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A Disappointing Search for the Perfect
Fish
PARIS - Say ''fish restaurant'' and I'll be the first
to get in line at the door.
So the second my calendar was clear, I reserved a table
at the city's newest restaurant devoted to the fruits
of the sea,
Aristippe.
Nestled not far from the Palais Royal, this 40-seat
restaurant is an all-white affair, greeting you with
a welcoming entry that reminds you of a clean, white
front porch in the country.
Unfortunately, the second I stepped inside I was hit
not by a fresh sea breeze but a stale, stagnant, fishy
odor. And the evening pretty much went downhill from
there.
Gilles Le Galles, last seen cooking at La Barriere
de Clichy just outside Paris, has received a warm and
positive response from the French press, an enthusiasm
I simply cannot share.
Service at Aristippe - named for the Greek philosopher
Aristippus, who maintained that people should devote
their lives to the pursuit of pleasure - was slow as
slow can be. Waiters seemed to have no training (except
in how to ignore diners), and the food was universally
boring, uninventive, stuck in the mud.
The most disappointing dish of the evening was named
for one of France's greatest and most inventive fish
chefs, Gilbert Le Coze, who died in 1994. With his sister,
Maguy, he lit up the Paris food world in the 1980s at
the popular fish restaurant Le Bernardin, which set
new standards for freshness and simplicity.
Le Galles's version of Le Coze's langoustines roties
was dull and faded, a meager serving of langoustines
seared in their shells and bathed in a ho-hum sauce.
(I dearly wanted to march into the kitchen and say to
the chef: ''I knew Gilbert Le Coze. And you are no Gilbert
Le Coze.'')
Equally drab was the main-course blanquette de lotte,
not much more than a dreary portion of monkfish in a
creamed sauce, topped with a slice of grilled bacon
and a mound of
basmati rice. Likewise, the turbot (nicely paired with
salsify, a most under-utilized winter vegetable) could
have been any white fish, it was so lacking in personality.
If I had made the dull tarte fine aux pommes - thin
apple tart - I would have thrown it in the garbage and
gone back to the pastry board. The pastry had all the
flavor of a piece of cardboard and the fruit lacked
that delicious winter acidity that France's best apples
supply.
The only redeeming quality came from Domaine Mardon's
flinty white Quincy - a Sauvignon blanc with a smoky,
spicy nose - well priced here at 95 francs (about $16)
a bottle -
This is not a good moment for fish. Sushi lovers will
not be happy after a trip to the new and trendy Lo Sushi,
one of the chic and modern restaurants in the neighborhood
of the
Champs-Elysees.
Oh how I wish it were better, for the lively, beautiful
spot - designed by Andree Putman with its conveyor belt
of sushi at the bar, multimedia screens clicking away,
pastel-colored saucers to denote the price of each dish,
and cheery waitresses - could be just what the doctor
ordered. Alas, the sashimi was bland, while the rounds
of rice-filled
sushi just made it to the edible mark.
Best bets here were anything filled with a touch of
rich mayonnaise or sweet, ripe avocado. The cold sake
was insipid. But the spot is so popular that the doorman
(who, I'm sorry, more resembles a bouncer) turns hordes
away. For this, you have to reserve days in advance?
Aristippe, 8 Rue
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Paris 1;
tel: 01-42-60-08-80; fax: 01-42-60-11-13. Credit cards:
Visa, Amex. Closed
Saturday lunch, Sunday and two weeks in August. 170-franc
lunch menu;
220-franc tasting menu. A la
carte, 175 to 245 francs, including service but not
wine. Lo
Sushi, 8 Rue
de Berri, Paris 8; tel: 01 45-62-01-00; fax: 01-45-62-01-10.
Credit cards:
Visa, Amex, Mastercard. 15 to 40
francs a plate. About 150 to 250 francs a person, including
beverages.
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