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Le Pré Catelan

The signature bone marrow dish

Le Pré Catelan is one of my favorite 3 Michelin starred restaurant in Paris. Located in Bois de Boulogne,it  is just ten minutes drive from the city (16th arrondissement is the closest).  The restaurant is housed in a Napoleon III style pavillion, it's opulent interior was renovated few years ago. Le Pré Catelan's chef is the very talented Frédéric Anton who used to work at Joel Robuchon's restaurants. You can really feel Robuchon's influence in Frédéric Anton's cooking -  he creates dishes that are not only delicious but also beautiful to look at.

The Apple dessert

One of the most beautiful desserts i've seen and tasted. More pictures form Le Pré Catelan will follow...

 

Le Bristol,Paris

 

Lunch at Eric Frechon's restaurant at Le Bristol hotel in Paris - French cooking tradition at it's best.

Guy Savoy,Paris

It's been a while i haven't been at Guy Savoy  and I've almost forgot how brilliant this chef's cooking is . For me,the food at Guy Savoy   represents the true 3 Michelin stars cusine. You are impressed by the forms, the textures and the presentation, but finally what amazes you most, is the perfection of the flavors. The art at Guy Savoy restaurant is not only on the plates but also around you.  Part of  the chef's  philosophy is that the environment where you have your meal is as important as the meal itself. African statuettes, contemporary artists paintings, wood colours and toned down lighting makes the dining rooms modern yet cosy. It's old news, but this year  Guy Savoy is moving to Hotel de la Monnaie on the Left bank. I can only imagine how visually impressive the place will be.

Painting by Fabrice Hybert

New in Paris: Les Tablettes,Le Mini Palais,Thoumieux

 

Cod with artichokes and basil at Les Tablettes by Jean-Louis Nomicos

There've been quite a few new openings over the last year  in Paris. Call it a coincidence or a trend, three of the  new restaurants were opened by Parisian chefs étoilés. Two of the chefs, Jean François Piège at Thomieux (former Crillon) and Jean Louis Nomicos at Les Tablettes (former Lasserre)  quit their prestigious establishments for their new ventures, while Eric Frechon (Bristol's chef) at Le Mini Palais only created the menu.

So what we have on the plates?

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the Publicis Drugstore

 

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Etoile  at the Publicis Drugstore in Paris (133, av des Champs-Elysées, 75008,Paris , tel. 01 47 23 75 75 ) is the lastest addition to Robuchon restaurants empire.

Cherry cake.. literally

 "Black forest" cake  at La Pâtisserie des rêves  111 rue de Longchamp , Paris. I don't know how they managed to put the classic  "Black Forest" cake (layers of chocolate cake,maraschino cherries and whipped cream) into a crunchy chocolate cherry, but i must say i have never seen such an ingenious cake before.

La Régalade Saint- Honoré etc.

The same dishes - a new place. "Crispy pork belly with green Puy lentils in petit salé style" at the new La Régalade ( 123 rue Saint- Honoré, 75001, tel. 01 42 21 92 40 ) Those, who have been discouraged by the long trip to the remote location of the original La Régalade, can now enjoy the generous creations by Bruno Doucet more often.

Speaking of the new openings in Paris. Joël Robuchon is opening his L'Atelier at the Publicis Drugstore at the end of November while Nobu Matsuhisa and his Nobu Athens team will temporarily ( only for two months) cook at the Ritz hotel. 

Café Pushkin in Paris

Café Pushkin at Printemps department store is the most exciting thing that happened to the Parisian pastry scene since Pierre Hermé started selling his rose macarons. It's  is a spin off of the same name pastry shop in Moscow and i suppose it is directly connected with the famous Pushkin café. It sells Russian cakes such as "medovick" (honey cake which i am absolutely obsessed with) or French pastries inspired by Russia such as éclair with vanilla . Finally, if you are not so much into sweet things, you can always buy  a pirozhok or two with meat,mushrooms or cabbages and have a glass of kvass (a traditional Russian drink made from rye bread). Na zdorovie!

L'Arpège

I think it's genius what  Alain Passard does. Not necessarily because he was the first (or one of the first) to explore salad leaves and root vegetables while other high end chefs were still heavily relying on animal products.Or that since many years his restaurants L'Arpège (84 rue de Varenne, 75007,Paris; tel. 01 47 05 09 06 ) has 3 Michelin stars and Passard's apprentices like Pascal Barbot have their 3 stars of their own.