You know that you are eating at a very good place when you see chefs on their day off eating beside you!
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| Le Dauphin staff enjoying their day off |
Such was the case last Sunday, when we had lunch at Le Verre Vole, a fabulous little wine shop and bistrot near the Canal Saint Martin. Franck (chef), Sebastian (sommelier) and Aaron from the new restaurant Le Dauphin were at the next table tasting several different bottles of wine, which they shared with us! And, they tried nearly every first course on the menu critiquing positively as they tasted each delectable morsel.
The walls in the shop are shelves filled with an amazing selection of vins natures, which you can select to accompany your meal for a corkage charge of 7 euros. We learned that for these wines, the process is natural from start to finish with no preservatives or additives ever. Whereas organic wines are grown without pesticides but are not controlled at all during the vinification process. We selected a red Minervois 2008, Les Bois des Merveilles, Domaine Jean Baptiste Senat, and at 18 euros plus the corkage, it was perfect. It had a very deep, dense red color and was rich and velvety with hints of wood and spice.
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| A fantastic selection of wines line the walls |
For the first course, two of us enjoyed the first green asparagus of the season in France from the Vauclause in Provence.
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| Premieres Asperges Vertes |
They were lightly cooked, still a bit crunchy and bursting with flavor. An herb vinaigrette and an egg yolk on top added to our pleasure. My husband Kent dared to have a Cheval Tartare aux Champignons (which for those of you who don’t know, is horse!)
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| Cheval Tartare |
The sizable, tender chunks of meat were mixed with cornichons and herbs and topped with thinly sliced raw mushrooms, all of which worked perfectly together and it was surprisingly delicious. Our fourth dish was Saint Jacques Poelees aux Agrumes.
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| Saint Jacques |
The scallops were sautéed with citrus and served with caramelized endives. This dish was fresh, light and the acidity of the blood oranges was a superb complement.
We moved on to two different main courses. Two of us had the Lotte de l’Ile de Yeu (monkfish) served with sauteed cabbage and citrus butter.
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| Lotte de l'Ile de Yeu |
The lotte was cooked through but still moist and the caramelized cabbage and julienned orange and lemon peel made the dish a standout! The second main course was a Saucisse au Couteau d’Auvergne.
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| Saucisse |
This beautiful sausage from the center of France was tender and brimming with flavor. It was served with mashed potatoes and a nicely dressed green salad.
After all this most delicious food, we were quite full but we shared two desserts. A Crème Brulee au Zestes de Kumquat.
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| Creme Brulee |
It was creamy with just a hint of kumquat and melted in our mouths. In one word, yum! The Gateau Breton St Pierre was a buttery slice of pastry on a bed of apples, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with orange zest and specks of vanilla beans.
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| Gateau Breton |
All of this marvelous food is created in a tiny open kitchen by a team of 3 chefs who rotate, since the restaurant is open 7 days a week for both lunch and dinner.
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| The Sunday team with chef Ryotaro |
We were completely satisfied and enjoyed the company of our chef neighbors enormously. A must address!
Le Verre Vole, 67 rue de Lancry, 75010 Paris. Tel 01 48 03 17 34.
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