FLOYD’S -- Restaurant Review

11 rue d'Enghien
75010 Paris
tel: 01 44 79 05 52
website: http://www.floyds.fr/index.php?page=floyds-story
Metro: 4, 8, 9 (Bonne Nouvelle, Strasbourg St.Denis, Château d'eau

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

This restaurant was originally owned by a Bostonian Jaime Young in 2014 and was recently sold to Chris from southern California. A group of friends had gone a week earlier, and I wasn't able to go because I had a cold. But they came back and raved about the place and I made a commitment to go the following week with friends. If you are from the US, you know there is a variety of different types of BBQ from each state, especially the southern states, and each will tout their's as being the best bbq.  Floyd's is of the "Kansas City" style bbq, which is known for long smoking periods and covered with a rich tangy bbq tomato sauce typically sweetened with molasses.

The restaurant is very homey and in the background we heard American old classics from the 70's, 80's and 90's which we were all humming and singing to, which brought us back to home. The tables were nicely spaced.  One room had the original brick work which added a nice earthy feel.

We were told the lunch portions were a little smaller than the dinner portions.  The price point for lunch was very, very affordable. And, we were also told they served cocktails and they had quite the selection of beers.

Chris let me take a peek in their kitchen. They actually had a BBQ grill or should I say smoker in the kitchen. It was not as large as I expected it, but then again size is not everything, it's how you use it that counts. The meats are pre-cooked and then smoked.

They do have a bar. As ex-pats in Paris we know we are picky about our cocktails and in some respects kind of prejudice since we believe that no one makes better cocktails than Americans. We had our resident cocktail expert with us who ordered margaritas.  He simply stated it was the best margarita he's had in Paris.










ENTRÉES

Poitrine de porc (pork belly). One of us ordered this dish, and he absolutely loved it. He was kind enough to let me have one of the crackling strips which sat atop the pork.  It was nice and crunchy, but was full bodied enough that you could taste the pork.  The meat was melt in your mouth tender, and it was accompanied with some sweet pickles. Bottom line, the juxtaposition of the crunchy skin and moist tender meat and the sweet tangyness of the pickles was a hit.

BBQ meatballs.  Meatballs can be very dry if not made well. These meatballs were extremely moist. A nice sweet sauce encompassed the meatballs. Sometimes the most simple dishes can be the most difficult to execute. This was a very good simple, "down-home" style dish, done right.

Salade de Betteraves (beet salad).  Two of us ordered this for our entrées, and we loved it. Interestingly enough we kept saying, these beets taste like they were smoked, so we asked our waiter, and he confirmed that they were indeed smoked.  Smoking the beets brought the salad to a totally new level. The smokiness of the beets was congruous with the whole menu. I didn't even notice the dressing, since I was so wowed with the beets. Overall an excellent salad.




PLATS

Now onto the star of the menu. We convinced one of our friends who normally does not eat red meat to have their specialty, the BBQ ribs. So, we all had the dish. First of all, the ribs were so tender it was finger licking good. You got a nice size portion whereas in many other rib places the portions are quite small. The sauce was thick and sweet, I believed it was sweetened with maple syrup rather than molasses, but it also had a nice little after kick afterwards. We all concurred, it was one of the best ribs we've had in Paris.  We didn't even notice the accompaniments because the ribs were so good. The cornbread was characteristically dry, but had we ordered some butter that would've solved the problem.  Interestingly, they served us mac and cheese. I was told by several French restauranteurs that mac and cheese is strange for many French palates because it's too rich and thick.  It was definitely  "à ta façon" their way or their recipe, a lighter version of our mac and cheese. In other words it wasn't as cheesy and it was more "bready." Personally, I liked it because the ribs and sauce was rich enough.  And, you can't have ribs without coleslaw. The coleslaw was a simple red cabbage slaw. Nice, crispy and tangy, and it offset some of the sweetness of the ribs.

DESSERTS

Key lime pie.  I'm certainly not an expert on key lime pies, but my friend who ordered is. He loved the pie. I tasted a little bit of it, and it has a sharp tartness, but what I liked about it, it wasn't overly sweet like most American desserts. So, this pie was a hit.

S'mores pie.  The French will not know what s'mores are. Now who didn't like having s'mores as a kid.?Especially sticking those marshmallows into the fire pit and then having it melt the chocolate. This particular pie didn't exactly taste like a s'mores to me, but the interpretation was there. It was more like a creamy chocolate chiffon pie with a "sablé" crust.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, albeit very sweet for my taste. This would definitely be a chocolate lovers dessert.





SUMMARY

Talk about a great find. We could not stop raving about it among ourselves, about how lucky we were to have found an American bbq joint where you could sit down, be served and have a proper meal. The margaritas were great, the entrées, plats and desserts were all hits. The food is not "haute-cuisine" by any means, but in it's simplicity is a "soulful down-home" cooking style. Chris and his staff are fantastic. The previous owners apparently had different work operating hours, so it's not well known that they're open for lunch. Would we go back, in a nano second.

I typically review French (or French style, or ex-French colony) restaurants but this restaurant is down-home, rib joint, Americana, and I think it rates as good as any of the American ribs and rib joints I've been to in the States, and by far is the best we've found in Paris.  If you're missing a home-town (home-country) fix- go to Floyds.

With 2-margaritas, formules: 2-full lunches with dessert, and 2-entrée + plat, a bottle of rosé and 3-coffees are meal came to 42€ each.