Paris restaurants
IT IS some time now since Paris was the gastronomic Mecca for visitors from Britain. Gone are the days when restau- rants there were leagues ahead of anything to be found in this country, and certainly London today can offer as great a selection of eating places, with similar standards at similar prices, as Paris, and even with cook- ing as genuinely French. Nevertheless, in terms of both haute cuisine, at its best, and bourgeois brasserie cooking too, there are still treats to be had in Paris, provided you know your way about — and at the current Fr.81/2 plus to the pound there are bargains to be had there too. On a chilly New Year visit to the city, I found plenty of cooking to warm the cockles.
For some time my favourite 'grand' restaurant in Paris has been Jacques Cagna in the Rue des Grands Augustins in the 6th, where Picasso at one time had his stu- dio, and that is precisely because, despite exquisite, inventive cooking, it is not too grand. Jacques Cagna has been there for over 20 years now, in a pretty, rustic, first- floor room with pleasingly patterned bro- cade furniture and attractive, soft lighting. The room is admirably run by the chefs charming sister, Anny Logereau, and she and her highly polished staff look after you immaculately without ever making you feel daunted or put down.
There is a reasonably priced set lunch at Fr.280, and in the evening a Fr.490 'tasting' menu as well as the carte, which we took. I was accompanied by Valerie Fevrier of the Quai d'Orsay, who, being a Lyonnaise, is a severe judge of Parisian cuisine, and I can only say that she was as happy with her meal as I was with mine. One of Cagna's greatest qualities is his inventiveness, and this was borne out by what we ate. Valerie began with some beignets (fritters) of lan- goustines, served with a gazpacho sauce, some delicious artichoke chips and a salad, which she greatly approved. My starter was equally exciting: two soft-boiled eggs in courgette 'egg-cups' covered in truffles and a celery sauce with wood mushrooms subtle and totally delicious. Valerie's main course was a splendidly fresh sea bass in a light, creamy sauce, covered with potato scales' and surmounted by sevruga caviar, and mine a highly original combination of a whole braised sweetbread accompanied by Crayfish ravioli and bisque. For dessert Valerie took caramelised hot apple slices with a delicious cinnamon ice-cream, and I had a sable of warm mangoes with a pas- sion fruit sorbet. This glorious meal, with coffee and half-bottles of Saint-Veran and Château Chasse Spleen 1985, came to Fr.1,117 — £130 — remarkable value for a top gastronomic experience.
Jacques Cagna also has three recently opened rotisseries, one opposite his restau- rant in Rue Christine, one in Rue Monsigny near the Palais Gamier Opera, and one in Rue d'Armaille in the 17th. These offer interesting, modern cooking and meat from the rotisserie. A three-course meal comes at Fr.198 for dinner, Fr.135 for lunch, and in Rue Monsigny a post-theatre two-course supper at Fr.100 is offered after 10 p.m. I took a young policewoman, Stephanie De Fligue, the daughter of an old friend, to the Rue Christine Rotisserie d'en Face to cele- brate a meeting she had had with President Chirac — in which he congratulated her for delivering a baby in her police station — and we both much enjoyed our meals. Starters were charlotte of salmon and poached eggs with moules and coques in a curry sauce, fol- lowed by a grilled coquelet with petits legumes and caviar d'aubergines, and an excellent cote de cochon fermier with sage and red beans. With desserts, coffee and a bottle of fine Gigondas, the bill came to Fr.582 — £67.50.
atest compromising p otograp of wild Bill Clinton. Another satisfactory aspect of Parisian eating is the old-fashioned brasserie where you will usually find excellent oysters and sound bourgeois cuisine at a reasonable price. One of the best-known of these is Lipp on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, where you are only likely to be able to sit in the gorgeous art nouveau front room if you are known to the management — foreign- ers are despatched upstairs and non-regulars are sent to the back room. On an icy day my creme de legumes and brandade of salt cod, accompanied by some Alsatian riesling, were very comforting, but you go to Lipp more for the atmosphere than the cooking. A better Left-Bank brasserie is Aux Charp- entiers in Rue Mabillon, the former head- quarters of the Roofers' Guild and still filled with their working models. Excellent oysters, good steaks and fine plats du jour such as petit sale aux lentilles (Wednesday), pot au feu (Thursday) and gigot d'agneau roti (Sunday) may be enjoyed.
But my favourite brasserie is in Rue Marbeuf, in the smart 8th arrondissement, just off Avenue Georges V. Chez Andre has been serving sound cuisine bourgeoise since 1937, and its bustling atmosphere, attractive room and warm, motherly wait- resses have been making diners feel wel- come ever since. I went there for dinner with the artist Adrian George, and our meal was joy from start to finish. Adrian started with six fine de claire oysters and I with a magnificent soupe de poissons with impeccable rouille, croutons and gruyere cheese. Then Adrian had excellent pave de rumsteak with Andre's superb sauce moutarde, and I had some impeccably roasted gigot of lamb with sublime potato `puree maison'. We ended with fromage blanc and coulis de framboises, and pear sorbet with Poire Willems thrown over it. With coffee, a half-bottle of Pouilly Fume and a bottle of house bordeaux, the bill came to just Fr.550 — £64 — terrific value.
Finally, returning to London on the lunch- time Eurostar in first class was not a gastro- nomic anticlimax. The lunch, included in the fare and attractively served by charming young women, consisted of smoked chicken salad with feta cheese, nice pink medallions of lamb with tomato concasse, haricots verts and sauté potatoes, and chocolate marquise, with a glass of champagne first, then chardonnay, Cotes du Rhone and coffee. A decent end to a satisfying visit.
Jacques Cagna: 14 Rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris; tel: 01 43 26 49 39. La Rotisserie d'en Face: 2 Rue Christine, 75006 Paris; tel: 01 43 26 40 98.
Brasserie Lipp: 151 Boulevard Saint- Germain, 75006 Paris; tel: 01 45 48 53 91. Aux Charpentiers: 10 Rue Mabillon, 75006 Paris; tel: 01 43 26 30 05.
Chez Andre: 18 Rue Marbeuf 75008 Paris; tel: 01 47 20 59 57.
David Fingleton
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