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........................................€€................................... 1 - Bells
We were meeting with our old friends from the Bay area, so I selected restaurant primarily because it's close to their location. It's in the 8eme. We had a hell of time time getting there. We picked a day where the Chinese President Jinping was just around the corner for lunch. After being interrogated, and showed proof we had reservations, they let us pass the barricades.
This is a Corsican restaurant and I loved it since the menu was manageable and not a lot of choices, which I prefer. The interior is small, but very cozy.
ENTRÉE
NOTE: Not in the photo was an amuse bouche of tuna and toast.
Corsican product of charcuterie and cheeses. All were excellent products. The sausages were very rich and oily, but delicious. There is definitely enough to share for 4-people.
An excellent start.
PLATS
Stuffattu de sanglier au vin rouge, et sa polenta moelleuse. (Wild boar stuffattu with red wine and soft polenta)
This was a very hearty and rich dish. Two of us ordered this dish. I was expecting the sauce to be a little creamier and thicker, but it was more like a broth. The wild boar was not greasy and in fact the meat was quite lean. I think the intent was to mix your polenta with the broth to thicken it up.
It came with a streaky bacon which added much needed salt. It was a very good hearty dish; however, I found it under seasoned. All it really needed was more salt. Maybe because I've been living in France too long, but pork dishes are usually associated with salt. Otherwise, a very good dish.
JJ ordered this dish. Basically a "Figatelli" is a dry sausage made of pork liver and meat and flavored with spices, garlic and red wine. Whereas a "broccio" is like a ricotta cheese. Both very Corsican.
Jack absolutely loved this dish. Two were meat sausages, while one was made of chestnuts, figs and a little polenta, so was a tad sweet. But all the flavors combined was a hit.
A simple dish, but a powerful tasty dish.
NOTE: Our 4th visiter ordered the stuffed eggplant, which I did not taste, but she said it was delicious.
DESSERTS
Coupe Corsica: vanille, crème de marron, marron confit, chantilly. (Corsica cup: vanilla, chestnut cream, candied chestnut, whipped cream) -- This was the ice cream desert. I have to say, it was more whipped cream than anything else. Strewn between the thick layers of whipped cream there was chestnut syrup You really have to like whip cream for this desert. Personally, it was way too heavy on the whipped cream. I would've preferred plain vanilla ice cream with the chestnut flavoring.
Tiramisu au Nucciola, Marmelade d’orange. [Tiramisu with Nucciola, (hazelnut), Orange Marmalade] -- I didn't taste this dish, but our friend said it was a good dish, but nothing out of the ordinary, with maybe the addition of the hazelnut which probably was nutella and a bit of the marmalade.
Le Pain des Maures” façon pain perdu, boule glacée. (Bread of the dead) French toast style, with a ball of ice cream) -- Usually when I think of "Pain Perdu" I think of bread pudding. But this was actually a french toast. I took a bite of it, although very flavorful, it was cloyingly sweet for my taste. So, the vanilla ice cream was a good idea to counter balance the sweetness. A good dish for those who have a sweet tooth.
A Chardonnay that has strong fruity notes, but not sweet. Maybe a light melon taste with light citrus. We enjoyed it a lot. Even though it would've. been better served with seafood.
SUMMARY
We don't normally go to the 8eme for a meal. It's further out for us as well I find it to be a bit touristic. But I'm glad we found this restaurant. It's a small cozy restaurant with a manageable menu. When I say manageable, I mean simple. So you don't have to gloss over a lot of dishes. As I've said many times, I prefer a small menu with dishes made well, rather than a menu with a zillion choices, all made mediocre.
The entrées were products from Corsica. The plats were all good, aside from the boar being under seasoned, which a little salt helped. The desserts were all good, but sweet for my taste, and too much whipped cream incorporated with the chestnuts. I would have renamed it, "Whipped cream with chestnut syrup".
For a shared-entrés, 4-plats, 3-desserts, 2-coffees and a bottle of white wine came to €184.40 or €46 a person.
Would we go back ABSOLUTELY!
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