So happy to see your opinion @Carmenere, @SteveR! Amarante is one of my favorite Paris restaurants, and I couldn’t have exactly explained why. Though the simplicity of the plates, yes, I think that is definitely a great way to describe it. And the earlier post from @pilgrim about that waiter also made me smile! I am usually solo at Amarante, and that waiter takes such excellent care of me. I remember one rainy January night when I really wanted the duck for my main course, but they were serving it with beets, which I don’t care for (at least not as a pile of beets on my plate). I screwed up the courage to tell the “quintessential Parisian…ramrod straight…stiff as a wooden spoon” waiter, “Je n’aime pas les betteraves.” Held my breath lest he tell me to choose another dish, or worse. But he just smiled and said, “Carrotes?” What a relief! None of that fussiness you sometimes get in Parisian restaurants. And to @pilgrim’s point, those carrots that just looked like any sort of carrot on my plate were amazing, memorable, and I understood why the choice when I eschewed the beets with my duck, a little sweetness went perfectly. The waiter also brings me glasses of amazing wine to eat with my dinner, since I am not drinking a whole bottle on my own. He even picks red wines that don’t get me up in the middle of the night!
Finally, I have to put in a word for the chocolate mousse at Amarante. I’m not really a pudding or mousse fan, and maybe I would have described the one at Amarante as more of a Pot de crème? Anyway, it is also revelatory. With a glass of Banyuls (don’t find this everywhere, and if you’ve never eaten chocolate dessert with Banyuls, you have a treat coming), it is beyond all. Certainly sustaining on a rainy night in January in Paris. Also, Amarante is open Friday through Tuesday including all the days most other restaurants are closed (thinking part of the reason is so those chefs have someplace to eat)!
