L'Hirondelle - Paris 75015

L'Hirondelle
123, rue de Brancion
Paris 75015
Tél : 01 42 50 60 60
Metro : Porte de Vanves
Tramway : Porte Brancion























The Pitch

L'Hirondelle is a traiteur¹ where you can have a sit-down meal on nicely set tables. There's even a little courtyard in the back where you can eat in the summer. Katia (the proprietress) makes everything herself (lentils with sausage, lasagna, strawberry charlotte, vinaigrette, etc.), and you can tell. A detail that makes a difference: the carafe of water with fresh mint leaves.

1 : Traiteur – an food establishement that sells prepared dishes; somewhat similar to a delicatessen in the US

The meal
Lasagna & a green salad with a glass of Côtes du Rhône, strawberry charlotte and coffee : €16














Dessert

Strawberry charlotte and coffee

Feyrouz - Paris (75015)

Feyrouz

8 Rue de Lourmel

75015 Paris

Tél : 01 45 78 07 02

Métro : Dupleix

Open everyday from 9 am to 2 am
→ the website

The back-story

It was recommended by the baker Gonatran Cherrier dans Le Figaroscope He had given some tips in the 15th which looked cool, easy going and unpretentious. So I went to check some of the adresses (Manna, Au dernier métro) and discovered this lebanese restaurant located in the beginning of the Lourmel street.

The restaurant

It's big and people who come to take away are a bit lost, myself included. So we look all to each other trying to find the correct way, it's not very clear. You can feel the house is well maintained as it's often the case in these typical big lebanese restaurants but there is still something a bit , like their website : on the homepage you can find some good parts but also some other with some visible html code and also some bad advertise.

Le sandwich

The sandwich is top (this one was with chicken), very thin and with a crispy bread. The student menu works even for people who are not student since a long time : 7 euros with sandwich, drink & loukoum.

Le verdict

It's a good address, I'm hapy to know one more in the 15th arrondissement. Plus it's always good to know where you can find a formule including a good sandwich. The quality of this one should remain the same during the next 50 years.

Le Beurre Noisette - Paris (75015)

Le Beurre Noisette
68, rue Vasco de Gama
75015 Paris
Tél : 01 48 56 82 49
Closed Sunday & Monday
Métro : Lourmel

The back story

It's a very good table hold by the chef Thierry Blanqui. It had been reccomended to me by someone working in the tourism field and living in the 15th arrondissement so she was used to invite her clients in the good tables of the area.

I quickly checked on the web before going and saw the spot as been included in the Fooding guide. The problem I have with this guide sometimes, it's not the proper quality of the food served in the spots they recommend but more the atmosphere and the service. It's hard to know while reading the chronicles if you're gonna be received by cool people or some jerks.

About the le Beurre Noisettes, I was think : I definately have to go.

The restaurant

It's well decorated even if it's quite minimal. In some places I think the tables are a little bit too close from one another. But the day I came, there wasn't any loudy people so that was ok.

What impressed me when I came in it's that I was immeditaley wecome by a smily hello from the girl behind the counter. Then our waiter had a cool head. What does "cool head" mean ? Honestly I cant' say, just someone not arrogant, someone you think it's easy to get on with.

The meal

Starters

Oysters browned with pork's feets and chorizo

I have toi say I was a bit scary it would be too heavy but that was perfectly ok, on the moment. It's more during the afternoon that I had a not so ok digestion. but honestly I can't blame the freshness of any ingredient, it's just it was a bit heavy for me too much this day. But I don't have any regret, it was extremely original and the oysters were perfectly cooked. Plus 4 oysters, it's quite a lot ! (onlly 2 on the pix)

Velouté de céleri au foie gras

Cream of celery soup with foie gras

The person who took it enjoyed it a lot

Mains
Seabass with artichokes from Brittany (the famous french region for artichokes)

The fish was exactly cooked as I like, medium-rare, almot al dente. The artichokes were very good too but I had the regret there wasn't any more. I had 3 in my plate, it was not enough for me. So I asked the waiter if I could get some more, he immeditaly accepted and came back quickly with a small ovenproof dish full of them. He explained me these artichokes were very expensive that's why they didn't put more.

Dessert
Pineapple with coconut icecream

Very light and fruity dessert, exactly what I like to end a lunch, especially one like this.

Verdict

It's a good address ! It's good and the team was friendly. I have to check it again. For a 45 euros meal, it's definately one of my favourite with Les Fougères and Itinéraires.

Casa Palenque - Paris (75015)

Casa Palenque
22, rue de l’Arrivée
75015 Paris
Tél : 01.43.38.12.27
Open from 8am to midnight from Monday to Saturday
→ the website










I had mentioned their relocation from rue Saint Maur to rue de l’Arrivée, in front of the gare Montparnasse, and made sure that their Caipirinhas were still amongst the best in Paris (with their new outside space it works) but I still hadn’t been back for a meal. It’s now done and I feel like saying “Caramba, they’ve done it again!’












The pitch
The name suggests family and home. And not just for me, because I know them, everyone gets treated the same, you feel comfy in one of the best Mexicans of Paris and also one of the nicest restaurants of the city.
€107 for 3 with appetizers, a starter and a main with a bottle of wine.

The prices have gotten heavier by a few euros with the relocation from the 11th to the 15th. This wasn’t spurred by the boss’ sudden desire to create a money-spinning machine but by the realities of Parisian rent and of a changeover from a small restaurant on rue Saint Maur to a big brasserie in the heart of Montparnasse.
However the menu presentation is quite helpful in that the dishes go from the cheapest to most expensive.
What’s for sure though is that it’s still as good and it’s very unlikely that you’ll have tasted something similar in the capital yet. If ever you have, please do let me know, I’d love to check out other top notch Mexican - as well as Central or South American- eateries.













The decor
It’s unavoidably a little odd for the moment. You don’t transform an impersonal ‘trendy-slick’ restaurant ‘boasting’ plasma screens and facing Montparnasse into a Mexican family casa, well…not over night that is.
But since the spring’s emergency opening it’s warmed up considerably and we’re starting to feel at home again. I really like the outside space and the layout inside is very original. And since originality creates personality, I’m sure it will become a hot spot in no time. The rue Saint-Maur regulars have started to come and are mingling with the tourists, it’s going to work…










The meal
So… that evening.

Starters
Antojitos Mexicanos for 2 pers., €12.
We were 3 and had enough.
Let me be honest : Madame Riojas introduced all the ingredients and sauces and I remembered nothing. A blogger’s commitment to constant note-taking hasn’t sunken in yet. What matters to me is to eat well and take pleasure in the meal. I was just too hungry this time and wanted to enjoy it.










Main course
Chile relleno de queso
Chile poblano (from the Puebla region): a whole pepper stuffed with melted cheese and coated with tomato sauce, wow! So good…
Vegetarian dish for €12, new on the menu, delicious and ideal for diner.










I’m sorry that I still can’t afford a better camera. I’ve often been told that my pictures could be better and I agree but when I see what other bloggers use I think that it’s no wonder that their pictures are better focused on the varied textures to be found on a same plate, particularly in low light. Unfortunately my compact cannot achieve that.
All this to say that the pic of my chilli relleno probably won’t make it to the international festival of photojournalism (1) but what matters is that it was a killer !

Impossible to have a dessert after that. The bill please !

Verdict
I’m trying to find the ultimate sentence that would say it all.
Casa Palenque is a killer Mexican that offers the certainty of a unique human and culinary experience.

(1) Visa Pour l’Image in Perpignan