a new find in the 12th...

A summer nite and par usual, we found ourselves walking out the Faubourg St. Antoine from the Bastille. Past Ledru-Rollin and then the Square Trousseau and its namesake restaurant, but before the Hospital St. Antoine is rue des Citeaux. At #43, a few doors down on the right, is L'Ebauchoir (01.43.42.29.31). A few tables on the sidewalk, a long narrow room with a small bar at the front. In other words, a typical bistro, but not with typical food. We'd seen this mentioned in someone else's list, but knew nothing about it except it sounded interesting -- and it was. We enjoyed our meal immensely, though are being surprised at how French portions seem to be growing to near American-sized these days---not a good turn of events. For Cheryl, sadly, the marinated sardines had run out. Instead, she ordered a beautiful tartare of bluefish, crusted with sesame. Meanwhile, I ordered a salad of fresh goat cheese on a bed of peppers and arugula. Perfect.

For our plats, we both ordered the translucent cabillaud (cod),  perfectly braised. It was topped with slivers of chorizo, on a bed of fresh petit peas and nestled between two torpedos of mashed potatoes. A dry but full bodied rose, very reasonably priced, kept us company thru the meal.

Sadly, we were too full for dessert (silly us), but watched the next table over devour a whole terrine of what the chef calls a terrine of Gateau de riz Grand-mère.  If only I'd been bold enough to ask for a taste!  After the fact, I found their web site...http://www.lebauchoir.com/. Had I found it earlier we would have gone sooner!