May Restaurant Buzz: What’s New in Paris

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May Restaurant Buzz: What’s New in Paris
Yannick Alléno introduces an audacious new theme at Pavillon Ledoyen How many times have you sat in a restaurant wishing the service could be faster? You have another appointment or just feel life’s too short to be sitting at lunch for three hours. “Life can be complicated and my new concept, Le Principal, is the perfect way to eat in a Michelin three-star restaurant,” reflects chef Yannick Alléno. Always questioning, always searching, Alléno– born and raised in Puteaux, just outside Paris– is garnering rave reviews since he took over the kitchens of Pavillon Ledoyen, a magnificent mansion in a bucolic garden setting just off the Champs Elysées and within sight of the Grand Palais. Alleno’s “The Principal” is served daily at lunch between 12:30 and 2pm from Monday to Friday. As the concept suggests, there’s no starter (too filling at lunch) just a delicious healthy main, coffee and petit fours (72€)– or main, coffee and petits fours with a glass of wine (89€). Le Principal menu may include tender white turbot, slow cooked in milk “for extreme tenderness” with tiny Noirmoutier potaotes. Add thin slices of cucumber and a few smoked cottage cheese ravioli. Then comes Alléno’s mayonnaise “Extraction.” Finally, seaweed jam condiment, and, in a tiny teapot a transparent spicy seaweed infusion of ginger, cinnamon and coriander. For vegetarians, Alléno’s option uses artichoke peppered and stuffed with black rice. In the center an “Extraction” of tomato flowers and black Iranian lemon, a spoonful of faiselle (cottage cheese) a few morillons mushrooms and crispy capers. On the side, “bouillité” – a contraction of “broth” – made with gooseberry, celery and olive oil a few tender raw vegetables (white asparagus, spring onions and peas) to, “act as a concentrate of vitamins and give an energy boost for the afternoon ahead.” Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, 8 avenue Dutuit, 8th. Metro: Champs Elysées Clemenceau. Valet Parking. Tel: +33 (0)1 53 05 10 01 Bruno Doucet, celebrity chef and motoring aficionado, sends the limousine just for you! This morning, surprise, surprise, Bruno Doucet of La Régalade, sent a delightful note offering to pick me up and take me home after dinner at La Régalade, his neo-bistrot in the 14th arrondissement, on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday evening! And not just me! You can book the service throughout June, as Bruno’s linked up with BMW and they’re ready with their latest all new luxurious model Série 7! The atmospheric avenue Jean-Moulin space, near Porte d’Orléans, has a zinc bar, antique tiles, family Basque linen and tchotchkes on the tables. Bruno’s a sports fan (ex Rugby man!) who loves the Formula 1, especially Sébastien Vettel. His secret fantasy? “That über-tennisman Roger Federer arrives chez moi in a BMW Série 7”. “I’d open a bottle of Château de Beaucastel/NC Millésime 1995 which would go well with roast green asparagus, vieux comté cheese and cassonnade de morilles, wedges of warm bread baked by Philippe Gosselin, a touch of Bordier butter,” he fantasizes. And then? “Seasonal cheese or a dessert of, say, riz au lait, cheesecake, or soufflé Grand Marnier. Sounds like game, set and match, n’est-ce-pas? Guys, your BMW coach awaits! Bonne route! La Régalade, 49 Avenue Jean-Moulin, 14th. Tel: +33 (0)1 45 45 68 58. Average spend dinner 37€+ wine Picnic Louis Vuitton style/ Open Days at Fondation Vuitton “Colors & Flavors” is the theme for the chic picnic by chef Jean-Louis Nomicos on the terrace of the Louis Vuitton Fondation, Bois de Boulogne, in tandem with the new summer exhibitions. On the ephemeral menu the 20, 21 and 22 May: a designer snack. The delicious menu (21 € + drinks, including access to all the Fondations’s exhibits) features a Chicken sandwich with mayo parmesan shavings / sucrine. A side of Mozza / tomato / basil & olive oil, potato chips “vitelotte” sprinkled with Camargue salt, raw vegetables / spiced yogurt sauce. Then Nomicos adds a fluffy marjoram studded black olive bun with feta cheese, and to finish: Forest fruits / fromage blanc, lime zests with green tea Macha Cake. And diarize the European Night of Museums! Exit by the gift store – bien sûr! A secret summer garden showcases Château Peyrassol rosé wine It’s Saint-Tropez at La Gare as Le Domaine de Peyrassol brings their rosé wine to Paris and offer a taste of summer in the charming hidden garden of La Gare. Not only the Côtes de Provence 2015 (glass 10€/bottle 45€/magnum 79€) but a new Cocktail called Pampelonne (made with vin rosé, grapefruit, coriander (12€). Chef Jérôme Léoty matches a chilled petit pois and aubergine soup/ Cannelloni of courgette and fresh goat’s cheese/Filets of flash fried sea-bass/artichokes, beans, confit of tomatoes. And suggests his signature secret recipe coconut-pineapple cheesecake, raspberry and pistachio tart or ceviche of fresh fruits to finish. Burn off the calories on the boules pitch under the shady trees a great way to make NBFs (new best friends). La Gare, 19, Chausée de la Muette, 16th. Tel: +33 (0)1 42 15 15 31. Open 7/7 – Valet Parking. Rendezvous Apéros-Petanque: 7 June/5 July/2 August/6September from 18h-22h. Lunch / Dinner 35€-38€ + wine
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Lead photo credit : Picnic at the Fondation Louis Vuitton

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Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !