L'Entredgeu -- Restaurant Review

 83 rue Laugier, 75017
Metro: line 3 (Porte Champerret)
Telephone: 01 40 54 97 24
Closed Sunday and Monday

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-80); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-90); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (90+)

4 - Star......................................................€€€ ......................................................... 2.5 - Bell

A friend from my Wednesday luncheon group had a meeting in the 17eme and her time was limited, so I suggested we eat somewhere close to where she needs to be, and voila we wound up in the 17eme at a restaurant she found from a popular blog.  It's sort of "off-of-the-beaten-path", and not normally where tourists would venture out to.

The restaurant is a very, very typical French bistrot. In fact, it's an old school Basque style restaurant and has been around for ages.  I was curious what the almost impossible to pronounce name of the restaurant meant, but simply it's the namesake of the restaurant owner, Philip Tredgeu.

As I mentioned it's a very typical French bistrot, with tight squeezed in tables, but that was the charm of the restaurant. We were a bit early arriving at noon,  but the restaurant started filling up quickly after about 12:30.

We perused the menu on a blackboard, and it appeared to offer a diverse range of choices with a prix-fixe lunch offered at 26€ for 2-courses and 36€ for 3-courses, which was very reasonable.

ENTRÉES

Velouté de panais, parmesan et petits croutons, (Cream of parsnip, Parmesan and small croutons).  Two of my friends had this entrée. They both liked the dish, it was creamy and the added croutons gave the dish a nice textural element. At first I thought the thickness may have been by adding bread, but I read it wrong, and actually the parsnips added the bulk and thickness and the cream rounded it off. I personally found this dish too sweet. But all around it was a good dish.

Carpaccio de boeuf mariné, crémeux de brebis et emulsion de poireaux (Carpaccio marinated beef, sheep cheese and creamy leek emulsion).  This was a very attractive dish I must say, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting.  First of all, the beef was very marbled. The first thought that came to mind, "wagyu beef"? which is now locally produced in France, I should have asked, but I'm pretty certain it was. And, the beef slices were not paper thin as characteristic of "Italian carpaccio", none-the-less the dish was very innovative with thin slices of radishes and zucchini. It was definitely thinking outside of the box, and I really enjoyed it.


PLATS

Fricassée de poulet jaune fermier et petits légumes de saison, (Yellow farmed chicken fricassee and seasonal vegetables).  At first glance when I saw the menu, I thought they meant "jeune", which is "young", but no, it was not a typo, it referred to a yellow chicken.  This was our least favorite dish. Although the chicken was moist, it was just very ordinary. In other words, it did not wow us.  However, my friend did love the potatoes.

Pigeon roti entier et foie foie gras poêlé (Whole roasted pigeon with foie gras).  I was asked whether I wanted this dish pink or a little more cooked. I asked for pink. I loved this dish, the pigeon was perfectly cooked and the accompanying demi-glace sauce was a great accompaniment. It's rich, but not in the sense of creamy rich, but more developed richness.  I was worried that the foie gas might've been tough or overcooked, but it was perfect. Overall, a truly flavorful delicious dish. In fact, this was my favorite of the three plats we had.

Quasi de veau fermier, gratin de macaroni, condiments charcutière, (Range veal, gratin of macaroni, butcher condiments).   It was a very whimsically plated dish.  The veal sat atop a very neatly arranged grouping of macaroni. Sometimes beef/veal can be served a bit too rare for my liking, but this veal was cooked perfectly, moist and perfectly pink. Who knew a mac & cheese could be served so constructed and taste good. Overall, a very good, well composed dish.







DESSERTS

Soufflé au grand marnier, (Grand marnier soufflé).  If you order this dish, you have to order it at the beginning of the meal, since as we well know, it takes some time and has to be served immediately or the soufflé will deflate.  I had a little taste of it. The soufflé was perfectly cooked. Extremely light and airy and with the distinctive grand marnier flavor. A hit with the group.

Brebis cheese, (Sheep cheese).  I literally had a big thin slice of sheep cheese. This is one of my all time favorite cheeses, since it's aged and as a result can have bits of saltiness, which I like.  It was served with a "confiture", but I ate as is. Like I always say, you really can't go wrong with cheese in France.










WINES

We had a bottle of Sancere Paul Prieur et fils 2015 white.  Sancere from the Loire valley white or rosé are probably my all time favorite wines in France.  It's a drier wine with acidity. In fact, it might be too dry for some people. It goes great with seafood, salads and vegetables. Personally, I like it with everything.














SUMMARY

This restaurant has been around a long time, and it appears to be a favorite among Parisians. Technically, I did not find any fault in any of the dishes other than personal preferences. Platings were simple, but cohesive and tight.  In fact, my criticisms are based on my personal taste. I do not like sweet in any savory dish, which I found in the soup. And, although the chicken dish was perfectly cooked, it was missing an "ompf" factor, it was underwhelming.  The veal was whimsically plated and perfectly cooked. My favorite was the roast pigeon. The dark meat of the pigeon was extremely flavorful on its own, but the added sauce and foie gras brought it to a whole new level.  As for the soufflé, what can I say, they cooked it perfectly, no complaints. And, let's not forget about the service, it was excellent.  The wait staff were perfectly attentive to our needs.  Would I go back? absolutely, even though it's off-the-beaten-path and clear across town for me.

With 3-entrées, 3-plats, 3-desserts, 1-bottle of Sancerre, and 1-tea our bill came to 167€, or 55.66€ each. A bit high for lunch, but we did have a nice bottle of wine, which bumped up our overall price.