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Parisian Dining: A Study in Contrasts
PARIS – Last week’s dining offered a supreme
study in contrasts in Paris dining. First there’s
Wadja, an old faithful Left Bank Montparnasse bistrot,
comfortable as one’s favorite pair of shoes.
Then one settles into the restaurant of the moment,
Baccarat crystal’s sumptuous and other worldly
Cristal Room in the private mansion in the well-bred
16th arrondissement.
I don’t think it would be possible to have a
bad time at Wadja, where the welcome, the daily menu,
the wine list and the jovial wait staff all make it
all so easy to let down your hair, rest your elbows
on the table, and dig into a good evening’s fun.
Old bistro classics – such as the heart-warming
leg of lamb that’s cooked for a full seven hours
--- gigot à sept heures – is almost always
on the menu here, and when it is, do order this moist
lamb dish, washed down with one of their bargain wines.
We adored the meaty red Côtes du Rhône,
the Domaine la Montagnette, from one of the region’s
top wine cooperatives, Cave Estezargues, priced at
30 €. Daily specialties might include the freshest
of Brittany’s scallops – coquilles saint
Jacques -- simply seared, or a soothing starter of
artichokes cooked à la barigoule – braised
in white wine and herbs – served with shavings
of Parmesan. Ask for a large bottle of water and the
waiter playfully replies: water comes in half bottles,
wine in full bottles.
Barracat’s Cristal Room is the kind of place
about which no one can be blasé. The famed French
crystal manufacturer has closed its doors on the famed
Rue Paradis in the city’s 10th arrondissement
and grouped together a show room, a museum and restaurant
in one of the city’s grandest private homes,
one might even say it’s a palace. Everything
about this ultra-modern place glistens, shines, reflects,
reverberates. And just about everything about this
totally re-focused 1880’s mansion makes you gasp
and even giggle, for everywhere your eye falls, the
visual contrasts and surprises make you take notice,
reflect.
It’s clear that the ubiquitous designer Philippe
Starck had his hand in all of this, and the results
are both good and bad. On the good side, I love that
modern design can have a sense of humor, make us laugh.
Most of all it makes us reflect on styles, the whys
and hows. In the main dining room, the walls have been
taken down to bare red brick and framed in gilt mirrors.
All the while trappings of elegance, from the giant
crystal chandeliers to the vast marble fireplace mantles,
remind us that this house has serious bones. Crystal,
of course is everywhere, in the form of chandeliers,
candelabras, wine glasses, water glasses, carafes,
carafes, carafes.
The dining room may glisten, but it sure lacks comfort.
The banquettes are totally impossible: Posture is not
even an issue, you just can’t sit comfortably
or elegantly perched at the edge of a sofa. And the
dainty, gilt, party-rental chairs are simply too tiny
for most male bottoms. Now Baccarat will want to tar
and feather me for this, but their wine glasses are
simply inadequate for any wine appreciation or enjoyment.
The footed, faceted crystal ware may be classic and
pretty, but the bowl is too small to swirl or stick
your nose into, and the thickness of the crystal gives
you the impression that you’re drinking out of
a jelly jar.
But on to the food and service, both of which merit
at least a visit. I expected the food to be an after
thought, and though it bends over backwards to be the
chicest of chic – and awkwardly so – the
food does have merit, despite the fact there seems
to be a certain smug dismissiveness of the real pleasures
of gastronomy. An amuse bouche of frothy langoustine
cappuccino topped with the thinnest sliver of fresh
black truffles was delicious --- redolent of the sea,
warm, soothing, with a nice long finish. I can’t
imagine any foie gras lover not wanting to go back
for the foie gras crème brulée, truly
a gratin dish filled with shimmering foie gras topped
with a sugary crust. The contrast of the rich and fatty
duck liver and the gentle sugar sweetness was truly
brilliant. I didn’t quite get the point of what
they called “ephemeral oyster ravioli” --
a single plump oyster from Prat ar Coum in Brittany – surrounded
by a touch of jelly and bathed in cream. But what there
was of it, was delicious. Their already famed club
sandwich – a mile-high classic of chicken, bacon,
mayo and plenty of toasted pain de mie – is indeed
quite something, but I for one have never figured out
how one is supposed to attack a club sandwich without
disfiguring it as you dismantle and devour. The grilled
dorade – served whole and cooked to perfection – would
be hard to improve on and the thick veal chops was
equally fine. A cheese course of the creamy, fragrant
seasonal cow’s milk Mont d’Or from the
Jura was indeed delicious but the accompanying “poire à croquer” was
just that, to crunch with vigor. It was rock hard.
The wine list offered some good buys but they were
out of most of them that night. We loved what they
did have in stock, an always reliable red Faugères
from the Languedoc, well-priced at 25 € a bottle.
(But do watch the prices: We were charged 25 € for
a bottle of Faugeres, but then 54 € for three
glasses of a less interesting Savigny les Beaune, offered
by the glass!). The bread needs improvement and chocolate
chip cookies at the end are simply silly. Reservations
are among the most precious in town. My hairdresser
told me friends paid a bribe to get in.
Wadja
10 rue de la Grand Chaumière
Paris 6 Telephone 01 46 33 02 02
Closed Sunday and Monday at lunch. Credit card:
Visa. A la carte, 35 € per person, including
service but not wine.
Cristal Room
11, place des États Unis
75116 Paris
Telephone : 01 40 22 11 10
Fax : 01 40 22 11 99
email: cristalroom@baccarat.fr.
Closed Sunday. All major credit cards. 25 to 86 € per
person, including service but not wine.
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