Paris Mid-Range Restos Empty: Has the Market Hit Bottom?

My friend Atar has numerous theories which he shares with me, most of which are somewhat plausible. There was the one about solving the “Middle east problem” and another about mass migration of warring factions in civil wars to opposite nations.  As I say, they’re plausible. But today, at lunch at L’Accolade in the 17th he looked around and noted that half the tables were empty just as 90% of them had been yesterday elsewhere.  The place is in full businessman territory, so having been well-reviewed and well-received when it opened almost two years ago, it should be full.  Oh sure, he added, the eGullet effect (that is, that the food cognicenti have come and after 6-9 months, gone) could be the reason but he said the times he’s been there, the latest this summer, was not so desolate. So, given the state of the economy, which seems to have hit here more strongly than the US, although the news implies the markets are all responding to America’s probable recession-depression, he wondered aloud if the market was driving folks away from the midrange restaurants.  Note: the big starred guys and lowly cafes seem just as full as ever. I recalled that the invention of the secondary bistrots, the Bistros d’a Cote in a collective way, as it were, of the great chefs (Robuchon, Savoy and Loiseau, for example), usually occurred during tough times, if not recessions.  So maybe we’ll see some sort of shake out of the upper middle and mid range places. It’s kind of too bad, because a place like l’Accolade deserves our patronage, it is really quite good – hitting a fair number of home runs today with its amuse bouche mushroom soup, bass tartare, veal onglet, pear with crumble and crunchy bananas. It did hit a few grounders, however, with the starter of seafood nems with a spicy Asian sauce, scallops with potatoes and over-toasted calamari with an odd sauce, albeit aside a super risotto. And, our bill for three persons with a half-bottle of wine each was 137 Euros. So where can you go when the market hits bottom? l’Accolade 23, rue Guillaume-Tell, 17th (Metro:Pereire) T: 01.42.67.12.67 Closed Saturday night and Sundays Lunch menu = 24, a la carte 25-30 € Blog: John Talbott’s Paris at http://johntalbottsparis.typepad.com/john_talbotts_paris/ © John Talbott 2008