.  They also serve “Lo Snack” for those just wanting something simple like carpaccio or an assortment of charcuterie. Unfortunately, we didn’t save room for dessert and lingered over an Illy café instead.  

Service was—unlike my memory of Georges and Hotel Costes—welcoming and professional and definitely an addition to the experience.   Our friendly server forgot to fire our main courses and apologized before we even noticed and comped our second bottle of Pellegrino to compensate.  The fact that he noticed and apologised is definitely a first for me in Paris. 

All in all, I found this newest Costes, a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

Corso
2, place Franz Liszt
75010 Paris
Telephone: 01 42 47 01 23
See the Map Here

Open daily from  8am-Midnight, continuous service.
Prices: entrées 7-12 €, plats 12.5-19.5 €; desserts 3-7.5 €; les snacks 6-12.5; petit déjuner 7.5€, sunday brunch 23 €

Rosa Bonheur

Located in the beautiful Parc des Buttes Chaumont, this newly blossomed café has quickly gained a following with bobo Parisians looking for a bit of respite from city life. It’s the perfect place for a café or an apero with friends en terrace.  If you’re looking for more than a drink, you can order up plates of chorizo, Bellota or Serrano ham, along with Manchego and Salers cheese and other small tapas-style plates, simply served.   Linger late enough and you can hang in the Parc after hours and enjoy the view long after the gates have closed. 

  

Rosa Bonheur
2, allée de la Cascade
Parc des Buttes Chaumont
75019 Paris
Métro:  Botzaris
Telephone: 01 42 00 00 45 

 Hours: Tuesday-Sunday noon till midnight, entrance by the park until 22h; on Friday and Saturdays you can enter by the gates at 7 rue Botzaris from 22h till midnight
See the Map Here