The Good Life France Magazine




The Good Life France Magazine brings you the best of France - inspirational and exclusive features, fabulous photos, mouth-watering recipes, tips, guides, ideas and much more...


Published by the award winning team at The Good Life France

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2 years ago

Issue No. 15

Discover the Drome, Nyons - the last Provencal frontier, Charente-Maritime, Burgundy, Paris gastronomy, Nice, secret Provence, recipes, a whole lot more. It's the next best thing to being in France...

Alain Passard alum David

Alain Passard alum David Toutain reboots a conceptual menu daily. Labor intensive and well-thought out, Toutain’s inventive menus induce reverie in his faithful, many of whom migrated with him from Agapé Substance in Saint-Germain. Give him a root vegetable and he’s a magician: sweet potato gnocchi, celeriac tagliatelle with white alba truffle. Toutain’s signature smoked eel with black sesame and green apple left us speechless. Throughout, the term “neo-Nordic” kept springing to mind as many of the courses would have been just as much at home in a forest as on our plates. Dessert of cauliflower coconut vanilla cream with a chef’s surprise of quince chips and white chocolate ice cream by Jacques Genin was followed by fire-roasted figs with mascarpone and root vegetables “churros” with chocolate and smoked salt. A stunning start. David Toutain (multi-course tasting menu); 29 Rue Surcouf 75007 Paris Wednesday Lunch Wednesday Dinner Scoring a table at Frenchie on short notice imparts an enormous sense of accomplishment. Yet its laid-back location on a narrow backstreet in the Sentier garment district makes one wonder what all the international fuss is about. It’s about the food, the wine, and terrific service. Nantes native Gregory Marchand hit it right by offering gorgeous seasonal farm-to-table fare paired with just as gorgeous wines. An unpretentious cave à vins and Frenchie’s To Go followed, along with gourmet food shops, and now, just a visit to Frenchie, especially if combined with nearby market street rue Montorgueil, is a gourmet experience. Our multi-faceted meal included perfect duck breast, pumpkin ravioli packages that exploded with flavor and crunchy Brussels sprouts topped with crumbled cheese. Frenchie’s signature maplesyrup-glazed scones with bacon from the chalkboard next door put in an appearance and amused our geueles. Fabuleux. Frenchie (multi-course tasting menu); 5 Rue du Nil 75002 Paris

Under the Les Halles canopy a modern Michelin-starred French bistro-brasserie signed Alain Ducasse is open every day of the week. A view of the ancient Church of Saint-Eustache and modern graffiticovered walls are a backdrop to French classics such as boudins, oysters, foie gras, beef tartare, duck and snails that share a simple carte alongside ricottaspinach ravioli, smoked salmon, salads and oven-fresh soufflés, a specialty. Kicking off with a coupe de champagne we tried two raw fish starters: sea bream in citrus fruit shavings, black pepper and basil, and sea bass with carrot, fresh lime and ginger. Spectacular. This was followed by the copious house salad (romaine, shaved radish, fennel, carrot, beets. cucumber dressed in a tart yogurt mint vinaigrette), all forerunners of two sky-high soufflés - one cheese, the other in-season Thursday Lunch asparagus - both exploding with flavor and obscenely generous. Wines were expertly paired with each course. By the time dessert arrived - pistachiolaced salted butter caramel soufflé, we almost stood up to applaid. But we were too full. Champeaux Brasserie Bar & Lounge; Forum des Halles La Canopée 75001 Paris Since the opening of this superstar starred neo-bistro on a street behind Bastille, chef Bertrand Grébaut has never looked back. A relaxed decor belies top talent in the kitchen. Grébaut’s menu of pure seasonal ingredients complements a wine list of carefully selected small producers who avoid additives. All of the dishes were beautifully presented. Synergies of flavors and textures were showcased: white asparagus with an oyster sauce gribiche; pork tenderloin with slivered radishes; steamed cod with pickled turnips and yuzu sauce. A dessert, every French schoolchild’s fave, riz au lait vanille, creamy rice pudding tanged up with a passion fruit coulis, arrived with an old favorite, a deconstructed Mont Blanc of sweetened feta with its familiar chestnut cream “spaghetti,” making this meal a knockout, just as we’d hoped it would be. Next. Septime (multi-course tasting menu);80 Rue de Charonne 75011 Paris Friday Lunch (multi-course tasting menu) Book well in advance