Fulgurances -- 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+)

3.75 - Star......................................................€......................................................... 3 - Bell

I'm sure everyone by now has heard of the "Pop-Up Restaurants" concept. Friends had read about this place and recommended we go. The concept is easy. They have stationary restaurant and invite several different chefs to cook for a certain period. For example our Chef was Céline Pham who is slotted from March to September 2017. This is not only to introduce the chef, but also have the chef showcase their food and style.

10, rue Alexandre Dumas 11eme

Tel: 01 43 48 14 59

Opened Tuesday-Friday lunch & Dinner

Metro: Rue des Boulets (9)

Website: http://fulgurances.com/en/

This restaurant sits a little under 40-tables. We had a late lunch reservation, 1:45 pm. As we entered we noticed it was packed. A good sign. When I say they squeeze tables, I'm not exaggerating. The restaurant was so tight, it was actually a little uncomfortable for me, since my chair touched the chair of the person behind me. We sat at a round table for 4, but it was butt up against a wall so we could only occupy 3/4 of the table. In order to facilitate service I had to constantly squeeze forward so the server could squeeze between us. And, mind you. We sat next to the toilette, and if people came by and didn't look where they were going they'd literally hit their head on the stair rail.

The prices for the prix-fixe lunches were extremely reasonably priced. The Chef's background is Vietnamese. The menu reflected her Asian background, but the menu focused more on the Japanese flavors.


ENTRÉE

Tataki de boeuf. Thin slices of beef (carpaccio). One friend ordered this dish. Tataki is a Japanese term that is used to described how meat or fish is served. It can be very quickly seared, but more often it is served raw. This dish was a sweet and sour dish or yin-yang carpaccio. The sour component was the quickly vinegared marinated thin slices of beef and the sweet component was the sweet noodles that the beef sat atop. Hard to do a quick marinate, to prevent the meat from turning gray because of the acidity, but she her knew timing. It was garnished with watercress and carrots . I liked this dish for its tasting contrasts. The sweet balanced the sour.

Haddock. Three of us had the haddock entrée. The dish was flavored with bergamot (citrus fruit similar to a lemon).  I'm  starting to get the impression there's a theme/personality to the chef's food. The chef seems to like vinegary/citrus flavors, which is fine with me. The haddock was salt cured, so if you don't like salt, this is not the dish for you. I happen to like salt, and the potatoes with the creme fraîche counterbalanced the sourness/saltiness. It was also served with sweet cucumbers and yellow summer squash. It its simplicity the dish was citrusy, but balanced with the other ingredients. Flavor wise, I don't think the basil was needed, but it did make for a pretty presentation.


PLATS

Tonkatsu. (breaded deep fried pork cutlet). Two of us, including myself got the last 2-tonkatsus, lucky us.  This dish had a lot of flavors going on. The pork cutlet was cooked perfectly. Unfortunately, the mild curry sauce poured over the cutlet made the tonkatsu lose some of its crunchiness. The dish had sweet potatoes which was a nice counter-balance to the very sour confit de citron (lemon confit). It was garnished with arroche also known as "false spinach" and sweet pea pods. I would've liked the dish a lot more if it didn't have the curry sauce over the the cutlet. It wasn't the flavoring so much as the fact that the tonkatsu lost some of its characteristic crunchiness. I did like this dish because of the differing sauces and vegetables and the contrast and its uniqueness in flavor, but sometimes less is more.

Bonite. (Bonito fish from the tuna family). This was probably my favorite plat. The fish was cooked perfectly, nicely seared on the outside and tender on the inside. It sat atop some sweet black rice with some citrus Asian slaw with cooked radishes. Again, there was a yin-yang of sour components with sweet components.











DESSERT

Tatin de Bananes. (Banana tart).  The group shared this dessert. The tatin was covered with caramelized pecans with a dollop of coconut ice cream. The dessert almost looked like a pecan pie. I tasted a little of it, and it was good, but I happen to like flaky crust, but this was a softer crust. But overall a very good dessert which wasn't overly sweet.









WINE

Côt à Côt, Noella Morantin. We originally ordered a cabarnet franc red wine, but apparently they were out of it and the server brought a similar bottle suggesting that it had the same 'spirit'; a malbec. We accepted. This wine is characterized has having notes of red fruits, cocoa, cinnamon, and prune. It was very good and went well with our meals.














SUMMARY

I love pop-ups and pop up restaurants. They introduce us to new chefs or chefs wanting to introduce new food flavors/experiences. Keep one thing in mind when you come to this restaurant, you're NOT coming for the ambience, you're coming solely for the food. It's a tight squeeze, and it's very noisy. This particular restaurant usually changes chefs on an average of every 3-months. However, chef Céline Pham will be featured through September 2017. Just like fashion, there's a certain style/flavor that identifies a chef. I'm pretty sure I could identify her cooking style if I were to be blindfolded. Her flavors are definitely Asian inspired, bold and wasn't masked with all the heavy creams or butter as most classical french dishes. The only cream I noticed was the dollop of creme fraîche in the haddock entrée. I rated higher than I would normally because it is a pop-up, so the food is the featured star, and not the ambience. Would we go back before chef Céline is finishes her term, absolutely.

With three 2-course prix-fixe, One 3-course prix-fixe and a bottle of wine, our bill came to 115€ or 58€ a couple. The price can't be beat!

Divellec -- Restaurant Review

18, rue Fabert 75007

Tel: 01 45 51 91 96

Open 7 days a week for lunch & dinner

Website: http://www.divellec-paris.fr/en/

Metro Invalide (8 & 13)

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+)

1.75 - Star......................................................€€€€......................................................... 3 - Bell

A friend J had recommended we go to this restaurant. It's a stone's throw away from "Les Invalides".  He had been here a few times in the past 40-years when it was still owned by M.Divellect himself. In September 2016, it was bought by Michelin starred Chef Michel Pacaud who happens to be the son of famed chef Bernard Pacaud. He has restaurants around the world and these are the ones that garnered michelin stars: L’ambroisie (3-stars), Hexagone (1-star), and Histoires (2-stars).  He is the first French chef to have obtained three Michelin stars in a row. So, he's got quite the pedigree and rightfully so our expectations were quite high.

The restaurant is quite large. It takes up a corner of half the block. It's quite airy and open. We were seated on the extreme end across from the park.   I guess for lunch time they squeeze all the patrons on that end to make service easier, understandable. We sat in a semi-booth, unfortunately we sat next to some very loud people. As we walked in, the very first thing I noticed was that english was spoken everywhere. Not a good sign.

WARNING: this restaurant is VERY expensive. 

As we perused the menu, there were a few prix-fixes. 49€ for 3-courses, 90€ for 4-courses and 210€ for 7-courses.

J and I selected 3-courses prix-fixe since neither one of us are big eaters. And, Jack decided to order a-la-carte, because the prix-fixe did not excite him.

Note: this restaurant specializes in seafood.

A-la-carte Menu

Amuse bouche was a small spreadable seafood paté. Our wait person said it was sardines, but it was definitely tuna. It was served with very thinly sliced toasted baguettes. This was nothing special. Anyone with basic cooking skills could've made this. 

ENTRÉE

Œuf mollet, velouté de céleri à la badiane. (Poached egg, velvety celery with star-anise). The dish was pretty enough, but looks can be deceiving. I have one description for this dish, BLAND. Cold dishes normally need to have a heavy hand with spices, but it was so under seasoned that we had to ask for salt/pepper. Interestingly, unrequested our wait-person also gave us some olive oil, hmmm? what does that tell you? Only flavor came from the smoked eel bits. And, the only saving grace for this dish was the poached egg. It was perfectly cooked. This dish should either be improved upon or just plain removed from the menu.

Coques-couteaux, marinère aux épines vinettes (Razor clams with marinière of "berberis" sauce).  Jack ordered this dish. Normally the clam is quite long, but they were sliced into small round disks and placed back into what looked the original shell. It was served with some greens and tomatoes. The dish was good, the clams were cooked perfectly and although I did not taste the star anise, it did have a nice citrusy flavor, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

PLATS

Merlu de ligne, fenouils, pommes de terre confites de Noirmoutier et sauce bouillabaisse. (Hake, fennel, candied potatoes of Noirmoutier and sauce bouillabaisse). Beautifully presented. Ah, nice change. There was actually some flavor in this dish. The bouillabaisse was rich and tasty. The potatoes were tasty and cooked in the style of Noirmoutier, an island off of France. Now keep in mind the star of this dish is the hake, one word, OVERCOOKED. How does a restaurant who specializes in seafood overcook their fish? Whoever cooked this fish needs to go back to "cooking fish 101."

Bar, enroulée de poivrons doux, extraction d’une sauce piperade. (Sea bass, coiled sweet peppers, extraction of a "piperade" sauce). Fortunately, this time the fish was cooked much better. Moist and tender. It was topped with pureed red peppers and the sauce, although had espelette (basque spicy red pepper), lacked flavor. It was an underwhelming dish for 55€.  It came with a side dish of chopped zucchini.

DESSERTS

J had the strawberry dessert that comes with the prixe-fixe and Jack had the raspberry dessert. The desserts were good. In fact, I think this was the only thing the guys liked on the menu. But, as Jack said, you could get this at any café/bistro and even at some of our local patisserie. Although good, they were nothing special.

I asked, since I don't eat sugar, could they replace the sweet dessert for cheese. They obliged. Unbeknownst to me until I got the bill, they charged me an extra 18€ for the privilege. I had the cheese plate, and I have to say this was the redemption dish. But, like I always say, you can't go wrong with cheese in France. After-all they are the experts. From my recollection I had the chèvre, brebis, tomme de savoie, camembert, young chèvre and believe a slightly aged cow cheese. I finished them all. Surprisingly enough though, I had eaten half a piece of baguette, so the wait-person left it for me to eat with the cheese. I assumed he'd come back with more bread. Never did, nor did he ask if I wanted more. Fortunately, I don't eat much bread.

WINES 

Jean-luc Colombo 2015 Les Collines de Laure.  A white wine where the Provençal grape Rolle (aka Vermentino) is used. Characterized with having fresh citrus acidity and peach, orchard fruit and herb notes. Excellent wine.

Les Augstins, Les Bambins, pic saint loup. A red languedoc. Jack originally ordered something else, but our sommelier suggested we try this wine, which was only 5€ more than the original Jack requested. We were happy we took his advise. This was a great red wine.  This red wine had a slightly oak taste with hints of black fruits. Excellent choice. I do want to add that our sommelier know his "stuff." 

MIGNARDISES (PARTING SWEETS) -- I would expect with this type of expensive restaurant, we would have some. So, none to report. 

SUMMARY 

One word describes this restaurant well, UNDERWHELMED, second word EXPENSIVE. It was so unmemorable, I actually had a hard time recalling what we had, and we just had our meal yesterday? The entrées were just "meh"? But what shocked me the most was the overcooked hake. Keep in mind this restaurant's specialty is seafood.  From underwhelmed, under seasoned, and an overcooked plat, the only redeeming dish for me was the cheese and the wines, which neither is made by the restaurant. As for the service, it seemed rushed. In fact, one server wanted to clear the plates before one of us even finished? I understand that the Chef has restaurants all over the world and has won several Michelin stars for OTHER restaurants, but he really should focus some attention on this restaurant. It is an overly priced tourist trap. Would we go back? ABSOLUTELY NOT. We'll leave it for the tourist. 

For 2 prix-fixe meals (3-courses), 1 a-la carte (3-courses), 2-bottles of wine, 2-glasses of additional wine, 1-coffee, 1-tea our insult to injury came to 353€ ($395) for 3-people, 118€ ($132) per person. I took price into consideration for my overall review. 

Le Vent d'Armor -- Restaurant Review

25 Quai de la Tournelle 75005
tel: 33 1-46-34-50-99
'Open: Monday night 19:30, Tuesday-Saturday for lunch and dinner
Website: http://www.le-vent-darmor.com/
Metro: 4 (Cité), 1 (Hôtel de Ville)

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

This restaurant has been open for about 15-months. Interestingly, it's across the pont (bridge) from the Ile St. Louis where my good friends live and who recommended we try this restaurant. But for whatever reason this restaurant has been under my radar. So, we made it a point to go and check it out. Plus it's in a great location, easy to walk to, and the walk along the Seine is always beautiful.

The interior is quite lovely, very simple and modern, and also very comfortable. It's a small restaurant, maybe around 20-tables. I was a bit surprised that the restaurant wasn't more busy for a Friday night, but that was OK for us.

As I ordered a started sipping my kir, we perused the menu. There was a tasting menu for 60€, but we all thought that would've been too much food for us.

You'll notice something about this menu, it's 95% seafood. They specialize in seafood. So, off the bat, I need to warn my readers if you don't eat seafood or allergic to it, this is not the place for you.










AMUSE BOUCHE.

For our amuse bouche we got a small croquette of monkfish. It was served with an herbed pesto. JJ thought it was just a tad salty, whereas I thought there wasn't enough salt. It was well fried, not greasy at all. I could've had the pesto a little more spicy peppery, but hey, we're in France, they don't do spicy.









ENTRÉES

Huîtres spéciales n*4 — Marennes Oléron -- (Oysters on a half-shell). Although oysters are not in season, JJ, who ordered them, thought they were delicious, fresh and very juicy, and not gritty as they are normally known to be during the off-season.

Soupe de Poisson rouille du chef, et croûtons (Fish soup with croutons and cheese).  Our friend R ordered this dish, and he said it was excellent. The added garnishes of croutons and cheese was served on the side, so you can add them as you wish. R added the cheese and after it melted it looked like French onion soup. Overall, he thought it was a very good dish.

Thon minute, sésame, piment d’Espelette (Tuna cooked for 1-minute, with sesame, espelette peppers). Originally I had wanted to order the crispy shrimp, but I misheard the waiter earlier when he told us that was the one dish they didn't have. But I wasn't disappointed. The tuna was perfectly seared, just the way I like it. I like the "ying-yang" combination of the outside cooked with the interior a sashimi texture. The espelette sauce could've been spicier, but like I said, this is France. It was served with accompanying lettuce greens with a light vinaigrette sauce.





PLATS

 Médaillon de lotte œufs de Harengs fumés, crémé d’échalotes (Medallions of Monkfish with Smoked herring eggs, and cream of shallots).  JJ ordered this dish and said the fish was very, very fresh. As characteristic of a monkfish, it is very meaty. Monkfish can be overcooked which would make it rubbery, but he said this dish was cooked perfectly tender.

La Sole grillée, sauce champagne (Sole grilled with champagne sauce).  R ordered this dish, and he said it was excellent. The fish was also fresh and cooked perfectly. He had a nice variety of green beans with carrots and a squash.

Cassolette de langoustines aux truffes (a dish of langoustines and truffles).  I ordered this dish. For some reason I had read cassolette as cassoulet, a traditional dish with white beans as the base. But I was wrong. It was more like a creamy bouillabaisse soup base. The langoustines were perfectly cooked and the accompanying sauce was delicious. And, for you truffle lovers out there, there was a nice healthy serving of garnished black truffles. Simple, but tasty. Note: it did come with potatoes, and vegetables.

CHEESE COURSE

I of course had the cheese plate. This plate had a nice salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. It included "tomme de savoie" which is a semi-firm cow's milk cheese, and mild in flavor. Actually, it's one of my favorite cheeses, so lucky me. And "chèvre" cheese, a goat milk cheese. I'm not a big fan of goat milk cheese, since I liked harder more aged cheeses, but for you lovers of chèvre, it was very good.  

DESSERTS:

Gratin de pamplemousse Rose et son sabayon grand marnier (Pink Grapefruit Gratin in sabayon) and Assortiment de glaces et sorbets (maître glaces) (3 scoops of ice creams and sorbets (master ice cream). JJ ordered the grapefruit, it consisted of sliced fresh pink grapefruit served on a hot plate with sabayon sauce. It was good in its simplicity.

R ordered 2-scoops of chocolate ice cream and 1-vanilla. Delicious ice cream, but nothing out of the ordinary for France.








WINES

We ordered a bottle of Chinon Marc Brédif 2013.  It's a red wine of cabernet franc, known to have a classic red wine taste. There's a tartness underneath a layer of fruit flavors. Alcohol level is not as high as well.













MIGNARDISES (PARTING SWEETS)

We were given a selection of caramelized nuts. A brown sugar marshmallow and some meringues.



















SUMMARY

You have to like seafood to come to this restaurant, that is what they specialize in. In fact, there was only 1-dish that was not a fish dish, but a duck dish and only served as a plat. One important note, all the seafood was of high quality and very fresh. It's a small cozy restaurant, but in a great location. It's next door to a rotisserie place we frequent, as well as across the street from the famous "Tour d'Argent" which we don't frequent, and across from "Notre Dame".  The waiter and his helper could not have been nicer and more efficient. Would we come back, ABSOLUTELY.

With 1-kir, 3-entrees, 3-plats, 1-cheese plate, 2-desserts, 1-bottle of wine, and 2 glasses of a Sancerre white, our bill came to 259€ or 86.33€ per person. So, this is not an inexpensive restaurant, but well worth going to.

Alan Geaam -- Restaurant Review

19 Rue Lauriston, 75116
Tel:  +33145017297
Website:  https://www.alangeaam.fr/
Metro: (6) Kléber

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......................................................€€......................................................... 2.5 - Bell

Chef Alan Geaam gets around. He has restaurants in several locations. l'Auberge de Nicolas Flamel in the 3eme, "AG" at St. Germain de Prés, which he will soon be letting go, which I'll explain later, and "AG" Les Halles" which is relatively new, and finally, this new restaurant, his name sake in the 16eme, which is a stone's throw away from the "Arc de Triomph".  It's located on a side street which unless you know where the restaurant is, you would not know this restaurant existed.

The interior was very modern with "curvy" banquettes and matching chairs. It was actually quite comfortable and had a "homey" atmosphere.

While we were perusing the menu, they brought some tasty little crispy wafers made of beets and "sumac" . He told us he has a Lebanese background, hence, the sumac.

The menu was a tasting menu which you can choose. We opted for the 3-course menu, but ordered the pigeon as our main, rather than the fish. The wait-staff did ask if any of us any allergies, or had any aversions to certain foods, which we don't.

Amuse Bouche was a trio of various tasty morsels from carrots, passion fruit and fish roe on a meringue squid flavored toast. My 2-favorites was the egg roe over the meringue toast. As you bit into it there was explosion of a large egg roe that just oozed with wonderful flavors of the sea. And, the squid ink toast just added another dimension.

The passion fruit served over a bed of toasted nuts was my second favorite. The textural components and tartness of the fruit was a great combination.



ENTRÉE

Carpaccio of dorade with a thick pea sauce/soup.  This entrée was served cold. The chef himself came out and poured the soup for us. The carpaccio was great and we had various components in this dish. We had the raw element of the carpaccio with al-dente whole peas, green onions, and juxtaposed with the smoothness of the cold sweet pea soup was a perfect melding of flavors and different textural components. I loved the dish.







PLATS -- NOTE:  Although the pigeon was not part of the 40€ prix-fixe menu, we opted to order it anyway, since our friend J had heard it was the dish to get.

Pigeon. We ordered ours rare, you can order it more well done if you wish. The pigeon sat atop a bed of bulgur wheat which was beautifully flavored, and atop sat blanched carrots. I liked the crispiness of the skin and the doneness of the pigeon breast. It literally melted in your mouth. I would imagine if it had been cooked more, it would've lost its "melt-in-your-mouth" attribute.

Salmon. The salmon was perfectly cooked. The skin was nice and crispy and the meat was extremely moist. The chef grated some "Buddha's hand lemon" to give it that nice citrus touch. I saw some patrons actually remove the skin, that's the best part. I was very tempted to tell them to give it to me.

We had creamy butter and thyme flavored butter, with various types of breads. 

DESSERTS

I ordered the cheese plate. This was a tad disappointing for me since it was mostly "chevre" (goat cheese) and I'm not a big fan of goat cheese. It did have some shaved cow's cheese which was a little more aged. and I enjoyed that. It also came with a sweet little cake, which I passed on.

As for the the dessert it was a sorbet topped with rice pudding and wrapped with a nutty wafer. Strawberries was the theme of this dessert. At first you think the combination of the rice pudding with sorbet would be a strange combination, but it all came together magnificently.




WINES

As usual we ordered a bottle of a white and a red.

Domaine Serge Laloue, Sancerre, Loire, France 2015.  Sancerre is probably my all time favorite white wine. It's characterized has having light citric smoky notes with added white stone fruit and white peach freshness, with a balance of fruit and acidity.

Saumur Champigny Domaine Sanzay 2015.  It's a cabernet franc, which is known for their their roundness and freshness. It combines finesse, freshness and minerality; Tannic tip with a spicy finish.

And, as a parting gift we got some "mignardises" (bite size sweets). They were bitter sweet dark chocolate ganache encased in a hard-shelled round gold dusted chocolate ball. We also had some homemade caramel toffee and some various sweets. What a nice parting gift.











SUMMARY

As I mentioned chef Geaam has several restaurants in Paris. He is a well known restaurateur and chef in Paris. He designs all his restaurants and menus himself. We were lucky on this particular day because he was actually there. He told us he wants to focus more on the food; hence, he will soon be letting go of "AG" at the St. Germain de Prés" location. Simply because logistically, he was spreading himself way too thin between the 4-restaurants.

I actually enjoyed the meal a lot. JJ and J thought the amuse bouche, entrée and dessert were above average but the main somewhat ordinary, and J was just a tad disappointed in the pigeon, and he did admit that it was probably because he had higher expectations and his friend had put that dish on a pedestal.  But overall, I thought the food was excellent and the staff could not have been nicer. From the amuse bouche, carpaccio/soup extraordinaire, to the pigeon. Only thing I would change would be a nicer collection of cheeses.  I'm becoming a big fan of the Chef. Would I go back ABSOLUTELY.

For 3-people our bill for 3-courses, 3-filtered water, two bottles of wine, a coffee and and tea, it was 207€ or 69€ per person.