The Louvre Is Where we want to Eat

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The Louvre may well be “the” place where tourists, after hours on their feet, want to plotz and grab a bite to eat regardless of the quality. So many folks head for the food court or Le Grande Louvre and hope for the best. But, even though Andre Daguin, of Auch fame, helped design the original menu, its price-quality ratio leaves much to be desired. Or the weary head for the Café Marly where I’ve had an acceptable coffee and brownie but to which Pudlo now gives a broken plate. But if you’d like more, do not despair, hope lies not far away. In the summer, there are two places offering an eating oasis. The Saut de Loup, outside the Musee des Arts Decoratifs is kinda kicky. One enters either from the garden or museum side and it feels like you’re in the Fontainebleau forest, well sort of. The food is not exceptional (salads, soups and horrid fries) and if not for the setting and weather and desserts, you’d never return. But it’s honest and acceptable chow if you stick to the basics. Across in the Tuileries is the newest such place or new in the sense that Gilles Choukroun, he of the Cafes Des Delices and l’Angl’Opera, designed the menu. It’s called the Café Very and it too is set in a semi-bucolic place although the shed one sits by reminds you of its urban origins. It has a carte similar to that at the Mini-Palais, his place in the Grand Palais, again light stuff that’s acceptable but not mind blowing. But if it’s a lovely day and you want nice food in a pleasant surrounding – go here. Now for the inside the box places. #1 for me, where one can have a blowout meal, is the restaurant at le Meurice, a three-star where you’ll certainly eat well but hardly be able to go back to the Louvre and spend much more time. (Other starred places not far but not as loved by me are l’Espadon in the Ritz, le Carre des Feuillants and the Grand Vefour). But these are destination restaurants, and I’ve found that most of my friends want to spend the day in the Louvre, making quick business of lunch and want to have grand, languid dinners. So I’ve developed a list of other places that are good for lunch, where I’ll eat happily, but which don’t consume the afternoon or your wallet. If you need quick, head up towards the Marche St Honoré, where wonderful oysters accompanied by brisk white wines and the sound of sea-gulls can be had at the l’Ecume St-Honoré on the Rue de Marche St Honoré – and right across the street is pig heaven, the pork-dispensing Au Petit Theatre – and finally, in the Marche St Honoré square itself – there’s Le Point Bar, a first rate place run by Alice Bardet of the famous Tours family (whose Mother-restaurant just closed) and a place my wife Colette loves for a light lunch of what she calls “Girls’ Food” – Rouge St Honoré. Even closer to the Louvre and the Palais Royal is a Corsican place, A Casa Luna (aka Casaluna) serving wonderful charcuterie, cheeses and fish. Another top-notch place not far away and open 7/7 is Pinxo, but I have trouble getting folks to go there because its atmosphere is hardly old France (it’s in the recently renovated Plaza Vendome Hotel) and the food is more like that of Alice Waters than Escoffier. Finally, a place I love for its food and days open (Tuesday-Sunday), is l’Ardoise. My recommendations this week are: Le Meurice 228 rue de Rivoli, 1st (Metro: Tuileries) T : 01.44.58.10.50 Closed Saturday lunch and Sundays Menus: 68 € lunch, 170 € dinner. A la carte 250 €. L’Ecume Saint-Honore 6 rue du Marche Saint Honore, 1st (Metro: Tuileries) T : 01.42.61..93.87 Open Tuesday through Friday 8:30 A.M. to 2 P.M. and 4 to 7:30 P.M.; Saturday from 8:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M.; Sunday from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. Cost depends on the number and size of oysters. Au Petit Theatre 15 place du Marche Saint-Honore, 1st (Metro: Tuileries) T : 01.42.61.00.93 Closed Sunday and Monday Lunch menu 18 & 22.50 €, at dinner 28 €, a la carte 50 €. Le Point Bar 40 place du Marche Saint-Honore, 1st (Metro: Tuileries, Pyramides) T : 01.42.61.76.28 Closed Sunday and Monday Lunch menus 15 & 25 €, a la carte 35-55 €. A Casa Luna aka Casaluna 6 rue de Beaujolais, 1st (Metro : Palais Royale, Pyramides) T : 01.42.60.05.11 Closed Sundays Menus 25 & 60 €, a la carte 35 €. Rouge St. Honoré 34 place du marché Saint Honoré, 1st (Metro: Tuileries, Pyramides) T : 01.42.61.16.09 Open every day. A la carte 25-35 €. Pinxo 9 rue d’Alger, 1st (Metro: Tuileries) T : 01.40.20.72.00 Open every day A la carte – 55 €. L’Ardoise 28 rue du Mont-Thabor, 1st (Metro: Concorde) T : 01.42.96.28.18 Closed Monday and Tuesday. Menu: 30 €. Some of this essay is adapted from one published here January 2006. ©2008 John A. Talbott
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