Chez Grenouille

Chez Grenouille

My eagle-eyed husband gets all the credit for discovering this tiny neighborhood restaurant in the 9th arrondissement. While I rushed ahead, anxious to get to a couple of museums, Angelo peered inside Chez Grenouille and was enchanted by the cozy dining room’s (there are 16 covers) stone walls and wood beams.

The restaurant is as good as its rustic appearance promises. Owner Alexis Blanchard and his wife cook in the tiny kitchen, which has an open window to the dining room.

The sole waitress was very sweet. She heard us speaking English to each other, so asked us if we would like her to speak in English or French. She heard it was rude to automatically speak English. Well, this was the first time we’ve been asked! Many times, servers launch into English even though we speak to them in French. So we all forged ahead in French and she earned a generous tip for her kindness.

Green Asparagus with Black Summer Truffles

So, what’s the fare here? French, bien sûr, albeit “reinvented.” Entrees include items such as breaded brick of pork trotters, frog thighs, veal tongue layered with foie gras, shucked escargot and scrambled eggs mousse with morel mushrooms. Mains include veal brains, cheeks and tongue with baby vegetables, sweetbreads, rosemary rack of lamb, Chez Grenouille’s famous tripe sausage and roast suckling pig.

Unfortunately, the menu was wasted on me. I opted for the asparagus with black summer truffles (excellent!) and the cod with baby vegetables (good). Boring, I know, but I’ll leave the, uh, creative parts of animals to others.

Angelo ordered the frog thighs and rack of lamb and deemed both delicious.

I’ll also mention that I love how easy it is to sample a few different bottles of wine. When wine is not offered by the glass but you want, say, a glass of white with your entrée and a few glasses of red with your main course, the waitress will bring the bottles to the table, let you consume as much as you want, then charge you for the amount consumed. Parfait!

The only dark point in the meal was dessert. By the time I ordered the chocolate soufflé (a house specialty), there were none left. The woman next to me had ordered the last one. Quel dommage!

Cod with Baby Vegetables

52 Rue Blanche,Paris

http://www.restaurant-chezgrenouille-paris.com/

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