Mythic! - Le Petite Maison In Nice

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There are  restaurants on the Cote D'Azur, past and present that gain mythic reputations! Oasis at La Napoule, Felix in it's hey day on the Croissette in Cannes (No Longer, now a tourist trap), gone too are the three star glory days of the Moulin de Mougins and though we have eclipsed the apogee of Tetou in Golfe Juan it is still really good! Gladly Nicole Rubi's Petite Maison is firmly ensconced in this constellation of gourmet greatness.  I get happy from the moment I know that I'm going to be eating there. Happily, Nicole loves me and I love her, I know there are others who find her brusque and obstreperous but I'm not one of them! I'm mad for her! Perhaps it is because she's my " Pissaladiere dealer"!!

This is the good stuff meltingly sweet confit of onions on a flaky pastry tart with little diamonds of Niçoise of olives, hit with salt a sliver of hidden anchovy or two and a little olive oil. This is the region on a plate.  The best idea here is to come with friends, friends who like to share and order many starters rather than the main courses which are less beguiling. This joint is packed, tables caddy corner one another, serious eating is going down! Battered courgette blossoms are the trumpet that warns spring that summer is next. The beignets are served with a tomato dip! Incredibly good! Yes dear reader them there are some gooooood eating tomatoes! Raw purple spiked artichokes are given olive oil and lemon juice dressing! Superb simplicity! Grain mustard, toasted crusty bread, confit tomatoes, coarse salt and piping oven hot veal marrow bones are served family style, make sure you get at least one for each diner!  Tuna carpaccio with mango dice is drizzled with the OO and covered in Riquette, which is French for Roquette (English) or Arugula (USA) PS - in some parts of France they use the sobriquet - Roquette too as it is already French!! The petit farci are stuffed veggies such as courgettes, eggplant and tomatoes brimming with meat and veg. The star of the show this night were the warm jumbo shrimp cut on the bias and served with julienned basil and OO and Lemon emulsion. The shrimps were slight warm, soft not springy with a never been frozen quality, scrumptious to oh00oooo and ahhh extremes! Calamari were exemplary and moreish, what is there not to like about crisp, hot fried goodness? Continuing the trend breaded rosemary chevre boules melt in your mouth good! Spicy tomato and basil chili spaghetti rounds out this evening. We got a freebie refreshing mandarine sorbet to cleanse the palate!  This is a wonderful place to eat with friends, not good for stiffy biz meals at all. Remember you'll want to pass plates and eat family style. The room is darkly lit but beautifully accented by the candles that dress light on to the baskets of lemons and vines of tomatoes that act as edible table features. Nicole sold a franchise to the ZUMA owners in London and have opened up a stellar UK outpost behind Claridges in Brooks Mews but whilst it is faithful to it's mothership the food is more fussy and the menu much longer. http://www.lpmlondon.co.uk ie: More is less! Le Petite Maison in Nice is an institution, it merits it's laurels and does not sit on them at all!!! The current Nice menu is below! Pissaladière Olives de Nice en tapenade, radis et cébettes Cœurs de laitues à la Caesar’s Marinade de poissons et crustacés Thon finement taillé, citron, cébette, piment rouge et mangue Coquilles Saint-Jacques marinées, pépites de truffres Les petits farcis Niçois Salade haricots verts extra fin à l'huile d'olive et vieux balsamique avec foie gras Salade d’Artichauts violets Tomates pays, mozzarella di buffala, basilic et huile d'olive Fins beignets de fleurs de courges Salade de Nice Salade aux parfums d’orient Le chèvre frais rôti à la crème de romarin Foie gras de canard, caramel de balsamique Saumon fumé Maison, Pain aux céréales et chantilly Avocat au saumon fumé en salade Spaghetti à la tomate fraîche et aux piments Truffes : Melanosporum Oeufs de poule au plat, mouillettes aux truffes Salade mélangée, herbes et truffes Brouillade de truffes Maccaroni aux truffes Risotto aux truffes Langouste puce Royale de la Méditérranée rôtie Homard bleu grillé Salade de homard bleu, fruits et légumes Coquilles Saint-Jacques nacrées, rissolées à l’ail Les grosses crevettes à l'ail et au four Les crevettes tièdes à l'huile d'olive et basilic Les crevettes grillées et flambées Crevettes et crabe en tempura, sauce spéciale Calamaretti fritti Grenouilles dorées au beurre, ail et persil Rougets de roche du pays en friture Loup de pêche locale cuisiné "comme on aime" Loup cuit dans la croûte de sel Sole de petit bateau cuite au beurre Thon comme un tournedos au poivre Linguini onctueux au homard La Côte de Bœuf avec moëlle Le filet de Boeuf au poivre, grillé béarnaise et Rossini Le châteaubriand Poulet Fermier élévé au grain, farçi au foie gras Côte de Veau de lait Fermier cuisinée en cocotte  http://www.lapetitemaison-nice.com/ 11 Rue Saint François de Paule - 06300 Nice | Tel. 04 93 92 59 59 | Fax. 04 93 92 28 51

Thoumieux, Oh boy are we gonna have fun!

I'm so glad to have found Thoumieux, radically renovated and updated to becoming the cool eaterie of Le Moment in Paris.

I spoke to the chef (ok, ok, ok I do that without much excuse) Jean Francois Piege, I accused him of culinary robbery, "hands up, I'm guilty, why not take a bit of this and a bit of that from ITALY, FRANCE, and SPAIN, that's what's modern cookery is about" our chef exclaims! Mixing is only one part of the game here what's more awe is the brilliance of Piege's culinary reinvention.

With all the magic on the plates it's no surprise that the joint is mirrors, mirrors and more mirrors everybody is flattered by the lighting and that may explain why there is a distinct difference to the night and day clientele. I went for Lunch and Dinner on the same day so this is what I know.

The lunch crowd is the business end of show and dinner is ....show business. One sexy crowd, people watchers will be rewarded as the place is elbow to elbow with the in-crowd or as the French say tres MONDAIN! Definition belonging to fashionable society. The music at night is a twinge to loungey loud for me though!

I love menus where the choice is complicated and many selections sing to your palate, "choose me!" When you run down the menu you'll wish that you are with at least three good friends who want to share the tastes.

With the menu you are given a DIARY (I'll leave you to discover it) and this:

Here it is from another angle:

The crusty bread, which is outrageous by the way served with a cup of flaky salt, for the raw milk pat of butter and a sardine tin that does in fact contain sardines that have been smushed with "Vache Qui Rit" (Cow Who Laughs brand of French soft white processed cheese) I dare you to resit this! Impossible!

The signature dish is the pizza revisted!

You are going to have fun with this one, a souffled matzo wafer thin crisp crust (that's the pizza part) covered in a dress of wild arugula, nestled on smoked tuna, sprinkled with a Parmesan shower,  all of this cocooning a hidden trove of burrata and calamata olive puree like a secret purse within.  This is  wild to eat,  imploding with the first fork.

The optical delusions just carry on with squid Carbonara... Here is how it looks as it set before you.

Hidden under the Carbs is an egg yolk, the smokiest of crisp bacon, a little creme fraiche, more Parmesan and grind of corse pepper but then when you fork the plate you do a double take.

 Hey that's not spaghetti at all but the calamari in question.  One word Superb!

Even this serving of asparagus takes the ordinary to extraordinary it lifts a perfect spear to new vistas with a hard boiled egg mustard vinaigrette, coating and glistening each mouthful. Pass the bread!

More humor pearl barley Paella with pimenton spanished shrimps and grilled piquillos!

Is this this is all becoming clearer....

Goujonettes of sole here served with an air light whipped tartare sauce that is robust and lifted by the squeeze of fresh limes.

Raw and Cooked Fois Gras, is first pan fried then pressed hot into a terrine to cure. It's plated with raw apple and some spiced apple sauce. A great duo, take notes!!

VITELLO TONNATA is revisited in the Quasi de Veau to brilliant effect. Look at this next picture closely.

If you click on the picture above it will enlarge and I will point out some rather clever twists. In the back of the plate is a tube like pate paste of preserved lemons with tuna which is the tonatto condiment of the veal. The meat has been seasoned with more than salt and pepper and the jus encroaches under the mash potato which is topped by purple spud chips. Serious YUM, YUM

Corn fed chicken, morels, cream and spinach....

 Pork belly crusted in crispy onions and crackling with shredded cabbage!!! Hey I said Crackling!!!

Dessert does not let the side down one jot either.

Churros and Rolls are covered in popping sugar that sets off a noisy clack click in the mouth is served with dipping hot chocolate and turned to order vanilla ice cream. One day we will all have a Paco Jet.

Here Creme Caramel revisited, we have the cream for sure, but imagine a mixture of the best of  genre meets Creme Brulee, Hybrid to be sure, I shot  two angles so you could see the crispy top and the depths of the salted thick salted caramel  base below the vanilla speckled cream.. I  would go back just for this!

If you add great service, valet parking and great value at less than 50 euros a head, then you'll understand why you'll leave as one happy camper!

Thoumieux ... and now for my next trick!!!

http://www.thoumieux.fr/

Open every day lunch and dinner till 23h30

9 RUE SAINT-DOMINIQUE | 75007 PARIS | T 01 47 05 49 75 |

Bouchon et L'Assiette

I had heard rumblings of a rather good address in the 17th quarter of Paris. Personally I have always considered this a rather boring lackluster part of the city, very residential to be sure and buzzless but the reports kept coming and I wondered whether like Hier and Aujourdui (a superb 17th restaurant) Bouchon et L'Assiette was worthy of a cross town jaunt. It is a miniscule restaurant I guess 30 covers in two adjoining rooms. The food was quite modern and delicious with menus that change daily.

I started with a lovely fois gras special served over a hot pineapple and ginger chutney! This was a wonderful combo, the snipped spring onions add a raw freshness to the dish and the chutney was made bolder with corse cracked black peppercorns which were remarkably appropriate in the melange.

I was rather pleased with my main course too, Crispy belly of pork with cabbage

 

This is true modern bistro fare, just scrumptious food well done.

For dessert and mascarpone Mont Blanc with whipped chestnut puree all good and worthy of the detour to be sure. 

 

Final notes the owners are hands on, as it should be, the prices are very, very reasonable around 30 / 40 Euro a head without wine.

Bouchon et L'Assiette

127 Rue Cardinet

Paris 17

Steak Frites.... the best I know!

Ok before the debate begins, L'entrecote (Rue Marbeuf Paris 8e) rocks, it's my second favorite steak frites in Paris. A close second, almost equal first; but first is first and for me that can only be....

Les Gourmet des Ternes!

 

One of the quirky and eccentric things about this restaurant is they have a sign permanently in the window at night saying the joint is full! (COMPLET) it always is. However, this is one place that can and will always squeeze you in if you show up without a reservation. Anglo/US friendly owner Jean Francois Marie is made for this business, host, food salesman and a supreme restauranteur, my kinda people. His ego wall is filled with the good, the bad and the ugly of who's who, yes they all eat here! Kinda impossible not to rub up with a celeb or two!! The entrees are served family style, and the food is simply done to perfection. The list of superlatives are, best:

non mayonnaise potato salad, beef salad, lentil salad and braised endive....but I come here for two other very special dishes which are best in class!

  

The Piece de Boeuf or steak this is a portion for one and half for those that like it rare!

Here  for one for those that like medium rare!

Served with bone marrow, pepper sauce Steak au Poivre and hand cut and made french friest "Frites" do you see the extra dusting of pepper in the sauce boat?

Now as I had mine plain, I took the liberty to snap my neighbour who happened to be mid plate, the tables are elbow tight, but that is the charm of the place. I have had some wonderful chats with tables on the left and right over the years too.

You can see my neighbour in mid flow, turned out his name was Andre! 

Here Is a shot of my steak close up so you can see the flavor of this meat which grazes on salted marsh land!

The final treat, and in fact it is a life changing taste you must order the BABA, a syrup soaked brioche which is served with a pot of creme fraiche so thick you need two hands to use the serving spoon, crushed strawberries and a rum bottle. 

This dessert is quite simply one of the reasons people travel to the Gourmet des Ternes. Try googling BABA Gourmet des Ternes and you get 6730 references just to this one dessert... HELLO !!! In fact I know vegetarians who eat the lentils and potato salad, the braised endive and then jump to double portions of the BABA. If you don't live in Paris this will be the restaurant that you will visit everytime you hit the city of lights!!

87 Bvd De Courcelles Paris