Chef Gregory Marchand opened his tiny restaurant "Frenchie" in the nondescript and almost scary off-the-beaten-path rue du Nil in the 2nd arrondissement in 2009. It was an immediate hit with the public and the critics alike - it became next to impossible to get a reservation. In the past couple years he has transformed this street, adding a wine bar and a sandwich shop; in addition, one of his suppliers, called Terroirs d’Avenir, has opened an épicerie, a fishmonger, and a butcher on the same street.
Just recently Frenchie has opened for lunch Thursdays and Fridays - great news since it''s slightly cheaper and there is a chance that you can actually get in, like we did today!
Our little "welcome" bites were fabulous maple syrup bacon scones - tender, more grainy than flaky, containing little batons of terrific fried bacon, glazed with maple syrup and sprinkled with a bit of fleur de sel. I'm not sure what kind of flour they used - perhaps very finely ground whole wheat, but there was also a malty character to the scones. And they were served with very high quality salted butter. We were making such a fuss over them that our waiter insisted that we have two more (and admitted that they were his favorite snack as well)!
Next came our amuse bouche - Basque lake trout that had been cured, cooked sous vide, lightly smoked and then sprinkled with tobacco-y seaweed dust, fleur de sel, lemon zest and chives - fabulously tender and delicious!!!
 |
| Roasted carrots etc...very sweet and beautifully balanced |
 |
| Tenderest possible pollock with three mushrooms prepared three ways, pasta and perfectly scented fish stock |
 |
| Barb's chicken |
 |
| According to our waiter, this lovely cheese knife has a pretty terrifying history. It was made by the Coutellerie Ceccaldi in Corsica and is modeled after a knife that rival gangs used to stab an opponent and then twist so that it could not be removed. Eeewww! This use is much more pleasant! |
 |
| Cheesecake, the Frenchie way! |
Happily, just as we were finishing our meal, chef Marchand entered the resto from one of his other establishments on the street. I had a chance to say hello and tell him that I had been there a few other times, including shortly after he opened in 2009. And I even pulled up this blog post from my first visit and showed it to him on my phone: http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.fr/2009/11/frenchie-saturday-14-november.html He seemed to be genuinely delighted. Or maybe he was just amused. Or perhaps he was trying to bravely mask his fear of the weird stalker! 5, rue du Nil http://www.frenchie-restaurant.com/en/home-restaurant-en
No comments:
Post a Comment