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Restaurant review: La Boulangerie La Boulangerie: A Gem of a Restaurant du Quartier Food-loving visitors to Paris always have their special places. There are the bistros we recollect for their revelatory tastes or for the perfect simplicity of their French cuisine du marche. There are the restaurants and cafes we return to again and again by choice, not circumstance. Charmingly low-key and welcoming, La Boulangerie is my quintessential Parisian restaurant du quartier. This is that rare small restaurant that consistently hits multiple high-notes--- it is utterly affordable, trés sympathique, and it offers delicious food and well-priced wines. During every Paris sojurn I head to this favorite of mine out in multicultural Menilmontant--- and it always proves to have been well worth the journey. The décor is simple. This one-time bakery offers two adjoining rooms (one nonsmoking), both of which are pleasantly decorated with light woods. They each feature tall lace-curtained windows and pastoral frescoes painted by local artists. The chef–owner has a deft hand with spices and offers deeply flavored, yet light, French cuisine. And at 12.50 E for a top-quality three-course lunch, this has to be one of the best buys in Paris. A recent lunch with two friends (one a vegetarian) yielded three excellent meals. We started with an unusual Kir Mousseaux (white wine and crème de Chataigne) while we studied both the formules for the day and the à la carte menu. Good bread, herbed olives and water were placed on the table as soon as the menus were offered. And La Boulangerie offers a variety of formules—entrée and plat, entrée-plat-dessert, or plat and glass of wine. Our vegetarian diner was delighted with his entrée of caviar d’ aubergine, incorporating herbs and flavored oils. This was followed by a richly satisfying oeuf en cocotte with cream of fine herbs and brioche toasts. The meat-fanciers, on the other hand, chose entrees of a tartare of salmon perfumed with citronelle and coriander, and, a tarte au chevre et jamon. These were followed by plats of cracklingly good coquelette with verjus and honey, and osso buco in a lovely light olive and tomato sauce, and scented with epices douce. Desserts were a rich and deeply caramelized tarte tatin, a textbook-perfect crème brulee, and a rich tarte sable chocolate. A 50 cl ‘pot’ of Cotes du Rhone for 10E was a fine accompaniment. Darkly, rich café completed our soulfully satisfying meals. The four-choice entrée, plat-and-desert formule market-menu always includes a fish selection. On this day it was brandade de grenadier with olive oil and herbs. The a la carte menu regularly offers a range of tempting choices, including confit of lamb, rouget with anchoiade, veal, beef, duck and more. And the food is always attractively presented. Dinner plats run 13-16E, and the formule runs 15.50. There is abundant
choice of well-chosen wines for under 20E a bottle, as well as 50 cl ‘Pots’
of chinon, cote du rhone, or vin du pays du drome for 10E. Wines by the
glass are 4 E. Paris. It is also a great spot to enjoy a mid-day meal after one has explored nearby Pere Lachaise cemetery, or the Park de Belleville, or the multi-cultural Belleville/Menilmontant quartiers, or even the Canal St. Martin. But no excuse is needed—just hop on the metro, and have a terrific meal for not much more than you’d spend for a salad in an average café. La Boulangerie. 15 rue des Panoyaux, 75020 Paris. |
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sally@yourgreatdaysinparis.com |
