Tonight's Entertainment, Direct from Where?!? - Tuesday, 31 January

If you look back at my 19 January post, you'll see that I ran into one of my fellow Twin Cities Horn Club members Ingrid Welna, at the gate while waiting for my flight to Paris.  She was there with a gaggle of Gustavus Adolphus musicians, heading off on their tour to Spain and France!  (For those of you non-Minnesotans, Gustavus is a liberal arts college in Saint Peter, MN, about 70 miles south of Minneapolis).

Well, tonight I caught their concert at Salle Jacques-Higelin, part of the Marché Saint-Germain complex in the 6th arrondissement.  It was the last concert of their tour, so emotions were high and the performance was wonderful!  And I got to experience a venue I hadn't been aware of before.

And here's Ingrid, conducting one of the pieces on their program.

Watch for me in a Major Motion Picture Some Day. Maybe. - Tuesday, 31 January

I couldn’t tell what they were filming, but they did have this intersection blocked a couple blocks from home, and a bunch of “extras” were hanging around. I went ahead and sauntered through the intersection. Who knows, I might show up in a major motion picture some day. Sure. Maybe. Could happen.

Those Restorative Nibbles are So Important when You're Out & About! - Tuesday, 31 January

Just a few little restorative nibbles for lunch today.  (Ha ha - could have fed a family of five on this!)

Very tasty!  Foot traffic was a bit light on rue de Rivoli, so one of the waiters was outside calling “Bonjour, madame” etc. to the passers-by.  I succumbed.  Glad I did.

Auberge Nicolas Flamel Just Rocketed to my Top Five List - Friday, 27 January

Auberge Nicolas Flamel opened in 2021 and received its first Michelin star in 2022.  That's fast!  It also just rocketed up to my top five list.  

It's a little over a block from the Pompidou in one of the oldest houses in Paris (1407), once owned by a rich bourgeois scribe and manuscript seller (and possibly alchemist) Nicolas Flamel.  Read all about this fascinating guy here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Flamel   

On my journey to lunch, the narrow one-way streets were absolutely clogged, and I was clearly uncertain exactly where the resto was located, so my taxi driver took pity on me and backed down two blocks-worth of these narrow streets to deposit me right at the front door!  Bravo, monsieur, et merci!

Helmed by chef Grégory Garimbay, this resto is outta sight!  I predict that it will be one of those impossible-to-book restos before too long.

First up, three amuse bouche (instructed to eat in this order):

• Abalone served in a beautiful shell with creamy mayo, herbs, a bit of pepper, and croutons - light and gorgeous with just a hint of the sea
• Artichoke Tarte Tatin with crème fraîche horseradish sauce, powdered pine, parsley, and pistachio - it played fun little tricks with your palate
• Beef tartare served on a warm stone with peppery beef jus caviar - brilliant and spectacular

the beef tartare up close

Auberge Nicolas Flamel makes their own very-high-fat butter using milk from Normandy.  A-a-a-mazing!  And tasty!

For my first main course, roasted (burnt) leeks "Poire William" (with pears and cream sauce) with leek oil.  They were tender, moist, sweet, unctuous, slightly acidic, and the char of the skin added to the amazing earthiness.  Sorry that I jumped right into this plate before taking a picture, but my oh my, it was so tempting!

The pan-grilled cod on the bone was the purest I've ever encountered.  The reduced fish stock was herbal, slightly astringent, with an oily consistency.  Gorgeous roasted salsify and tiny mushrooms were deep and juicy, and the salsify purée was velvety and sweet with a very faint artichoke bitterness.  There was an interesting tiny fruit on the plate - I think they were a type of seaweed called sea grapes - they popped and released juice like caviar when chewed.

With my main courses, a white Burgundy - Domaine Drouhin Vaudon Chablis - paired beautifully. It was dry, with senses of apricot pit, limestone, white fruit, coriander.

For dessert, a baked clementine meringue with clementine zest mousse, dill, and Batak berry pepper, served with a little bowl of sweet anise crème Anglaise.  Holy crap.  The meringue was so light it could have floated away.  I could have drunk the whole bowl of the crème Anglaise.  What a combo!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, a small sage-poached pear with vanilla bean caramel.  A Financier (small almond cake) topped with crème Chantilly and chocolate shavings.  And Italian meringue "on a stick" with a white chocolate citrus gel.  I do believe that I heard angels singing.

For my digestif, a liqueur made with green apples and berries by the Chartreuse monks.  Complex, sweet, herbal, berry, fruit, viscous, lower alcohol than many other liqueurs, but it certainly enhanced the digestion!

Here's Chef Grégory Garimbay with his new best customer and chief pusher!  Go, while you can still get a reservation!

Auberge Nicolas Flamel, 51 rue de Montmorency 75003  https://auberge.nicolas-flamel.fr/

Your Favorite Ancient Relic in your Favorite Ancient Museum! - Thursday, 26 January

I haven't been to the Cluny Museum in decades, I kid you not, so on this fine cool (high 30s F.) and drizzly afternoon, it seemed like just the neglect to reverse!  

The Cluny underwent a renovation/upgrade over the course of 5+ years, which included making it handicapped accessible, and it was completely closed for a while, but it reopened last May.  So it was about time that I visited it again!

I was able to see much of the museum, although most of the handicapped lifts were out of order.  Oopsie doodle!  In a couple places I managed to negotiate a few stairs, but there were some other long steep staircases that were just a bit too intimidating.

Of course, I sat quite a while with the lady and unicorn tapestries, and they made me think that I need to take on some BIG project (ya, ya, I'm working on projects all the time, but many of them are administrative or have shortish timeframes, yielding not much to show for all the work).  

And I loved the room of 12th & 13th century headless statues and bodiless heads (they came from 19th century restorations of Notre Dame and from discoveries made in the 1970s of material removed from Notre Dame during the French Revolution).  

And the Romanesque Capitals from Sainte-Geneviève Abbey  

And the religious artifacts were remarkable.  

In general, "wows" at every turn.

The good news is that in cold rainy January the crowds aren't oppressive.  Entrance is only 12 euros.  Check it out!

Musée de Cluny, Musée national du Moyen Âge, 28 rue du Sommerard 75005  https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/

Good, but no Bouillabaisse, and not Worth the Cab Ride - Thursday, 26 January

I read somewhere that the Breton resto Chez Michel in the 10th, just a couple blocks from Gare du Nord, has one of the best bouillabaisse in Paris, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Unfortunately it wasn’t on the menu today. However....

The foie gras terrine came with gingersnap crumbs, gelee, pickled red onion, pickled jalapeños, smoked herring and brioche toast.  Terrific.  I could eat only half of it, and they graciously gave me a little container to take the rest home!

A big hunk of cod, more than 1 inch thick, was pure and flaky and moist and deeply flavorful.  I think it had been steamed and then roasted.  In any case, yum!  It was served with pickled red onion, fennel, braised leeks, "crackers" made from strips of dried buckwheat crepes, and rouille.  Unfortunately, the leeks were quite hard to eat and almost impossible to cut since they were braised in long strips.  A sharp knife or a few crosswise cuts before braising would help!  

The Paris-Brest.  Pretty, but it tasted a bit stale.  Certainly not as good as mine, but then it's a lot of work, so ....

If I was tempted to try them again, I would certainly call ahead to see if bouillabaisse is on the menu!

Chez Michel, 10 rue de Belzunce 75010   https://www.restaurantchezmichel.fr/

A Little Piece of Home.... - Tuesday, 24 January

Electronic devices occasionally need a little extra "oomph," and some days one's brain is just a bit foggier than usual, so I travel with this little pouch to help in either eventuality.  It's just the right size for an external battery (for when my phone is on the verge of going limp), and to remind me of where I'm from!  

It can also be a handy prop when someone asks me about my non-Paris residence!

Missing my Favorite Sommelier, but the Food - oh la la! - Tuesday, 24 January

 

This was a first (thankfully).  There was a big accident on rue de Rivoli, and what should have been a 10 minute cab ride to Accents Table Bourse for lunch actually took 46 minutes!  Several years ago this major east-west thoroughfare was closed to regular passenger vehicles (now open to only buses, cabs, bicycles, scooters, and some delivery vehicles), so there is WAY less traffic than there used to be, nevertheless these conveyances and pedestrians do intersect, so there’s always the potential for trouble.  Nothing was moving other than emergency vehicles, so my driver managed to maneuver to side streets.  Nice tour of the narrow lanes that in other cities would be alleys, though!  But a hefty taxi bill.  Oh, well, I’m sure that I’m much better off than the individuals who were involved in whatever caused the “bouchon” (the French word for traffic jam, which also means “cork”).

My first visit to Accents was in April 2017, and I was smitten.  I’ve returned for lunch or dinner every year since then.  The kitchen staff remains consistent with Romain Mahi as Chef de Cuisine and Ayumi Sugiyama as Chef Pâtissière.  The fabulous Sommelier Étienne Billard has been a constant source of information and entertainment since my first visit…until now 😟  A new host greeted me at my arrival, and later I confirmed that Étienne had indeed left the business.  I missed his careful explanations of each course and of the wines he had chosen to enhance them - along with details of the terroir for each and its effect on the character and taste of the wines, and sometimes interesting tidbits about the winemakers.  Accents has a huge cellar, and wonderful wines were served with each course, well-paired with the food, but the descriptions were a bit weaker.  And of course I missed the warm “it’s so good to see you again” greeting that I would get from Étienne as he ushered me to the best table!

The kitchen and front-of-house staff is now almost entirely Japanese.  I have noticed more and more Japanese students at Le Cordon Bleu in recent years, and more Japanese haute cuisine restos are opening in Paris all the time.  At least one of my other favorites, Alliance, is helmed by a Japanese chef. There is a wonderful precision and craftsmanship and attention to detail that is shared by the French and the Japanese, so it’s not surprising.  And Chef Sugiyama brings a wonderful sense of whimsy to Accents as well!  And their pottery is most entertaining!

My amuse-bouches (sorry, I didn't get pictures of all of them):

• A crispy sweet meringue flavored with a touch of Worchester.  
  
• Warmed Mont d’Or cheese with a slice of spectacular pure Colonnata lard (read more about this ingredient here:  https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2015/06/my-pizza-is-so-chic-friday-12-june.html )
• A nugget of chicken thigh in a warm poultry broth with shavings of black truffle
• 
  Black pudding molded into a little pig face with a thick slice of almost over-ripe banana blanketed with banana foam
• Mashed roasted chestnut formed into a ball, sliced and filled with diced green apple, and topped with a thin slice of mushroom cap cut into the shape of a daisy and then with a segment of anchovy fillet.  

My bouche was now fully awake and amused!

My aperitif and my beverage with the amuse-bouches was a Domaine Dugois Crémant from the Jura.  The amuse were apparently designed to wake up the palate quickly, and this rousing Crémant joined in the fun!  Many sparkling wines are delicate and subtle, but this was powerful - tastes of kumquat, chestnut crab, grapevine, pear seeds (kernel?), brioche toast, mushroom, a bit of funk.  Terrific!

 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I would return to Accents for just their homemade sourdough bread with a shatteringly-crisp crust and their a-a-a-mazing butter smoked with cherry wood.

My first course(s) - sorry that I failed to get photos of them: 

• Little balls of “risotto” made ala molecular gastronomy from what tasted like celeriac juice, with tiny cubes of roasted celeriac, crisp apple, and peanuts, covered with a neutral foam.  Very interesting!
• Cool, just-cooked octopus - fresh and tender. 
• Red partridge cooked rare to bleu - cool, tender, clearly poultry in texture and flavor-saturation and fat, served with a poultry demi glace. 
• Sea urchin flesh topped with a thinly sliced mushroom cap and ground nuts, served with a couple dabs of tuna garum (an ancient condiment that has the viscosity and acidity of balsamic vinegar, and imparts a not-at-all-fishy subtle umami to the dish).  

With the first first course dishes, a Riffel Riesling that was quite different from most - dry, fruity, fresh, minerally, with hints of green apple.

• 
  
  
  An almost-raw scallop with fish eggs, an herby oil, and a creamy sauce.

Then with the scallop, a Spanish SantYuste, 100% Verdejo grape.  It was light, dry, minerally, with a sense of grapefruit zest, a bit more age and herb/vinestem than the Riesling. 

My main courses:

• 
  An unbelievably tender sea bass that had the texture of fish but almost melted in the mouth.  It was served with thin slices of persimmon (kaki fruit) that had a pear texture but the neutrality of potato.  A mussel foam added wonderful depth of flavor with an ethereal texture.
• 
  The turbot had a clean and unfishy taste, was slightly cool, and had a somewhat dense texture while remaining flaky.  The ephemeral tête de moine (“monk’s head” cow’s milk cheese that's cut with a special knife that makes little ruffles) was perfect with the dark sautéed mushrooms (which had the same texture as the fish) and jus.

An Austrian Stadlmann Grüner Veltlinger was served with these first two main plates.  It was fresh and a little sweeter than the previous whites, more aged, with green vegetation, green apple, parsley, and a hint of apricot pit and green tomato.

• 
  The astonishing beauty of the deer plate had me almost in tears.  It was sweet, tender, with just a hint of mild acidity.  Black truffle darkened the flavors even more.  The contrasting astringency of the endive married with the currant flavors in the wine.  The beef demi-glace was wonderfully crafted with onion, celery, carrots, herbs and marrow.  Wow.
• 
  The sweetbreads and monkfish liver were yummy and organy without the slightly-too-funky-to-the-point-of-revolting flavors that sometimes come with organ meats!

With the final two main course plates, a Babiole, a gorgeous light and slightly tannic red (Garnacha grape) with tastes of currant, black raspberry, rose, slate, spice - very tasty with the meat!

My desserts:

• 
  A crispy dark-brown-sugar dentelles tube containing pear gel, powdered cashews, and white chocolate mousse, and topped with a ribbon of fresh pear.  So clever!  Such technique!
• 
  A shiny blown-sugar sphere filled with quince, apple, fresh ginger, cocoa nibs, and condensed milk.  Holy moley!  More mind-blowing technique!  And very tasty!  (Photos are before and after cracking it open.)  It was served with a small glass of “spicy sparkling water,” which tasted like a ginger tarragon cream soda.
  
  
  
• 
  Chef Ayumi’s famous lighter-than-air chiffon cake, this time served with diced pineapple.

Desserts were served with a Cask Obligatoire, a Normandy dry cider that’s aged in Calvados casks - delicious and complex.

And finally, their spectacular coffee - hot and dark and deep - some of the best in town!

With the departure of host/Sommelier Étienne Billard I am slightly less likely to visit Accents Table Bourse on every trip, but only slightly!  The food and beverages and pairings remain at world-class level.  Tutti bravi to the whole team!

Accents Table Bourse  25, rue Feydeau 75002  https://accents-restaurant.com/