Pomze: all things apple

Pomze is a restaurant that opened recently in the St-Augustin area, revolving around a central apple theme. Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking “Hmm. Isn’t this a tad too gimmicky to be good?” But my curiosity, not to mention my love of apples, got the better of me, and I decided to try it out for lunch. Pomze takes up three floors in a beautiful building of true Haussmann style. On the ground level you will find shelves laden with all sorts of apple-based products: apple jams, apple butters, apple chutneys, apple chips, apple juice, apple cider… And a colorful collection of fresh apples, in all varieties and origins. Oh, the powerful and delicious smell that washes over you when the staff opens the mahogany and glass cases in which they are displayed! A take-out counter offers sandwiches and beautiful pastries to go, but you can also eat these in the salon de thé area downstairs, and wash them down with a selection of teas, which of course includes an apple tea. The actual restaurant is on the first floor, in a series of small rooms painted in soft grey tones and decorated with class, which make for an intimate setting. The 29-euro menu changes regularly, but on that day I started with a Rémoulade de pomme et céleri en mille-feuille de pain d’épices, an apple and celery-root preparation served between layers of pain d’épice, the French spice cake. I went on to enjoy the Pastilla de bar en odeur de tagine aux chips du verger, a phyllo dough pocket of bass with tagine spices and apple chips. And I finished this off with a Tarte fine au pommes, glace caramel au beurre salé, a thin apple pie on flaky dough with taffy ice-cream. All these dishes were finely executed and beautifully plated, the different flavors carefully matched and subtle. We accompanied this with a truly excellent bottle of cidre, the French apple cider, which contains alcohol. Cidre doesn’t usually get much consideration or attention, it’s just the standard thing you drink in crêperies. At Pomze though, there is actually a cidre list, on which about thirty references are located on a map and carefully described, with indications of origin, producer and taste. We went for the Cidre de la Ferme d’Othe, from Bourgogne. I normally quite enjoy cidre, it is pleasantly fizzy and fruity, but this really took it to a whole new level, with depths of flavor and an intensity I had never tasted in this drink before. So I will now solemnly say: “gimmicky it is not.” I look forward to going back for tea and pastries one of these days, should I need to recover from a bout of shopping at the nearby department stores. After all, as the saying at the bottom of the check goes: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, no?   Pomze109 bd Haussmann75008 Paris01 42 65 65 83Métro St-Augustin or MiromesnilMonday to Saturday, 8 am to 11 pm.   In her column “A Parisian Home Chef,” native Parisian Clotilde Dusoulier happily shares recipes, food shopping bonnes adresses, entertaining tips and restaurant recommendations. Read more of her writing on her gastronomic blog, Chocolate & Zucchini.