Dining Out in Paris : Return to the Classics

PARIS —  Marie-France de Peyronnet is a friend and a Parisian whose family has owned a chateau in the south of France for 500 years. She spends much of the year in Paris, so when she recommends restaurants, it’s from personal experience.

We are sitting in a new and popular eating establishment not far from the Place de la Concorde called Carre des Feuillants, a sleekly modern dining room off a small courtyard near the Meurice Hotel.

“There is a return to the classic in French cuisine today,” she says. “There are still influences of nouvelle, but we French have found that we like more substantial portions, we like our vegetables a little less al dente, and we like them with butter! What the nouvelle movement has done is to encourage our chefs to be much more creative--more imaginative.”

The first course arrived--a warm strudel with green mango, and sardine fillets served between paper-thin, crisp potatoes, accompanied by dollops of sea urchin cream. Next came pieces of farm-fed chicken wrapped around a mousse stuffing of parsley and cepes (mushrooms), and served on a bed of pasta regaled with more of the fresh and flavorful cepes.

The influence of American Southwest cuisine was evident in another main dish--a tenderloin of hind, tender and pink--served on small corn pancakes, with a spicy chocolate sauce. The vegetables--broccoli, baby corn and celeraic--were well-cooked, and, yes, buttered.

Our meal at the Carre came to 300 francs per person (about $50 U.S.), including taxes and service. Chef Alain Dutournier and maitre d’ Jean-Guy Loustau came here from the popular Au Trou Gascon. Although open little more than a year, Carre has two Michelin stars.

Also within walking distance of the Place de la Concorde are Michelin three-star restaurants Lucas Carton and Taillevent, the elegant, two-star Espadon in the Ritz Hotel and Maxim’s, much maligned in recent years.

“Maxim’s lost one of their two stars,” De Peyronnet says, “because their service was considered unfriendly. But Parisians still go there for weddings and anniversaries.”

The two-star Les Ambassadeurs in the Crillon Hotel, right on the square, offers visitors an evening of truly elegant dining. The Crillon was built as a palace in 1758, and the restaurant reflects the elaborate style of the 18th Century. Twelve kinds of marble in shades of gold and ivory frame the mirrored walls, and crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

Array of Cold Mousses

Fresh marinated salmon was served in a sauce with cumin and a bouquet of fresh basil and dill. Next came a tender, roast duckling in a quince sauce, served with potatoes and salsify, a turnip-like vegetable. Dessert was an array of cold mousses--a super-sweet caramel, a hazelnut with a tart strawberry sauce and our favorite, a clean, fresh banana mousse topped with creme Chantilly. Chef Jean-Paul Bonin is in charge of the kitchen here, and the restaurant has an extensive wine list. Prices run 325 to 450 francs per person, not including wine.

Classic French cuisine is found in all its formal glory at Ledoyen, set in a tree-lined park just down the Champs Elysees from the Place de la Concord. The restaurant was established in 1792 by caterer Antoine-Nicolas Doyen, and became a popular meeting spot for such revolutionary leaders as Robespierre and Saint-Just. Today the one-star restaurant is furnished in Louis XV chairs. Heavy gold drapes frame large windows that look out onto the gardens. The service is very proper--during our first course of oysters on the half shell, our waiter unobtrusively cleared the empty shells away as we ate.

The main course was a mignon of veal in a creamy lemon sauce. An assortment of cheese preceded classic crepe Suzette, flamed before our eyes. Tableside preparation is standard here, and the waiters go about their tasks with the grace and precision of a dance troupe. We watched as the maitre d’ deftly prepared a dish of veal kidneys with heavy cream, brown sugar, cognac and armagnac. Other specialties include beef stroganoff and tournedos Bordelaise. Restaurant manager Gilbert Lejeune has assembled a wine cellar of more than 300,000 bottles, some extremely rare. Prices run 300-600 francs per person, without wine, and there is a prix fixe luncheon menu for 310 francs.

Lighter Fare

If all this seems a little too rich--in both francs and cholesterol--there are restaurants in the area that offer lighter fare at reasonable prices. Le Souffle, on Rue Mont Thabor, specializes in just that--souffles of all kinds. Andre Faure started the small, intimate restaurant 25 years ago because “the souffle is the test of a good French chef.”

We began with a cheese souffle so light it was like biting into a cloud (44 francs). This was followed by a salmon souffle, which was really a salmon mousse served with tagliatelle and topped by a julienne of vegetables (69 francs). For dessert, more souffles--a classic chocolate, a light Grand Marnier and our favorite, a smooth, rich hazelnut (32 francs).

Faure also has the Restaurant Andre Faure, just down the street--a simple restaurant/bar with lace curtains and a casual atmosphere. A prix fixe menu includes such dishes as chicken with French fries, or salmon on pasta, escargots or a salad, and a dessert of creme caramel or chocolate mousse--all for 77 francs.

High-backed velvet chairs and fringed lamp shades give a cozy atmosphere to the informal Rivoli Park Tavern on the Rue de Rivoli. Lamb cutlets (59 francs), onion soup (26 francs) and salads (12-39 francs) are offered here, and even hamburgers--with onions, or a la Francaise--with a fried egg on top (36 francs).

Also on the Rue de Rivoli is Angelina, the early 20th-Century tea shop and patisserie that serves a hot chocolate so rich and thick you almost have to eat it with a spoon. Croissants and pastries run 10-13 francs, cold sandwiches are 16-30 francs and a croque monsieur (grilled cheese and ham on toast) is 30 francs. Coffees and teas are 13-25 francs, and the legendary “chocolate Africain” is 22 francs. Although the atmosphere is charming old world, the waitresses are surly and the service slow.

Just across the Seine from the Place de la Concorde is the two-star Relais Louis XIII. Built on the ruins of the Convent des Grands-Augustins (where in 1610, 10-year-old Louis XIII was proclaimed King of France), the restaurant is furnished in 17th-Century antiques and original paintings of the period hang on the walls. The food is another happy blend of classic and nouvelle.

A Flawless Meal

“I prepare food in the classic French way,” says chef Manual Martinez, “but then I add my own ideas to it. I make the dishes a little lighter than in the past, and try to present them in an aesthetic way.”

The meal was flawless. It began with a quenelle of fresh scallops, as smooth as velvet, in a light lemon cream sauce. A pear sorbet with Calvedos cleared the palate. Then there were fillets of milk-fed lamb, perfectly cooked, served with fresh asparagus, baby carrots and lightly caramelized potatoes. The cheeses were exquisite, and the dessert was the house specialty-- gateau royal au chocolat, a rich, dark chocolate mousse cake served in a creme anglaise. The wines--a Sancerre Blanc (1985), a St. Emilion Bordeaux--were exceptional. Dinners here run about 350 francs per person, without wine.

Note for travelers: Reservations are a must at all but the most casual restaurants. A 15% tip is usually included in the bill, but you may want to leave a little extra if the service is especially good. It is always acceptable to tip the maitre d’, but it’s not necessary unless he performs a special service.

Recommended: Les Ambassadeurs, Crillon Hotel, 10 Place de la Concorde; Angelina, 226 Rue de Rivoli; Carre des Feuillants, au 14 de la Rue de Castiglione; Ledoyen, carre des Champs-Elysees; Relais Louise XIII, 8 Rue des Grands-Augustins; Restaurant Andre Faure, 40 Rue du Mont Thabor; Rivoli Park Tavern, 216 Rue de Rivoli, and Le Souffle, 36 Rue du Mont Thabor.