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By David Fingleton Paris
THIS is the time to be dining in Paris. When I wrote about Parisian restaurants early last year there were just eight and a half francs to the pound, and even then there were bargains to be had. How much more so now that a pound buys ten francs, making most Parisian restaurants seem dis- tinctly cheap, and even the more expensive ones reasonable when compared with the inflated prices of fashion-conscious London establishments. That, of course, is the nub of it: Parisian restaurants can certainly be chic, but they do not set out to impress either by fashion or the fame of their clien- tele. They are about eating and drinking in agreeable surroundings and agreeable com- pany, not, as here in London, about 'the- atre'. Long may it last.
My recent week in Paris produced one delicious meal after another in establish- ments that were neither expensive nor `smart', save the last, Le Carre des Feuil- lants, liked by President Chirac and, on the night I ate there, patronised by a young Parisian ‘BCBG' brigade, yet having in its proprietor Alain Dutournier, from near Bayonne, a brilliant chef at the helm. Even there the six-course 'Idees de la saison' menu (plus amuse-bouche, canapes and petits fours) costs just £68 a head, with their own skilful selection of four accompa- nying wines priced at £19 a head, so that the entire meal, service included, costs just £87 per person: not cheap, but certainly far less than a London equivalent.
Before this final treat chez Dutoumier there had been much to enjoy at more modest but no less meticulous establish- ments. In rue St Andre-des-Arts in the Latin Quarter, the intimate 'restaurant du quartier' Chez Allard has been giving plea- sure for decades. Thirty years ago, when M. Allard was still in command, Michelin gave it the remarkable rating of one knife and fork and two cooking stars, something one would not find today when the priorities set by the Guide have radically changed. Thus now, its premises cleaned but not changed, and owned and run by the Layrac brothers, formerly of the nearby Petit Zinc and Muniche, Allard retains its single Michelin knife and fork, and has lost its stars, but not the capacity to provide delicious, modestly priced food and wines, and enormous joie de vivre.
When I dined at Allard with three Parisian friends on a chilly mid-April evening, we were amused to note how many English customers had taken refuge from the cold, and how happy they seemed. At Allard the three-course set dinner comes at Fr200 (£20), and most dishes are also to be found on the a la carte, which is scarcely more expensive. We all settled for the set dinner and were delighted to have done so. Annie and her husband Pierre- Henri much approved their terrine de foie de volaille fluff:6, with the hint of bitterness that bespeaks a satisfactorily high percent- age of chicken livers, Stephanie was delighted with her salade des haricots et magret de canard fume — a winning com- bination — and I was entirely happy with my impeccably made, utterly traditional plate of jambon persille. Next, Pierre-Henri and I shared a gloriously cooked whole duck, buried beneath a positive grove of olives (an Allard speciality back in the Six- ties), Annie much enjoyed her braised calf's kidneys au madere, and Stephanie strongly approved the plat du jour of tasty navarin of lamb. Pierre-Henri and I shared a tarte la rhubarbe, admirably astringent, for dessert, Annie indulged in a gorgeous sym- phonic aux trois chocolats — a cake in three movements — and Stephanie settled for the day's lime sorbet. With coffee and a fine magnum of Château Ramage la Batisse (Medoc) 1993 — a bargain at £40 — our entire meal came to just over £130 for four. Where on earth could you find that value in London?
The following night at Vaudeville, the stunning art deco brasserie opposite the Bourse, part of the Jean-Paul Bucher's Flo chain, which includes La Coupole, I dined equally well, and equally economically, with an Oxford language student, Jane Barrett, who has just started on the French section of her 'year out', and Laetitia Gassiot, who is personal translator to the head of AGF. Vaudeville offers a three-course dinner for just Fr169, including a half-bottle of mus- cadet, rosé de Provence or Bordeaux rouge, and the carte is also commendably moder- ately priced. Jane chose the dinner and began with six Breton belondines oysters, going on to excellent fillet of duck au poivre vert, and ending with a splendid tulipe of pears flambes in eau de vie: aston- ishing value. Laetitia and I took the carte and started with the fines de claire oysters from the Marenne (six medium-sized for Fr78) and Laetitia continued with grilled morue (salt cod), served with puree pota- toes au jus de truffes for Fr99.50, and I rev- elled in the house speciality of fresh duck foie gras escalopes, cooked with a sauce containing grapes — a total winner at Fr135. Laetitia ended with prune and armagnac ice cream, and I greatly approved my granite of apples served with a glass of old calvados. With half a bottle of mus- cadet and a bottle of Georges Duboeuf Morgon, plus coffee, this glorious meal came to under £85 for all of us. How do they do it?
After such good-value eating Alain Dutournier had plenty to prove. Le Carte des Feuillants, just off rue de Rivoli, is immensely elegant and offers immaculate, relaxed service under the genial direction of Patrick Vildary. It has two Michelin stars and four knives and forks, and is clearly looking for a third star. I dined there with Jane Barrett, and we decided it would be wicked not to try their seasonal six-courser.
So we began with heavenly langoustines, in the shell, slightly caramelised, with a nougatine biscuit with young garlic: sub- lime. So was the next dish of plump scallops cooked in filo pastry with whole truffles, accompanied by a timbale of young cab- bage, chopped with a hint of smoked had- dock. The third entree was a single large asparagus spear, wrapped with a truffle, beside it a blob of dark truffle oil sauce and a soft-boiled egg encased in the lightest sauted breadcrumbs, with the yolk seeping towards the asparagus: this was cooking become art. There followed some of the tenderest agneau de lait from the Pyrenees, the rack roasted with cress and accompa- nied by a patty of corn studded with morilles: more perfection. Then came a green salad with a creamy dressing and wafer-thin slices of vieux brebis sheep's cheese, again from the Pyrenees. Our feast ended with pistachio biscuit and ice cream with new strawberries, just arrived from sunnier Montpellier. The wines selected were a fascinating chardonnay from the Jura, a fine red '93 from Rousillon, an excellent bordeaux Canon Fronsac 1990, and a remarkable almond marsala with the dessert. When I add that the management then prevailed upon us to try three differ- ent armagnacs with our coffee, you can tell just how memorable an evening this was.
Le Came des Feuillants: 14 rue Castiglione, 75001 Paris; tel: 01 42 86 82 82.
Chez Allard: 41 rue St Andre-des-Arts, 75006 Paris; tel: 01 43 26 48 23.
Vaudeville: 29 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris; tel: 01 40 20 04 62.
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