La Cuisine de Chez Moi 14, rue Richer 75009 Paris Tél : 01 44 83 95 51 Open every evening Métros : Cadet, Bonne Nouvelle
The Pitch An unusual chinese restaurant; I had a little trouble learning to like it. It took three visits for me to really love this place. A friend who was a fan convinced me to return, and I had a great time: I ate well – good food for a good price!
The Meal Deep fried shrimp
Tripe with chinese sausage.
Frog's legs with fish and vegetables
We also had Dan Dan noodles and lamb with cumin on a platter.
Le Vin au Vert 70, rue de Dunkerque 75009 Paris Tel : 01 83 56 46 93 Closed on Sundays and Mondays Metro : Anvers
The Pitch I'd say Le Vin au Vert really is a caviste¹ – or in this case, two of them, Etienne and Sébastien – who serve food, since it is as much a wine shop as it is a wine bar. Up until now, I had only gone there to buy wine. But I must say that their home-style cooking is honest food: simple but well done.
1: caviste – a cellarman or wine vendor
(The photo of the menu was not taken on the same day I ate there)
The Meal Starters Charcuterie plate for 2 people
Dish of the day Free range chicken with mashed potatoes - 2 orders
Desserts Home-made apple tart and warm soft chocolate cake).
With 2 coffees and a glass of wine we have paid approximately €70.
La Clairière 43, rue Saint-Lazare 75009 Paris Tél : 01 48 74 32 94 Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and during school vacations It closes mid-afternoon and re-opens at 8 PM; 9 PM during spring/summer Métros : Trinité, Notre Dame de Lorette
Located between Notre Dame de Lorette and Trinité, this bistrot serves good home-style cooking. Careful what you order - the sandwiches are quite expensive (a jambon de pays¹ and comté cheese sandwich was €6.50), but the dish of the day was €10 at the bar (€1 extra if eating in the dining room). There was a good atmosphere and I ate well. This type of serious bistrot is becoming a rare thing.
1: Jambon de pays: cured ham ; literally means country ham
The meal Main dish (black pudding with mashed potatoes, a glass of wine (Minervois Léocadie), coffee: €13.20
La Lune de Jade 62, rue de Dunkerque 75009 Paris Tel : 01 53 20 06 08 Closed Sunday
The back story
As you know, I like La Lune de Jade a lot. It's calm, good and the food is presented well. The other day I needed a calm place to have a conversation, where I could feel like home. So I went to the Lune de Jade Saturday night, there was only us. When you know the place and you know you don't have to worry if it's empty, it's perfect. Otherwise I would understand an empty restaurant on a Saturday night could be a bit scary.
The meal
I have almost tried the whole menu, but I was still a bit afraid of the oyster sauce omelette. So let's go! The husband who is in the kitchen comes out to ask : "are u sure? it's really special", his wife adds "but all the Taiwanese students who come here love it because it's a typical meal from Taïwan".
Entries
It's super sweet, but it's very original. There are also some oysters inside, but I have to admit I didn't eat them all. I'm not sure I would eat all this after a New Year's Eve, but it's really interesting.
Homemade raviolis with pork
They're homemade, once a week. I wasn't so impressed. The raviolis were ok, but I thought they could have been more tasty or having more aromatic herbs.
Plates
Seafood with black pepper
That's one of my favourite meals in this restaurant, the black pepper, the pepperonis and the heat of the hot plate transform this frozen seafood and manage to give it life and taste! A real success!
Curty pork chop
This is good too, it's served with sesame seeds.
In addition to the rice, we also ate some vegetables boiled, with dry beef, regularly recommended by the owner, it makes a real difference with the rest of the lunch.
The verdict
3 Tsingtao beer or 5 I forgot, 2 entries 2 main plates with 2 side dishes: 23 euros per person, exatly the price I'm ready to pay to eat well cooked products with a bit of alcohol and in a quiet atmosphere, like home.
Gourmet (anciennement Green Light) 83, rue Rochechouart 75009 Paris Tél : 01 40 23 02 82 Open Monday to Saturday Samedi from 12h to 22h30
Gourmet (formerly Green Light)
Intro Because I created a special posting on the tapes they play at Gourmet, here is the link so that you can listen to the music as you read the review, as if you were there !
The back story Gourmet is pretty unique. First of all it’s Pakistani. Saghir the chef was explaining that he couldn’t recommend another good one in La Chapelle because ‘La Chapelle is Indian’. I didn’t know that it was so specific. Secondly it’s a little caterer that doesn’t look like much but who’s work I respect. I must admit that it took me a while to go in but once I discovered the place and it’s cuisine I found a really good deal. The front is a bit grim and you can still see the ’Vicky’ and ‘Green light’ sign boards from previous owners…But you have to go in !
The restaurant There’s two of them, Latif on the floor and Saghir in the kitchen. Latif can seem on a completely different planet, but –sometimes- connection is made. I asked Saghir if he could teach me Pakistani cooking. Not only did he answer yes without hesitation but he also did things properly. We met at 10h30 for the vegetables (I had to come back for the rice and meat), it lasted 2 hours and he gave me all the proportions and little tips, he gave me all his savoir-faire (know-how) which was very touching.
As I was in the kitchen I can guaranty that it’s clean. The rule here is to cook the three same dishes every day. So no preparation sits in the fridge for 3,4 days like it happens in bigger restaurants. Everything is cooked on the day or in the evening for the next day. Useless to say that he is constantly cooking the same dishes over and over again.
The Cuisine The lentils (it takes a long time : 1.5 hours)
The vegetables (he uses frozen vegetables that he customises with spices. It works !)
The result €6. The meat is prepared on the day by the next door butchers.
The naans are cooked in a wood coal oven.
You stick them on the side of the oven.
Done !
I’ve finally had an explanation for cheese naans. They put Vache qui rit (Laughing Cow) and when I asked if they had them in Pakistan he said that the cheese was too expensive. So over there it’s either plain Naan, patatoe or meat Naan.
