Paris - Restaurant Recommendation

Regional Dining Discussions France
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I was thinking more of your Paris first-timer friends rather than you when I suggested Aux Crus de Bourgogne for Sunday dinner. Auberge Bressane is kitschy/ rather touristy, Aux Crus de Bourgogne is not.

Couscous is almost always on the list of Parisians’ top 5 favourite dishes and so there are plenty of Moroccan (as well as Algerian and Tunisian) restaurants in Paris. Everybody has their go-to but, in my case, it’s Timgad off the place Saint Ferdinand in the 17th because it’s near my office and because I’m a huge fan of the North African specialty pastilla/bstilla (pigeon, chicken or seafood pie encased in filo dough) and Timgad does 3 different and very good versions of it. For sharing a very good couscous or tajine with friends, I also like Le Tagine on rue Crussol in the 11th… but, sigh, usually no pastilla on the menu.

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I don’t think many people here will answer you about African restaurants, so here goes.
The first thing you should know is that you should avoid Waly-Fay, it’s just no good.

Then, I’m at loss. My favorite Beninese restaurant, Fifa, closed a few months ago for good. Chef-owner retired. Since I loved the place, I never bothered to go anyhwhere else. So I went searching and was surprised to discover that all the good African restaurants were closing one after the other. Have no idea why. I can only direct you to Rio Dos Camaroes, in Montreuil, chef from Cameroon, good reputation, and apparently still standing.

If the MG restaurants (Côte d’Ivoire) are still open, I also recommend them. MG le 17 (10 rue Lambert in the 18th) and MG le 18 (18 rue Brise-Echalas in Saint-Denis). Quality is good and I had a fantastic attiéké-poisson there years ago.

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Thank you for all the suggestions. So many!

How is the TheFork for reviews? I put in a search top Moroccan and
https://www.thefork.com/search?bestRated=true&cityId=415144&filters[price][start]=30&restaurantTagId[]=466&sort[avgRate]=desc

Founti_Agadir is near where we are staying, and Le Tajin close enough. So will likely hit one of those two and hope for some chicken lemon olive magic.

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Founti Agadir is good but I think Le Tagine is better.

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FlemSnopes (HO member from the D.C. area) came to NYC last month and joined a bunch of us for a couple of group dinners. At one of them, I wound up talking to him about his trips to Paris & where he ate. He mentioned an out of the way African place that he went to & really liked, but that no one had ever heard of. I think I surprised him when he said it was Fifa & I told him that my wife and I had joined Carmenere for dinner there one evening. We commiserated about it now being gone. Oh well.

As for Waly-Fay, I agree with Carmenere. Unless the one meal we had there (with her) was completely different from their usual fare, it is not worth the visit. It was a trendy place with very mediocre food.

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Ref: Auberge Bressane vs Aux Crus de Bourgogne
Based on a little bit of research on both, I would like to chime in my two cents pertaining to the above.

Unless I am missing something?!.. However, a closer look at both their websites makes me come to the conclusion that we are not comparing real apples with apples?! I found the menu and choices of Auberge Bressane to be way more diverse, sophisticated and featuring more interesting ’ Traditional French ’ dishes…crayfish, veal, pigeons, sweetbread, froglegs, morel mushrooms, souffle…etc. On the other hand, the menu of Aux crus… look very ’ limited ’ and run-of-the-mill…especially the mains! Of the 7 offered, 5 are variations on the ’ beef ’ theme!

As well, I’ve been reading various remarks about Auberge being too touristy. If the food preparation is delicious, does it matter if the decor and ambience is a bit gaudy, ornate and some patrons are foreign?!.. but all with one goal in mind…having fun and hoping to enjoy great tasting food?!

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I’m always very wary of making judgments based on online menus.

I see the current online menu for Aux Crus de Bourgogne is for summer 2023 and, because of seasonality so important in French cuisine, the autumn menu will be different. Perhaps some game. Online menus also rarely include the 2 or 3 daily specials.

And a few corrections. 1) Always two and sometimes 3 dishes at Aux Crus include morilles/ morel mushrooms. 2) The daily specials sometimes, not always, include veal and squab (mostly considered an autumn dish in any case) although less gamey farmed pigeon have become common year-round). 3) Soufflés are occasionally on the menu at Aux Crus… I should note that, in general, I much prefer the desserts at Aux Crus over those at Auberge B… and also note if I have a yen for souffles I’ll go to Le Récamier near Sèvres-Babylone in the 7th or Philippe Excoffier in the Gros Caillou quartier of the 7th. 3) Froglegs ?? I think you are a century or two too late. Yes, you can can still find them as a standard item at one of two restos in the tourist zones and as daily specials at, surprisingly, non-trad restos but hardly typical trad parisian cuisine.

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Glad to know Aux Crus de Bourgogne offers a few daily specials. Maybe I’ll check down the road before making my decision between the two.
As for frog legs, I noticed a few including some highly rated bistros like ’ Sacree fleur ’ , ’ Petit fleur ‘, ’ Paul Chene’ , L’Escagots '…all have it on their menu.

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Oops. I’ll correct myself and say there is a small handful out of 10,000+ restos in Paris that serve froglegs. I’ve never heard of “Petite Fleur” but suspect (confirmed by a quick look at reviews on lowest-common-denominator Tripadvisor… 3x times as many reviews in English than French) that it is just another tourist favourite like Sacrée Fleur and L’Escargot Montorgueil that offer as many clichés as possible that many foreigners wrongfully consider to be typically parisian.

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For someone like myself who LOVE frog legs but were brought up in the Orient and hence more used to them being prepared the ’ Chinese way '. Any opportunity to savor them, I will try not to give up the chance. As such, as long as the end products are delicious, I really do not care whether the dish is typical Parisian or not , or whether the establishments that offer them cater solely to local Parisian or tourists?
Bottom line to me as a foodie …only matter is the taste of the food.

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Could frog’s legs be making a minor comeback? They’re on the carte at Les Parisiens in the 7th.

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OK, fair enough. I just don’t share your appreciation of cuisses de grenouilles. I have eaten them 2 or 3 times (in Lebanon) and never found the taste in any way remarkable or memorable. But I do like the persillade that usually comes with them.

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There were some “tempura fried” frog legs as part of the tasting menu at L’Arcane when I visited way back in 2018. I really enjoyed my dinner there. Their menu probably changes quite regularly though.

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For what it’s worth, and based on the principle that not liking a particular food item, or finding it too old-fashioned, is not reason enough to deprive others of it (I’m not talking about me, I love frogs’ legs), Le Languedoc on boulevard de Port-Royal has been serving frogs’ legs meunière for decades, and the last time I had them there, they were delicious. A very nice, overlooked restaurant that’s been around for ever.

Besides, there’s nothing unParisian about frogs’ legs. They used to be all over the place and have been disappearing, which may explain why you may still find them in “fossil” restaurants like L’Escargot Montorgueil or traditional places like Paul Chêne. I wouldn’t be so fast in labeling them as untypically Parisian, let alone “cliché”. They’re a landmark of French cuisine and have always been considered a delicacy, almost a luxury. They tend to be more common in central-Eastern regions like Alsace, Franche-Comté, Lyon and the Bresse, where there are many ponds and lakes with plenty of frogs in them, so the ingredient is readily available.
Respected Michelin-star chefs like Jean-Georges Klein of former L’Arnsbourg and now Villa Lalique serve them (those at L’Arnsbourg were truly incredible), and I’m not even talking about the fabulous frogs’ legs served in two batches (to make sure they’re warm) at the Auberge de la Mère Blanc in Vonnas.

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My favorite preparation used to be a Cantonese dish…’ Chopped up whole frogs, seasoned with julienne ginger, soy sauce and lots of rice wine then mixed and steamed together with sliced Chinese Shiitake mushrooms and sun dried preserved Chinese sausages on top of rice cooked in a claypot’ .
However, this was trumped by an amazingly tasty rendition of a ’ Frog legs a la Provencale ’ dish at the Restaurant Hugo inside of Hong kong’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. At least a dozen sauteed legs arranged in a Cartwheel spikes pattern and the sauce!!! Wow!!! Stunned by how sensational a tomato sauce can taste.
Never managed to come across this preparation again…always prepared fried with garlic, parsley and butter.
For my upcoming trip, for sure I’ll find time to give “Le Languedoc on boulevard de Port-Royal” a try. Thank you so much for the recommendation!

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My wife says “I have an idea. Let’s get one falafel from each place, find a bench and post our findings”!

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Fab idea !
I did the same with 4 friends. And, after messily sharing each of the 5 falafels, absolutely no consensus on which was the best. Admittedly 10 or 15 years ago but I doubt if things have changed.

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if you’re going to do this, I suggest trying out Miznon almost next door. It’s a mini-chain with global locations.

I can’t speak to the falafel (my wife’s the falafel person in the family), but the pita is fantastic, and the sides, especially the whole roasted cauliflower, are what imo distinguishes Miznon from the pack. I was basically a cauliflower hater before I tasted Miznon’s version.

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That Cantonese claypot version sounds wonderful. Frogs are indeed excellent in the Pearl River Delta. A few years ago I was invited to the opening of a friend’s restaurant in Foshan, and she served us a frog hotpot with plenty of fresh hot sauce to dip the critters in. Literally mountains of frogs, which we overate accordingly. The next few days were spent drinking chrysanthemum tea to alleviate the symptoms of frog binge, i.e. dry and chapped upper lips from the coldness and/or dryness of frogs eaten in excess. I wondered why I never had those symptoms in France but I was told that garlic already took care of it (nothing is done at random in traditional recipes, wherever they’re from).

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Le Mazenay We liked the ambience and crowd, and generally liked the food but wish the food were more elevated. Some of the Vietnamese accents felt a bit simple. Salad with dressing was nothing special, and was well dressed. I enjoyed the Filet with Vietnamese peppercorn as the modest peppercorn heat was nice. The roasted sardines were lightly flavored, which was nice. Wine list was marked up considerably, so we only had a glass. Place was mostly full, but we would unlikely return. Like the fresh ingredients but if in area maybe try it again, and stick to pre fixe for value.

Clown Bar Many dishes here were hits, but the natural red wine list was a big miss for us. Paid 189 for a Cossard natural red, and found it almost undrinkable (almost). Somm said the wine was correct. I would come back for the food instantly - ie lunch. And order Champagne. Broccolini with thinly sliced mushrooms and almond sauce was amazing (I ordered 2), as was the octopus. Gazpacho broth was concentrated flavor bomb. Sweet breads with figs were delightful, with a very layered sauce. Food reminded me of some of my best Paris experiences in years prior.

Les Climats Amazing amazing wine list. Many wines on offer below US retail, although relatively young vintages. I would come back for the wine list. Roumier, Mugneret Gibourg, Cathiard. For the cost of a natural producer in Clown Bar you can find top Burgundy from a biodynamic producer at Climats. The food was very good, but not memorable. Excellent service. If one can move this wine list to Clown Bar or Aux Cru Borgogne… the wine list would not last long! I would return, but would need to convince my better half.

Aux Cru Bourgogne Loved the ambience. Quiet street with cobblestone, dining outside in great weather. I very much enjoyed the traditional foods (seasonal mushrooms appetizers ordered twice, great escargot, beef bourgogne (enough for 2). Would very much want to go back, aside from a marked up wine list. New York City prices for many wines on the list, and that is not what we look for in Paris.

Les Tangines was good, and better with their housemade harissa. The tomato green pepper appetizer was excellent. The citron olive tangine was not as good as my favorite from Morocco, but got better and better as the broth reabsorbed while eating. I wanted to try their seasonal fig chicken tangine, but did not get the chance to. I would like to try that. They had pastilla on the menu.

Daily Sirien Falafel This was great! Iiked how the vegetables took greater focus than the falafel. I would have liked the falafel to be more garlicky, or wish I asked for the house spicy sauce next time (I assume they must have one). But would come back.

Something else: how crowded Paris was! We have come a few times in the past during June/July/Aug and it was much less crowded those times. So many tourists, parts of it reminded me of Rome from a few years ago with hoards. Walking by Relaide de Entracote at 11am with a 2 block line had us thinking “lemmings” . We had enjoyed Carrettes, near Trocadero, in the past for a good croque madame and then last minute snack shopping at the local grocer… this time it was a very long line (half a block long!) and we skipped to the next one. I wondered whether the famous falafel places have long lines as well? I loved the weather, but the crowds and traffic was a surprise.

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