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Shades of Lyon in a Paris Bistro
PARIS - Francoise Petit promised herself four things:
She would never marry a chef; she would never own a
restaurant; she would never live in Paris, and she would
never have a daughter who was a Virgo.
Well, now the 34-year-old Francoise Constantin has
all four, and she is as giddy as a schoolgirl.
At the age of 17, she began working as a waitress at
the quintessential Lyonnais bistro Cafe des Federations.
During her 13 years there she and her patron, Raymond
Fulchiron, became minor celebrities in the food world,
as gastronomes came from far and near to hear their
banter and chow down on saucissons chauds, andouillettes,
blanquette de veau and platters of weeping Saint-Marcellin
cheese, all washed down with tumblers of sturdy Morgon.
In 1994 Francoise left Lyon for Paris and promptly
broke her three other promises. Since April she and
her husband, the chef Daniel Constantin, have been happily
installed at the Auberge Pyrenees-Cevennes, the classic
Parisian bistro that was also known as Chez Philippe
and run by Philippe Sebource until his death least year.
With hams and sausages hanging from the rafters, colorful
old tile floors and rustic stone walls, the bistro remains
thankfully unchanged.
And while the Constantins have maintained many of the
old standbys - platters of sausages and cured meats
and cassoulet - they have also added such Lyonnais classics
as robust green salads loaded with top-quality cured
bacon; a rich and densely flavored pork sausage, and
those Saint-Marcellin cow's milk cheeses from Mere Richard
in Lyon.
Chef Constantin, who has been at the stove since the
age of 14, is a classic French cook - a dying breed
of those who have French cooking in their very veins,
and it shows in everything that comes from his spotless
kitchen.
The food has soul, character and an honesty one rarely
sees today in simple bistro fare.
The chef's battery of sturdy copper pots that he brought
from the Eiffel Tower after working there for a decade
attest to his determination and respect for French cuisine.
''You can't make a Bearnaise in stainless steel,''
he likes to say.
Daily specials here might include thick slices of exquisitely
flavorful saddle of lamb seared on an ancient gas grill;
a rich and creamy potato gratin, and an impeccably prepared
plateful of sauteed girolles mushrooms.
The 43-year-old chef's motto is: ''It is simple to
do, but difficult to succeed at.''
Wines all come from small producers and have been selected
by Francoise. Try the silky Chiroubles cru Beaujolais
Domaine du Clocher from Jean-Noel Melinand, or the fresh
and fruity Coteaux du Lyonnais, available by the
glass or the traditional Lyonnais pot.
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Auberge Pyrenees-Cevennes, 106, rue de la Folie-Mericourt,
Paris 11
Tel: 01-43-57-33-78.
Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Credit card: Visa.
148-franc ($25) menu. A la carte, 160 to 210 francs.
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