Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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One of my good friends from the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva moved away to Sydney, Australia, a couple of years ago because her husband, who is also a friend, was promoted to a job there. But my good friend, Caroline, comes back to this part of the world to visit people in Europe every summer, it seems. She was in Amsterdam last week, and this week, her husband John has joined her and they’re here, in Paris, staying in her cousin’s apartment very near ours. They rode Velib’ bicycles yesterday over to the Marais where they ate falafels, and then Caroline called us to arrange to meet for drinks at the Commerce Café in the early evening. They were caught in a rain shower as they biked back over here, but they were able to find some shelter and so were not absolutely drenched when they arrived at the café. Oh it was so good to see them. I demanded a big American hug from each of them. I prefer big American hugs to that kissy face greeting that Europeans use. The hug is so honest and warm. We sat out on the windy, cool terrace and had cool drinks – except for Tom, who had coffee. The time flew by as we talked and laughed. A drenching rain shower arrived, but we managed to stay dry enough under the awning of the terrace. John was still suffering from jet lag. Can you imagine how many hours it takes to fly from Australia to Paris? It is mind boggling. So we strolled back up the rue du Commerce and said goodbye at the corner of rue du Theatre. Caroline and John need to rest up because they’re going to Normandy for a few days. When they come back to Paris, we’ll get together for drinks or dinner again. I don’t miss Sanibel in these three months of summer very much, but one thing I do miss a lot is having happy hour with my Zonta friends on Fridays. Getting together with Caroline and John at the café was a good substitute for that. Better than good – it was great fun. Instead of going back to the apartment, Tom and I went up the street to La Gauloise instead, arriving at 8:30 – prime dinner time. The service at La Gauloise is impeccable. The servers remember you, are friendly, and are very helpful to people who are new to Paris or to French cuisine. One server, in particular, we like to listen to as he explains things to newbies. We’ve told him before that he is a good teacher. He loved that, because he’d considered being a teacher in the past. A few days before we discovered the Restaurant Axuria, we’d dined at La Gauloise and Tom noticed a beautiful soufflé being served to a father-daughter couple near us. He made a mental note to try it next time. And so we ordered one terrine appetizer to share – this one came with nice, fresh vegetables in it, in addition to the beef, and it even had a tasty bite of seaweed on the side. It was a summery, tasty terrine. And it came with a little pot of horseradish sauce (raifort in French), which I thought would be much stronger. It was quite mild. We each had the beef bourgignon for the main course, since it was a cool, windy, rainy day. It was even better than before; the dark, rich sauce was almost sweet. This time it had plenty of lardons, little chunks of dried bacon. The English potatoes (steamed) were boring, so we ignored them. Then came dessert: voila! The soufflé is also a Grand Marnier soufflé at La Gauloise, as it is at Axuria. So we were able to compare apples to apples. At La Gauloise, the soufflé au Grand Marnier costs four euros more than at Axuria. That does not surprise us at all. Soufflés like these are difficult and time-consuming to make. When Tom ordered it, the server indicated that she thoroughly approved of the choice. We cannot really say which restaurant has the better soufflé au Grand Marnier. They are not the same – there are some differences. But is one more astonishingly superb than the other? We don’t think so. If anything, I think the egg whites were slightly more dominant in the La Gauloise version, and the cream slightly more dominant in the Axuria version. But it is nearly impossible to say one is better than the other. At Axuria, of course, the dessert is accompanied by a small glass of Grand Marnier. So that’s an advantage. Plus it is only 9 euros there, compared to 13 euros at La Gauloise. For me, I think I perhaps very slightly prefer the soufflé at Axuria, but that is only because of my preference for the creamier version. It isn’t necessarily the better version; I think perhaps Tom likes the one at La Gauloise just a teeny bit better than the one at Axuria. So, it’s a tie. More research is needed. Stay tuned. It troubles me a little that La Gauloise has no web site, apparently. The link in the text above is to a wonderful video of La Gauloise, set to the music of Edith Piaf. I can watch that thing over, and over, and over. From web research, I know that La Gauloise is now under the management of Eddy Bénézet, who also has restaurants named Le Coq au Trocadero and Ristorante Dino. I’m not certain, but I think Eddy is a former racecar driver who won an important race in Europe in 2000. The chef is Sébastien Carabeux. And the maître d’hotel is François Dos Santos. Here, at least, is a web page from Best Paris Restaurants that has a fairly up-to-date copy of the menu at La Gauloise. It does not include the fixed-price menu, however. La Gauloise has an illustrious history, having been frequented by famous writers, sports stars, and politicians. François Mitterand used to dine there weekly. The original owners were from the Basque region, but leased the place to Eddy, who hired Sébastien, a couple years ago. The restaurant got a facelift, and now has a new awning, but the good, including the old-fashioned ambiance, remains. Here’s a translation of part of a description from the Parischeri.fr web site: A festive and joyous cuisine that delights meat lovers, especially those who like beef. Eddy’s family raises the celebrated Aubrac beef cattle of the Aveyron region. That should reassure the skeptics! On the seafood side are the carpaccio of scallops, the steamed bass filet, and an imposing sole meunière. The service is of the highest order, warm and pleasing. The prices are equally attractive with fixed-price menus starting at 23 euros. Of course, you can spend a lot more than that, too. At any rate, Tom and I think dining at La Gauloise is worth it. Sign
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Tuesday, August 9, 2011
John was
nice to take this photo of us on the terrace at the Commerce Café.
Beef and
vegetable terrine with horseradish sauce at La Gauloise. Below, the beef bourgignon and the soufflé
au Grand Marnier.
Looking
down on the Paris Beach event. |
