Paris - Chocolate and Hazelnut Spreads

Jean-Charles Rochoux's Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Spreads

On my recent trip to Paris, I went to Jean-Charles Rochoux, at 16 rue d'Assas, to buy their hazelnut ("l'Enfance") and dark chocolate ("l'Age de Raison") pâtes à tartiner. I suppose the hazelnut's name reflects that this spread is like Nutella on culinary steroids, and I guess dark chocolate is considered a flavor for adults. No matter what, the chocolate is excellent and the hazelnut is far better than that!

Bobby Jay

Paris - On the Hunt for the Best Chocolate Macaron

The Figaro's culture and entertainment weekly, Figaroscope, periodically does contests seeking to find the best X in Paris, where X can be croissants, flan nature, lemon tarts, roast chicken, hamburgers . . . well, you get the picture.

Recently, they conducted a chocolate macaron contest, testing samples from all the great Paris pâtisseries, except Gérard Mulot and Arnaud Delmontel, which were closed on the day of the test. The winner was Jean-Paul Hévin, the famed (but not Joan's or my favorite) chocolatier.

I have in the past enjoyed testing Figaroscope's results against my own research. For example, see my post on flan. And what better thing to do than to sample chocolate macarons in Paris? So I tried as many as I could of the top 10 -- Aoki, (my beloved) Dalloyau, Ladurée, Gerard Mulot (not closed when I was there) and, of course, Hévin. I was unable to get to Pierre Hermé and Lenôtre had no chocolate macarons the day I visited.

The winner, and not by a small margin, was in fact Jean-Paul Hévin. The interplay between the very bitter but light chocolate ganache and the less bitter chocolate meringue was perfection itself. Possibly worth the plane fare to Paris.

Here are my three steps to Heaven/Hévin: 

While I was at it, I tried a few other flavors, and the coffee at Aoki earned an honorable mention even if their chocolate was not competitive. Likewise the pistachio at Dalloyau.

Bobby Jay

Paris -- Two More Good Bistros: Comme Chez Maman and Métropolitain

My friend Andy G and I recently went to Comme Chez Maman, in a fairly remote area of Paris' 17th arrondissement. This bistro -- a coup de coeur (heart throb) in the Pudlo guide -- is run by a chef who has worked for Alain Ducasse and Jean-Georges (New York and Tokyo) but decided to create a simple bistro with, as the name implies, traditional French food. Andy G had calf's liver and I had roast chicken; both were just what they should be, as were the starters and desserts (an amazing gauffre (waffle) with chocolate sauce and an excellent millefeuille with red fruits). Comme Chez Maman 5, rue des Moines, 75017 Paris (Métro Brochant).

 

 Parmesan and onion tart at Métropolitain

Then last night I went with a friend to Métropolitain, a charming bistro in the 4th arrondissement, in the southern part of the Marais, not far from Île St-Louis. This place gets three red cocottes from Le Petit Lebey, the guide to Paris Bistros, and rapport qualité-prix de l'année (best value for money of the year) from the Pudlo guide. While I don't agree with the rapport qualité-prix award (prices are reasonable but not that low), we had a very enjoyable meal here, classic dishes elevated to something a little special, served with grace in a charming little place.  My companion was happy with her sweetbreads and I greatly enjoyed my parmesan and onion tart (see photo), duck two ways and banana dessert. Métropolitain, 8, rue de Jouy, 75004 Paris (Métro Saint-Paul).

Bobby Jay

Paris -- Flan Nature Update

In April, 2009, I did a post on flan nature, in which I described my own experience of the ones that Figaroscope found to be the best in Paris, as well as some others.  One that I liked then was from Julien at St-Philippe du Roule, which was not among Figaroscope's choices. Today I was at Julien to buy a baguette and noticed a dark, dark flan that was quite different from the one I had experienced in 2009. How could I resist?

Flan nature from Julien, St-Philippe du Roule

This one was excellent but still would not have won the contest because, despite the marvelous almost burnt crust, the texture was not as creamy as the winning flan.

Bobby Jay

Paris - Gorgeous Chocolates

The French have a great expression for window shopping: faire du lèche-vitrine, literally to be a shop window licker. Here's a scene from a store window that invites that kind of conduct.

 Chocolates at Jadis et Gourmande

Jadis et Gourmande, 56, rue St-Placide, 75006 Paris (Métro St-Placide or Rennes) and elsewhere in Paris.

Bobby Jay

Disappointed by Famed Paris Bistro: L'Ami Jean

Émi obtained a hard-to-get reservation at L’Ami Jean, the hot Seventh Arrondissment bistro featuring Basque food, and we went last week. We had heard great things about this place from friends and from the press – praised by Mark Bittman in The New York Times, an article in Bon Appétit, etc. We had the 5-course menu, with some changes to take account of Émi’s dietary constraints, and were pretty disappointed. The food was good, but not better than that, apart from the huge vat of truly spectacular rice pudding served at the end. L’Ami Jean has the simplicity and warmth of a classic bistro, so our evening there was extremely enjoyable despite our mild disappointment with the food.

As a result of the publicity mentioned above, a majority of the clientele were Americans, and we found ourselves conversing in English with the two women on one side and the two men on the other. Nice, but you don’t come to Paris to meet Americans.

For a Basque bistro, I used to prefer Le Trouquet, in the Fifteenth, where the welcome and food were always extraordinary. Although I haven’t eaten there for a couple of years, during which there has been a change in management – the owner chef sold to his first assistant – it still gets good reviews. However, I will have to revisit the place to verify that they are merited. 

L’Ami Jean, 27 rue Malar, 75007 Paris (Métro Invalides or La Tour-Mauberg). Le Troquet, 21 rue François Bonvin, 75015 Paris (Métro Sèvres Lecourbe or Volontaires).

Bobby Jay

Good New French Bistro: L'Office

Last night I went to L’Office, a very good new bistro in the ninth arrondissement, near the Grands Boulevards. This is a very simple place – no tablecloths or place mats, and you keep your cutlery throughout – that serves unpretentious but very well made food in a pleasant atmosphere. It received three red cocottes from Le Petit Lebey, the guide to Parisian bistros, which signifies one of the best in Paris. It recently won the 2012 Prix Lillet-Lebey de la Nouveauté.

The 33-euro menu includes choices among three appetizers, mains and desserts. I started with a wonderfully crispy cube of pork belly over a bed of spinach with nearly invisible fragments of girolle mushrooms. I followed this with chicken – crisped, perfectly cooked supreme and thigh pieces over caponata (never my favorite) with sprigs of mâche and a moelleux of chocolate with stewed cherries. The food was excellent and portion sizes appropriately small. The dessert was the least successful offering, with the preparation adding little to the wonderful cherries that are among the glories of France in June.

The place was full of Americans but somehow managed to keep its Frenchness. I was told by the owner chef that he has had some good write-ups in the US, including one in Bon Appétit (which I missed) that is surely the main reason for the American crowd. Also, it is the type of place we would like to have in the US, but don't. In any event, by about 9:30, the crowd began to change and French became the prevailing language.

A charming meal in a charming place out of central [location] casting.

L’Office, 3 rue Richer, 75009 Paris (Métro Bonnes Nouvelles).

Bobby Jay

Beaujolais d'Auteuil - Recommendation Withdrawn

One of our favorite Paris bistros, and one that has the special virtue of being open on Sunday nights, was Beaujolais d'Auteuil. Unfortunately, this bistro has recently undergone a change of management and the early reviews are negative. I'm not sure if or when I'll get back there, but in the meantime I can't recommend it.

Bobby Jay

The St-Germain Cocktail

A couple of years ago, I was watching The Next Iron Chef and one of the contestants (I think it was Geoffrey Zakarian, who won) cooked something with St-Germain, a French elderflower liqueur. It took me awhile to get around to trying it, but it is very nice, with a flowery and not-too-sweet taste. The St-Germain website has many cocktails, but "The St-Germain Cocktail," a mixture of the liqueur, Champagne and sparkling water, is a winner. Joan has been serving it at her gallery's pre-opening parties to great acclaim.

Here's an excerpt from the website:

The St-Germain Cocktail

Our signature drink

2 parts	Brut Champagne or Dry Sparkling Wine
1½ parts	St-Germain
2 parts	Club Soda

Method: Stir ingredients in a tall ice-filled Collins glass, mixing completely. Think of Paris circa 1947. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Variation: Think of Sartre circa 1947. Be the lemon twist.

 

Give it a try!

Bobby Jay