The Gold Standard of Confit de Canard (but not of Waitering) @ Canard & Champagne - Tuesday, 1 November

Today is All Saints Day, so most businesses (and many shops) are closed, and traffic is almost as light as on Sundays. Some of the shops and restos I follow on Facebook posted “we’re open today!” messages to comfort their fans, and happily, Canard & Champagne was one of them!

I was 1/4 done with my
confit and fries by the time
my Champagne arrived,
but it was worth the wait!

Confit de canard is one of my very favorite things to eat in France. It is the cured, slow-roasted (in duck fat!) and aged leg & thigh of the special ducks bred for foie gras and magret de canard. I have eaten a lot of it over the years, all good and some great, and I got some tips in a class at Le Cordon Bleu several years ago, and I've been working on my own technique/recipe using Minnesota ducks from Au Bon Canard in Caledonia (it’s time to start a new batch!). And I gotta tell ya, Canard & Champagne in the Passage des Panoramas in the 2nd arrondissement serves the best I’ve ever had. It was succulent, deeply flavored, cured with just enough spice to intensify the flavor of the meat while still remaining very much in the background. Happily, I detected some elements that I can adjust in my own recipe, even though I can’t get the French ducks here. And such a deal at lunchtime! My confit de canard, fries, Champagne, and lemon dessert cost a mere 26.5€ (about $30).

the view of the Passage
from my table

Although they serve the gold standard of confit de canard, they did not win the award for the gold standard of waitering today! I sat on the “terrace” (tables in Passage itself, not inside the resto as I did my last visit: http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2016/05/doing-few-things-brilliantly-canard.html ). I think I got a trainee waiter. He was young, seemed a little unsure, didn’t seem to be paying attention to the glances and subtle signals from the patrons, was slow in bringing food & silverware, etc. He never brought me a carafe of water, and although I reminded him twice that I had ordered a glass of Frerejean Frères Champagne, I didn’t get it until I flagged down a second, more experienced waiter. (It was worth it, though – this was a wonderful Champagne – elegant, fine small bubbles, delicious, with a bit of a stone fruit flavor.)

Then, when a French tour group came through the Passage and its leader stopped them in front of Canard & Champagne to give them some background on the Passage and even on this resto, young waiter came outside and told him that he couldn’t stop in front of the resto. What was he thinking??? This was the time he chose to pay attention to what was happening outside? The Passage itself is a public space, and besides I was motioning to my food and telling the tourists that it was “bon!”, so it was good for their business. Crazy.

A Brit and his French wife and two charming little children (ages about 6 and 3) were sitting next to me. They had been living in Toronto for several years, and had just recently moved to Paris. The kids were switching easily between English and French, and seemed comfortable chatting with me a little. So sweet!

A quote from Napoleon was on one of the pages of the menu: "Je ne peux vivre sans Champagne, en cas de victoire, je le merite; en cas de defaite, j'en ai besoin." -or- "I cannot live without champagne. In victory I deserve it, and in defeat I need it." Well said!

Check out Canard & Champagne on your next trip! I guarantee a deeelicious and entertaining experience. And maybe young waiter will have matured a bit by the time you get there! Here’s their website: http://frenchparadox.paris/fr/  57, Passage des Panoramas

the lunchtime menu

the Champagne menu!

the main entrance to the Passage des Panoramas is on Boulevard Montmarte

across the street is Passage Jouffroy, a lovely French café, and *horrors* a Hard Rock Cafe!