Yemen, the French Great West, England, and Corsica - all in One Meal - Tuesday, 4 October, 2022

Back in 2009 a cool little resto, with just about 20 seats, opened on the almost derelict rue de Nil of the 2nd arrondissement.  It was called Frenchie.  Read about my first visit to Frenchie just a few months after it opened:  http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2009/11/frenchie-saturday-14-november.html

I’ve been lucky enough to eat there a few times, but these days it’s almost impossible to get a reservation.

Just yesterday their new outpost, Frenchie Pigalle, opened in Montmartre.  I was able to get a reservation for lunch today.  It is quite a bit larger than the original (I believe that it’s attached to a hotel), but you’d better get here soon, before it too becomes impossible to get in!  https://www.frenchie-pigalle.com/

For my first course, a Yemenite Tostada.  A thick cornmeal tostada (sort of like an arepa) was topped with peppery sundried (or oven dried) cherry tomatoes, mixed salad greens, mint & dill (brilliant!), and a creamy (sour cream?) dressing containing just enough harissa to wake up your palate without blasting the top of your head off.  There was something sweet in the toppings as well - perhaps just a touch of chopped golden raisins? - in any case, it added a fascinating dimension.

For my main course, slices of perfectly roasted pork, served with a lovely sauce made from puréed roasted sweet red bell peppers and cream, and tiny dried purple plums that almost tasted like figs, and finely chopped spicy hazelnuts, and freshly brined cucumber ribbons.  Deelicious and so beautifully balanced.

For my dessert, Stilton with sweet cherries in heavy syrup.  The texture and flavor of the cherries suggested that they were dried before they were cooked in the syrup - dense, but not leathery, intensely flavored.  And the Stilton, well, just classic.  Delightful!

I ordered a glass of the Corsican Sant'Armettu Rosumarinu Red 2020.  It was gorgeous - dry, with beautiful fruit (hints of currant, a bit of cherry and apricot), licorice/anise, flint.  Made from the Sciaccarellu grape.  The waitress said it came from the southwest part of the island.  

• Its flintiness was refreshing with the heat of the peppery first course.  
• The fruitiness absolutely exploded with the sweetness of the main course.  
• And the licorice/anise character was dominant with the cheese and cherries.  

Amazing!

I think they like Chartreuse!

Today G7’s network was down when I tried to order a taxi to the resto.  Happily, Uber worked, but I was reminded that Uber, because they are private cars, cannot use the bus lanes (whereas taxis can), making the trip in the whacky traffic pretty slow.  But it was a gorgeous day and the slower pace allowed more observation of the steetscapes!  

On the way home we drove through the Louvre.  Good golly, I don't remember ever seeing so many tour buses and so many tourists in the courtyard.  It's a little hard to see from my taxi-window snapshot, but even my driver had a few choice comments on the situation!