Komatsubaki -- Restaurant Review

3 rue d'Artois, 75008
tel: 01 42 25 26 78
Take Away: 01 45 20 70 37
Metro 9: Saint Philippe du Roule
Hours: Every day except Saturday/Sunday lunch
Open for dinner Sundays
Closed on Mondays
Website: http://www.komatsubaki-paris.com/en/

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+)

3.75 - Star......................................................€€......................................................... 2 - Bell

For our weekly Wednesday lunch out, a good friend recommended this restaurant. I thought, great, it's a nice change to go to a Japanese restaurant. She actually took a sushi making class with master Chef Kino, whose goal is to make best sushi not only in Paris, but in the world. He is also a master of "Omakase",  a tasting menu of the chef's own composition. 

The restaurant is located on a side street of the "Champs Elysees".  The interior is very sleek, very clean lines and their the main dining room is located upstairs. There were 2-tables and the majority of the patrons set around the sushi bar. In total, there were 14 seats available. They did have some 3-tables downstairs, but it looked like it was rarely used. And, they also have one big tatami room for private parties.

Unlike most sushi bars that you have in e.g., San Francisco, you don't order piece-by-piece, you select a plate of sushi and sashimi that the chef put together. We opted for the lunch special at 28€.

So, for our first course we had miso soup, which is typical and accompanied with a salad of various fish morsels that were breaded but covered with a sweet soy based sauce. They added some fresh julienne carrots, onions and green onions. It was a great little fish salad.  The miso soup was very rich, but I did find it a tad salty, and I happen to like salt.

The lunch special had nori maki sushi of salmon, and the sushi was I believe yellowtail. I was surprised that it did not come with wasabi. So, I asked the chef, where's the wasabi? he said it was already incorporated in the dishes. True, but I wanted more, so I asked for more. I'm guessing the sushi was customized for the French palate, hence, no added wasabi. Interesting to note, I was told that the chef makes his own soy sauce. I do have to say it was delicious.  The pickled ginger was sweeter than most, but delicious. The fish were all very fresh. Overall excellent plate of sushi.

The wines at this restaurant are fairly expensive. I don't believe in getting really expensive wines. The cheapest bottle was a "Etienne Sauzet chardonnay Bourgogne blanc" at 38€.  Wine connoisseurs sometime refer to this as “White Burgundy is the crack cocaine of Chardonnay”, go figure. Claiming once you try this wine, you'll never go back. In other words you can get addicted to this wine. It was good. "It's a light bodied, fruity with fresh peach and nectarines and firm acidity. Fresh, vibrant and balanced."


SUMMARY

What a nice change. So, if you're visiting Paris and just hankering for something different, then I say come to this restaurant. There is nothing pretentious about. It's a simple restaurant with Japanese aesthetics of clean lines and simplicity that will definitely make you feel you're in Japan. The food is simple, clean and fresh. They did have some hot dishes like donburi, but their specialty is the sushi. Would we go back, absolutely. Note: they also have a brisk take-out business.

For 3-lunch specials and one bottle of wine, our meal came to 123€

Au Petit Tonneau -- Restaurant Review

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+)

3.25 - Star......................................................€€......................................................... 3 - Bell

Having returned to France from our winter break, for whatever reason I wanted to go to a classic old-school French Bistro. Et voila, I recommended to our friends that we go to this restaurant in 7th. It's in a "nice" area of Paris the 7eme. In fact, it's not too far and on the same block as 1-starred Michelin restaurant David Toutain (see my review of "David Toutain").

20 rue Surcouf, 7eme
Tel. 01-47-05-09-01
Metro: Invalides or La Tour-Maubourg
Closed Monday

It's not a large restaurant it harkened to the old days of typical classic bistros. The tables had the red and white checkered tablecloths of yesteryear, and the tables were snug next to one another, so they had to be pulled out if you were against a wall so you can be let it. So, let's say it was cozy.

They had a nice menu, good selections of old French classic dishes. The menu was 2-sided, in French on one side, and English on the other side.  Some of us were concerned about it being quite heavy and hardy, but I figured we don't do it often, so why not.

They also had a prix-fixe lunch menu that was reasonably priced at 24€ for a entrée + plat and 29€ for all 3-courses. Three of us opted the lunch special and one opted a-la-carte.

On the tables were already some dried sausages and cornichons, and some sliced radishes, which I assumed served as the amuse bouche.







ENTRÉE

Oeuf poché, pleurotes à la crème et jambon de pays (Poached egg, oyster mushrooms and local ham). This was a great start. The egg sat atop of some cream. Scattered at the bottom were oyster mushrooms, and sitting atop of the dish were slices of local dried ham. The eggs was perfectly poached, and at first bite I thought it needed salt, but as I dug into the dish, the addition of the ham brought a nice saltiness to the dish. And, the mushrooms were a nice accompaniment and bonus. Overall, an excellent entrée.

Salad with Blue Cheese. A salad made with frisée. It was a great salad with nice big chunks of Roquefort cheese, and it had the added crunchiness of walnuts. The dressing was a bit on the tart side for my taste, but JJ loved it. Overall it was a good basic salad.










PLATS

Filet de Daurade Plancha, écrasé de pommes de terre aux agrumes. (Filet of Sea bream pan fried, served with smashed citrus potatoes). It's not a particularly attractive dish. The fish was nice and tender, unfortunately, the skin was not as crisp as I would've wanted it to be, but still delicious. The combination of the citrus to the potatoes was a good idea, it gave the fish a little more freshness.  The dish could've definitely needed something green to liven it up.

Veal Kidney served in a madeira sauce.  JJ ordered the kidney. The kidney came alone and you can add (4€) an accompaniment of several greens such as a salad or haricot vert or potatoes. JJ opted for another salad. I like kidneys, but not a big fan of it. I did taste it and I have to say it was very good. The kidney was covered in a madeira sauce that incorporated mushrooms, onions and some slices of bacon. It's definitely not a light dish, but overall a very good dish.





DESSERTS 

And, for desserts, the three each had classic french desserts:  tarte citron (lemon tart), tarte tatin (apple tart), and Mousse chocolat (chocolate mousse).  All very good, but nothing out of the ordinary.


WINES

RED -- La demoiselle d’haut-peyrat Haut Medoc 2012 -- A red wine from the Bordeaux area. Expert describe this wine as having tasting notes of dark fruits and berries such as plum and blackcurrant. And, the tannins tend to be relatively high in these wines, giving them a firm structure.

WHITE -- Pascal Jolivet attitude 2015 sauvignon blanc 2015 -- A wine from the Loire Valley. Experts describe the taste as having delicate aromas of lime, green apple, kiwi fruit and some vegetal notes. Mineral notes give the wine a pleasant mouthfeel, balanced with good acidity and a citrus fresh finish.


SUMMARY

If you're craving for old school, retro French food, then this is the bistro for you. The restaurant provided quite an array of old French classics. With the exception of one person, we all wanted a lighter fare, so three of us chose the fish dish. We all enjoyed the entrée of poached eggs. The salad was good. And, I did notice that there wasn't much greens being offered, unless you ordered a-la-carte. So, I guess it was a good thing that JJ ordered a salad for an entrée and also for an accompaniment to this main course of veal kidneys since the portions were large and we were able to share them. The restaurant serves very good old French classics. The service was excellent. It is definitely above average, but nothing outstanding. Would we go back, pourquoi pas?

With 3-prix-fixe lunches with 2 ordering the 3-course meal, and I ordered the 2-course meal., 1 a-la-carte of veal kidney and 1-dessert, with 1-bottle of wine, 2-glasses of wine, and 3-coffees our bill came to 181€ for 4-people or 45.25€ per person.

L'Escudella -- Restaurant Review

41 ave de Ségur -- 75007
Tel: 09.82.28.70.70
email: Escudella18@gmail.com
Metro: Ségur (10) or  St. Francois-Xavier (13)
Closed: Saturday and Sundays

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+)

4.25 - Star......................................................€€......................................................... 3 - Bell

We're back. Returned a week ago from our winter break in the U.S. and back to exploring new restaurants. Our good friend J is also in town and recommended this restaurant. This restaurant promotes French cuisine with a new "inventive" twist, and I would agree with that.

The interior is cozy enough. It's not a large restaurant, I counted 28-seats.

The menu had quite a nice selection.  It appears the menu changes, since it was basically a printout presented to us on a clipboard. They did have a "plat du jour" which was a pintade (guinea fowl).

To begin, we started out with an amuse bouche which was Japanese inspired. It was a wrapped tourteau (Atlantic crab). It was presented like nori-maki sushi with chopsticks. There was no rice, it was basically crab folded with mayonnaise. It had a light taste and not overwhelming, so it was a good start.






ENTRÉE

Chorizo de boeuf wagyu (Beef Chorizo). This was from their "tapas" section of their menu. This dish was inspired by Spain. We got this to share. At first I thought, what a waste using wagyu, probably because I associate this with very high high-end beef served as a steak. Wagyu beef is now farmed locally in France, so much easier to obtain. It was very, tasty and the fat level was perfect, not too oily and the heat (spicy) level hit at the end, but was not overwhelming. Excellent.

Carpaccio de betterave crapaudine cuite au gros sel, mousse de betterave et condiments (Carpaccio of beets cooked with coarse salt, beet mousse and condiments). For France, this was quite a hearty entrée. The beets were beautifully presented with sliced beets and a mousse of beets. Atop sat toasted pine nuts, crumbled hard boiled eggs and some thin olive slices which elevated the dish. Overall, a very well composed dish.



PLATS

Pintade (guinea fowl). Two of us got the special of the day. It was lightly roasted served with an "au jus" and topped with greens. And, it was served with a side of mashed potatoes. To me guinea fowl tastes like a cross between a chicken and turkey. The meat is very lean, and I find the meat much more flavorful and moist than other fowls. In its simplicity, the dish was very good.

Poitrine de cochon confite, jus aux couteaux, wakame, pâtes à l’encre de sèche [Confied pork belly, gravy, wakame (seaweed), pasta with dry cuttlefish ink].  I am going to assume that this dish is Italian and Japanese influenced. I ordered this dish. I thought it was an excellent dish. Now this dish isn't for everyone, since pork belly can be extremely fatty. But this had to be one of the best roasted pork bellies I've ever had. It had a perfectly crusty salty exterior, and the interior was melt in your mouth, albeit fatty and rich. The black pasta was a nice accompaniment. Overall an excellent dish.



DESSERT

Paris "Carcassone" (Paris Brest).  I had no idea that there was a Paris "Carcassone", now I know the "Paris-Brest" so I assume that they might have a variation from the Carcassone region. I had a little bite of it, it was extremely light and airy, unfortunately I did bite into one of the more well done hazelnuts, burnt actually, so it did have a little bitter taste, otherwise it was a good dessert.





WINES

As usual, we ordered a bottle of white and a bottle of red. The white was from the Languedoc region, a Chateau de Valflaunès, "Pourquoi Pas". We had to laugh at the name, "pourquoi pas", why not? It's a white wine known for it's dry, herby ripe-fruit flavors from Pic Saint-Loup. It's not a heavy wine, light and refreshing.

Chinon “Les Terrasses," Lambert.  It's a light red wine using 100% Cabernet Franc. It's known for its wild musky nose, dense fruit, and the terroir of calcareous clay atop the region's famous tuffeau. It can be served with a slight chill and suggested to drink young!


SUMMARY

They tout themselves as serving French cuisine with an "inventive" twist. I would have to agree. Their cuisine was influenced from Japan, Italy and Spain. I have to say, all the dishes were beautifully presented and excellent. The service was excellent. It is a small restaurant, so once it filled up it got a little noisy and hard to hear. The only complaint I have is the hazel nut in the dessert was a bit burnt, which gave it a bitter taste, otherwise the other components of the dessert were delicious. Would we go back, absolutely.

For 2-entrées, 3-plats, 1-dessert, 2-bottles of wine, 3-coffees our bill came to 47.50€ per person (there were 3 of us).