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Les Allobroges:
Return to an Old Time Favorite
PARIS – Some chefs work as architects, creating
food that is well-constructed, beautiful, pleasing to
the eye. All too often that food ends up being timid,
falling short of flavour and long term pleasure.
Other chefs – and it’s Olivier Pateyron
of Les Allobroges that I have in mind – go for
the big bang, creating food that sort of grabs us by
the collar, wraps itself around us and makes us very
happy.
It’s been years since I made a return visit to
Pateyron’s cozy restaurant hidden in the city’s
20th arrondissement. And as soon as I stepped inside
once again -- the warm welcome, the cheery fabrics all
about, the big smiling face of chef Pateyron and careful
service of his wife, Annette -- made me realize I’d
been away too long.
It’s hard to believe that he has been behind
the stove of the tiny family spot for 20 years, offering
a very personal, generous cuisine that is easy for anyone
to understand. Still on the menu you’ll find his
ultimately delicious braised lamb shanks, cooked long
and slow, until the meat falls off the bone in perfect
tenderness, paired with an avalanche of sweet garlic
cooked in its jackets.
His current 31 euro menu is a bargain-hunter’s
dream, including a brilliant rendition of a celery remoulade,
flecked with sheep’s milk cheese, granny smith
and a gelatine of Espelette pepper, and an usual combination
of scallops on a bed of ratatouille. For some reason
I would never have paired the southern vegetable mixture
with the northern coquilles saint Jacques but each have
enough flavour to create a bright, dense flavor combination.
I didn’t quite get the point of the terrine of
blue d’Auvergne though the idea had great appeal.
The grey color, the timid flavour just didn’t
make it for me, though the accompanying toasted bread
and dried figs made we want to figure out a way to make
the dish work.
The compote of beef cheeks was excellent, served in
a small molded round and paired with a sweet potato
purée. I quickly devoured the perfectly prepared
duck -- cooked with spices and the sweet Banyuls wine,
and served with a fine dried fruit chutney.
Desserts offer plenty of room for exploration, including
a truly wonderful fromage blanc mousse, set in a soothing
mango sauce and teamed up with a honey-laced crispy
pastry made from the Moroccan feuilles de brique.
The wine list is brief but offers some new surprises.
I could not have been more pleased with the 2001 Saint
Joseph from the Becharas family. This pure syrah from
the Northern Rhone was full of fruit and vibrancy, with
perfect acidity and a nice, long finish and was well
priced at 31.20 euro.
And bravo, Olivier, for the well priced – 26
euros – vegetarian menu. The current selection
includes an artichoke soup, a dried cepe risotto, and
fromage blanc mousse, and a cocoa sorbet.
Les Allobroges
71, rue des Grands-Champs
Paris 20
Telephone: 01 43 73 40 00
Menus at 18, 26 and 31 euros.
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