TravelValue: At Home and Abroad

Monday, December 24, 2018

Paris, France: Mussel Your Way In To Cafe de l'Est

Café de l’Est
78 Boulevard de Strasbourg
75010 Paris, France
10ème, Canal St Martin/Gare de l'Est
Phone number +33 146070094
Website: cafedelest.com
Prices: €€€€

A small brasserie just across from Gare du l’Est, this place may not look like much, but the food was good and the price was right. Very basic, but clean, they have an extensive “Entrée Bar” (think salad bar) available at a nominal fee.

My wife and I both had the Moules Frites (€11.90 each), a large portion (about 500g) of fresh mussels in a sauce made with white wine, cream, sautéed onions, and parsley. There was a South Asian flavor in the sauce, maybe coriander or curry, I was not sure, but it was tasty nonetheless. Not the best mussels I have had, they were very good and a great value. Dinner for two, including 50cl of Cote du Rhone, cost us a grand total of €32.

Our server, Roumaissa, was extremely friendly and her English excellent. The owner, Mohammed, was also very kind, having offering us an after dinner drink on the house.

CombatCritic Gives Cafe De l’Est 7 Bombs Out Of 10 … More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Lyon, France: I HATE Chestnuts, But I LOVED Le Comptoir des Marronniers

Le Comptoir des Marronniers

8 Rue des Marronniers

69002 Lyon

Metro: Bellecour

Phone number: 04 72 77 10 00

Website: lecomptoirdesmarronniers.fr

Prices: €€€€

I have no idea why this place rates just 3.5 stars because it was one of the best meals I have ever had for under $100 (€78 or $87.15 for two, including tip, to be precise). The name Le Comptoir des Marronniers literally translates to "the counter of the chestnuts" although I could not find a connection between the nut and the restaurant.

On a narrow cobblestone street just one block east of Place Bellcour's giant, blue ferris wheel, you will find a rustic, yet charming bouchon Lyonnaise with wood beam ceilings and knick-knacks de cuisine scattered around the rather large dining room. The service was impeccable with a friendly maître d'hôtel who took our reservation earlier and seated us upon arrival, a semi-friendly waiter, and his two very jovial and efficient assistants.

When in France, or in this case Lyon, I always try to eat like a local. We started with a regional delicacy called Cervelle des Canuts ("brain of the weavers" - €5) and a 45cl bottle of Côtes du Rhône AOC (€12). It is really not brains, but a local soft cheese mixed with herbs to be spread upon bread and eaten with the accompanying sliced dry sausage (think salami) - YUM! The baskets of fresh, sliced, crusty bread seemed endless and the local wine was also quite good, an excellent value at just $13.60.

I had the four-course Menu Marronniers (€36), starting off with six Escargots Belle Grosseur followed by the Bevette de Black Angus Sauce au Poivre Vert, the Demi Saint Marcellin Affine, and then a Fondant au Chocolat au Cœur de Caramel Beurre Salé. The escargots (snails) were delicious, especially when accompanied by some fresh, crusty bread to mop-up the excess butter, garlic and parsley sauce. The sole faux pas of the evening (and the only reason they did not receive my top rating) involved my steak, which I had ordered to be cooked "medium". Gordon Ramsey would shit a brick, but I could care less, not finding blood all over my plate all that appetizing. Aside from all of the blood, my medium-rare steak was tender and flavorful and the peppercorn sauce (which came on the side) divine. The accompanying potatoes au gratin were crispy outside and soft and flavorful inside, and the sautèed veggies tasty. The local Saint Marcellin cheese was creamy and rich with a bite reminiscent of bleu cheese, only milder, and easily spread upon the two slices of bread also on the plate. As if all of that were not enough, my chocolate lava cake oozed its warm, creamy center as I cut into it and the salted caramel and whipped cream were just enough to optimize the overall flavor of the dessert.

My wife had the three-course Menu Lyonnaise (€20.00), starting with Lyonnaise Salad, a mix of seasonal greens, poached egg, thick chunks of bacon and croutons, then the Pork Breast Fondant in a "crispy" sweet or sour sauce, and, finally, a Praline Tart with praline ice cream. The salad's poached egg properly oozed its yoke all over the bacon and lettuce, the combination of which were delicious. Her center-cut boneless pork chop, coming with a unique, mild sweet and sour sauce, was also quite tasty, having been sat atop two boiled new potatoes and more of the savory cervelle des canuts cheese - a perfect combination. One of the highlights of the night, of which there were many, was her praline tart and praline ice cream, both of which were fabulous.

Taking about two hours in all, the meal was delightful, the service impeccable, and the ambiance perfect for our first meal in Lyon, the culinary capital of France, if not the World ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives Le Comptoir des Marronniers A Nearly Perfect 9 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Paris, France: Bouillon Chartier - The Gold Standard For Value And Elegance In Paris

Bouillon Chartier
7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre
75009 Paris, France
9ème
Metro: Grands Boulevards and 2 more stations
Phone number +33 1 47 70 86 29
Website: bouillon-chartier.com
Prices: €€€€

Euro for Euro, this place is probably as good as it gets in Paris. A very good three-course meal for three in a historic restaurant, including 50cl of wine for €60 ... now that's a TravelValue folks!

Founded in 1896, Chartier, as it is known, has been serving quality food at reasonable prices to Parisians and tourists for 122 years, First of all, expect a line, a long line when you arrive, but do not feel dismayed because the queue moves very quickly thanks to the massive dining room with dozens of staff. They even have a wine station at the halfway point in the queue where you can get a cup of sangria, mulled wine, or their wine o' the day for just €1.

No screwing around here y'all, you had better be ready to order post haste and the same goes after you pay - get the hell out so the next party can get on with their meal. The waiter's know their shit and do not mess around, so if you are not decided on what to order, do not waste their time because they have 10 other tables to worry about.This is not Italy where meals are at a leisurely pace and you have the table for the whole night - this is Paris and Bouillon Chartier!

I had half a dozen escargot (€7.30), steak au poivre with pommes frites (€11.50), chocolate mousse (€3.10) and a glass of wine. The snails were scrummy, having mopped up the excess garlic butter and parsley with a crust of baguette or two just for old times sake. The steak was not the best cut in the world and it was not particularly tender, but the taste was spot-on as were the peppercorn gravy and hot, crispy French fries. The mousse was thick, rich and chocolaty, just the way it should be.

My wife had a mixed green salad (€2.30) for her entree, the roasted pork loin with boiled new potatoes in a reduction sauce (€8.80), that was as good if not better than mine, for her plat, and the mousse as well. The salad was fresh, the three large slices of pork tender, and the potatoes well cooked.

The best dish of the night was the traditional veal stew and white rice (€11.20) with big chunks of veal, carrots and potatoes in a thick, creamy white sauce reminiscent of a wonderful meal I had at a little roadside place in the South of France many years ago. The veal was tender as a whore's heart and the sauce divine. Unfortunately, I did not order it, our friend did, but it will be on my radar the next time I eat here, because, as MacArthur said: "I shall return!".

What a great place! The massive dining room is typically French and ornate with an art deco vibe given the fact that the place is over 100 years old. The food and service are both top notch, especially for the price. Where else can you get a tasty three course dinner for €20 and get thrown out by the waiter - in a nicely roundabout way - when you are done eating? Only at Bouillon Chartier folks ... HOOAH!

CombatCritic Gives Bouillon Chartier 9 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"