Paris Journal 2014 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Anything can happen on a holiday. This was our Feast of the Assumption. Any restaurant can have an off night. I wouldn’t say that it was an off night at Le Café du Commerce, because the food and service were really good – with the exception of a little snafu here or there. With the regular A team no doubt away on holiday, you don’t know what the B team might do . . . . We were warmly greeted and given an excellent table. I love to sit on an upper level (only two levels were used last night) right along the railing overlooking the interior atrium in this beautiful three-level restaurant. The weather was nice enough that the retractable glass ceiling was open to the sky. We had such a table overlooking the railing, with a view of the sky as well. Our server was a very competent woman who was perhaps new to Le Café du Commerce, but not new to the profession. The head waiter on that floor tried to help out by taking our drink order. But the order was lost somehow, and by the time our food arrived, we still had no beverages at all. So I had to politely ask for them. We were thirsty after our pre-dinner walk. I ordered the special of the day, pot au feu de pintade, with summer vegetables. Pintade is guinea hen, which is like chicken but more flavorful. However, what arrived at the table was a pot au feu with beef. I’d say it was a beef brisket cut. If it WAS fowl, it had to be ostrich (not guinea hen). We heard the head waiter having quite a discussion with the man at the table behind Tom’s chair about this discrepancy. I decided to say nothing, because the dish was delicious, and I have no problem with eating beef or ostrich. But I could see how someone who did not want beef or ostrich might be upset. The head waiter did not give in. He simply said that this is how the chef of this house prepares pot au feu de pintade. Curious about what the French might think about a pot au feu d’autruche (ostrich), I did an internet search. In response to one chef’s posting of a good video on how to make this dish, the first commentator was livid. He wrote: Saleté!!!!!! comment ose tu
cuisiner de l'autruche!!!!c'est une honte!!!go bouffer des patatas avec ta peau de couille!sérieux,
t'es heureuse de foutre ta sale langue et ta bouche fripé sur de
l'autruche??? va te cacher, mécréant!honteux!je me rend a la protection des
autruches, pour porter plainte contre vous, madame la dégueu, vous etes laide, vous n'avez aucun droit de manger un si bel
animal que l'autruche, .Les autruches doivent etre respectés!sale mégère édentée! Brace yourself: here’s a translation, omitting one word that was just too obscene: Filth! How dare you prepare ostrich! It is a shame! Go eat potatoes with your testicle
skin! Seriously, you are happy to f---
your dirty tongue and crunch your mouth on an ostrich? Go hide, you
miscreant! Shame! I protect ostriches,
and will go to file a complaint about you, Madame la Dégueu,
you are ugly, you have no right to eat such a
beautiful animal as an ostrich.
Ostriches must be respected!
Dirty toothless shrew! Whew! So, to keep the peace, let’s just say it was beef instead of pintade (guinea hen) in the pot au feu last night. I don’t know how prevalent this feeling is against eating ostrich in France, but I don’t really want to find out, either. Tom had the dependably good supreme de volaille with mushrooms on linguini. For dessert, we shared profiteroles with wonderful dark chocolate sauce. We had a long wait for the profiteroles, so we entertained ourselves by looking over the railing onto the area where the bar used to be. Now it is the station where a statuesque red-headed woman assembles desserts. A newer, smaller bar is nearby. That was fine entertainment, and much needed because the wait for our particular profiteroles order was very long. There were many others before us. We could see that the profiteroles are a popular choice, and with good reason.
At last the profiteroles arrived, and we were graciously given an extra plate (without our asking) so we could share. Before dinner, we had a lovely walk around the Champ de Mars. We spent some time in the verdant parks on either side of the base of the tower. These green spaces and ponds are amazing peaceful, and yet so close to the teaming crowd under the tower. We were surprised to see a little turtle swimming with the carp and giant goldfish, and a white goose hanging out with the ducks. No ostriches in sight.
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Saturday, August 16, 2014
The tower as seen from the little park on the side.
Pot au
feu with delicious
mystery meat and yummy veggies.
Desserts are prepared behind the former bar, at left. Bread is held in a basket under a little
table in the middle, and on the right, large trays of plates with main
courses are assembled.
The woman who expertly assembles desserts and our server
reaching for a pot of warm, rich chocolate sauce for the profiteroles. |
