Lunch at #49

In the past few years, Steve has become an avid reader of the annual published list of the top 50 restaurants in the world.  ( SEE:  www.theworlds50best.com )

 Every year, he reads it and checks off where we have eaten, since the list changes each year. He is always excited when we have eaten somewhere before it hits the list. Then before we travel he consults it to decide where we might want to eat. A couple of years ago we checked off three on the list with a single visit to Mexico City, so you can imagine that Paris counts quite a few on the list each year. 

Steve's enthusiasm to dine at the top 50 is always tempered by my reminder that we never think the 'best' list for Philadelphia (The Fountain today, Le Bec Fin of yesteryear) is worth the cost when there are so many great little funky spots for a quarter of the price.  We tend not to love traditional, formal dining and so in Paris we seek out hole in the wall places with great chefs (see the Le Baratin blog) or at least interesting food in known spots. But it would have been hard to dissuade Steve from trying at least one Parisian top 50 and that was today at Septime, #49.

Septime is in the 11th, about a fifteen minute walk from Bastille and luckily  we left enough time to walk and shop along the way.   Approaching Septime, it could have been a small place in NY or Philadelphia. Big open windows, tile floors, rustic bar, small thick topped wood tables on wrought iron bases. People talking and drinking and eating, loudly.

There are two choices for lunch. You can do the table d'hote and choose an entree, a plat and a dessert for 28Euro. Or you can do the full court press, five courses-two entrees, two plats each a half portion and one dessert-for 55Euro, plus wine of course. And knowing we were ticking off #49, never to return, we went for the tasting menu where the chef decides what you eat and your decision is only which bottle of chilled white to pair with ....whatever comes out of the kitchen.

Now before I get to the foodie part, I must share the one thing that astounds us about France and Paris.  Right now it is pretty hot here. The thermostat says it is 84 with 80% humidity but it really feels like 90 and not a cloud in the sky and the sun is really brutal by midday. But somehow these Parisians don't seem to sweat. In fact, they don't mind dropping $140.00 for lunch sitting in the restaurant with absolutely NO AIR CONDITIONING or ceiling fan. It almost feels like being in the kitchen with the staff. But we survived and ate and enjoyed. And by the end of this blog you will probably be saying, didn't they used to be vegetarians?? What happened?

Entree number one

Veal tartare with cucumber, lingonberries, roasted marinated peppers, dill and tarragon.

Entree number two

Lamb  sweetbreads with a fresh cheese, grilled leeks and sorrel a jus

Plat number one

White fish grilled in butter and torched with grilled baby zucchini, sauteed celeriac, micro mache, and fresh pea puree 

Plat number two

Chicken breast with roasted caramelized onion and potatoes

Dessert

Steve, cheeses

Marci, peach ice cream with wild tart blueberries, fresh sweet strawberries and small nutty spice cookies

Now I know the menu doesn't sound like anything wow but this restaurant, as it seems with many new places in Paris, is really focused on simple food using incredibly great ingredients, lighter than traditional French cuisine, with just a bit of a twist on the flavor profile. Their goal, every bite should be perfect. My biggest quandary was deciding if I should take a bite of each ingredient by itself before starting to combine them on my fork and explore the tastes.  I did just that.

Now we've ticked off five of the top 50 restaurants in the world, 45 to go to finish the list. Seems like a great goal to me.

PS.  Ended the night seeing Jazz legend Diane Schuur, small intimate club, 35 people listening to her renditions of Sinatra and Getz standards, great band and seats where we could almost reach out and touch her.

And it was really hot in there too.