Chicken in Paris
 

I remember reading here about how wonderful rotisserie chicken is in Paris, and since I didn't know about it beforehand, we missed having any on our first excursion. Now that we are working on another trip, and staying in the 5th, any good suggestions for finding a casual place to have some? My mouth is already watering!

The free-range chicken at Chez Maitre Paul is outstanding.

I've had it on the rue Cler. I don't know the name, but you can't miss it. Just turn into the rue Cler from Ave. de la Motte Piquette, and it will be somewhere on your left, the only rotisserie there.

I never got to try it when I stayed on rue St. Dominique, but I do remember waking up every morning to that gorgeous smell of rotisserie chickens! Many little shops there also sell it.

Will you branch out to coq au vin? It's outstanding at Bistro Mazarine, 42 rue Mazarine, not far from Blvd. St. Germain.

Melissa,
We will be right around the corner from rue Cler very soon :)
I will be looking for that chicken, we are staying in an apt, so it will be perfect for a night in with the Eiffel Tower as our view!
(do I sound a bit excited about this?)

Rotisserie d'en Face
2, rue Christine (6th)
It is a casual place, not cheap, but I'd call it moderate, haven't been there in a while
Food is good, and they do an excellent roast chicken
It's not one of my favorite places overall, but they are very very popular.
closed Sundays

Hi Allison-I thought you might like this from Patricia Wells:

ATELIER MAITRE ALBERT
1, Rue Maître-Albert
Paris 5.
Telephone: 01 46 33 13 78.
Fax: 01 44 07 01 86.
Métro: Maubert.

Open for dinner only, Monday through Saturday, until 11:30 weekdays, 1 am weekends. 40 to 45 €.

Is there a better symbol of French gastronomy than a simple, sublime, classic roast chicken? Golden, fragrant, its skin crisp and crackling, the humble poulet rôtie is one of the world’s greatest dishes, one that can stand on its own or serve as a soothing escort to all manner of potatoes, crying out to be paired with a red wine of some stature.

In comes Guy Savoy, once again, to show us the way. His newest endeavor in the Parisian restaurant world is a remake of one of the city’s older restaurants – the Left Bank Atelier Maître Albert – a warming spot with a giant fireplace at one end, a modern rotisserie at the other. Walking in after the opera late one Saturday night, the place felt as though it had been open for decades, as tables for two, for four, for ten diners filled the room with sounds of fun and good times. The brief menu includes some Savoy classics – such as my ever favorite huître en nage, or chilled oysters in a bed of soothing oyster jelly -– and of course that golden rotisserie chicken, teamed up with a warming potato purée. Daily specials might include a perfect roasted duck and a potato gratin (with potatoes too thinly sliced for my taste). The wine list offers some old favorites such as the fruity, lively Savigny-les-Beaune from Simon Bize (the 2000 priced at 47 €) or Jean-Noël Gagnard’s sterling red Chassagne-Montrachet (the 1999 priced at 49 €) both perfect for pairing with poultry. Another plus is that the restaurant’s hours fit all lifestyles, open evenings only, Monday through Wednesday from 6:30 to 11:30, Thursday through Saturday, 6:30 to 1 am.

linking this to Paris superthread

rotisserie is a way of cooking chicken
and has nothing to do with the quality of the poulet.

True, machin, but when you take a nice fresh chicken that tastes totally different from the typical Perdue etc, chicken and roast it on a rotisserie, you get a damn good roasted chicken :)

Scarlett, I'm sooooo jealous!!! Don't forget to take along some moist towelettes to wipe your face and hands after the feeding frenzy!

LOL, good tip Melissa .

I am SO in agreement with that review of Maitre Albert. A good roast chicken is my favorite meal in the world.

Since you're staying in the 5th, you may want to walk down the rue Mouffetard (a market street) and buy a chicken from one of the vendors there. Grab a baguette, some fruit and cheese, a bottle of wine and voila--a picnic.

I have also enjoyed the roast chicken at Au Bouquet St. Paul in the 4th. Rumor has it that Chez l'Ami Louis in the 3rd has fabulous chicken, but since it's very expensive ($100 pp, I believe) I haven't been indulgent enough to try it.

LOL elle, I think that bird is a little out of our budget! Thanks for all the suggestions. We will be just around the corner from Rue Mouffetard, so we will just follow our noses on the first day, then look into some of the other suggestions! (I enjoyed watching Patricia Wells with the Barefoot Contessa a few weeks ago, I am going to have to pick up Ina Garten's Paris cookbook, I think.)

On another note, we had the most delicious jambone et fromage crepe on that street on our first visit to Paris. Lots of people will advise against eating a "pre-made" crepe, but the place was hopping, and the crepe was FABULOUS! (of course, it was the first thing we ate in Paris, and we were starving, so that could have had something to do with it...)

Scarlett, when are you off??

jpie:

Thanks so much for posting the info on ATELIER MAITRE ALBERT! My favorite hotel is on that tiny street--Hotel de Notre Dame. From the address, it appears the restaurant must be right where Maitre Albert intersects the quay---overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame. That makes for a perfect after-dinner stroll over to the ILES. That was one of the things we loved so much about that location. Thanks again!

Elle, did you ever post your photos from your trip last April? Can you email them or the link to me?
[email protected]

Hi allisonm! We leave next Sunday.
I am taking breaks from staring at my closet & staring at my suitcase, by posting on Fodors.

Chicken in Paris-
they are much thinner
sometimes they smoke
but they all look very good in a scarf. LOL

Do the roosters still wear those horizontally striped sweaters?

ira, how did you know?? Although I must say, there is no chicken alive that looks good in a beret.~:>

All this chicken talk. I never got my chicken when I was in Paris in June of 2003. Staying in one of ParisPerfect's perfect apts. Sounds like I went to the place one MelissaHI speaks of. There were lots of chickens speared in many rows in a big rotisserie oven. But pointing at a chicken & smiling didn't do it. I was supposed to order & come back later to pick up? I have never figured out what I did wrong. Rather than chicken-napping one next trip, I would like to know the protocal about getting a chicken.

no, Ira but they do wear ties! :)

Melissa, I still haven't scanned them all (we're not digital yet)! Am waiting for another snowy day so that I won't feel guilty about it.

But yes, I will definitely send you the marathon pix!

Hi Jane,

You might have been too early and they weren't ready yet.

Do French chickens come in classes? Like "buy Oregon/Washington chicken instead of southern chicken"? Actually, an experienced world traver did tell me "when in Paris, buy rotisserie chicken".

Well, there is actually a French chicken--the famed <i>poulet de Bresse</i> that has its own A.O.C. designation.

Those chickens are also unique with the red top and blue feet.

And White feathers?

I am seriously beginning to think that being in Paris is more fun then being in Italy, LOL.

And oh, those chickens sound yummy!

I was tempted last week by chickens cooking on spits several times, at the Place Maubert, on rue Mouffetard, wherever. It just never seemed to be the right time for us to buy one, between all the restaurant meals and all the cheese and pate we had at the apartment. I noticed that the ones at the Maubert market did have labels denoting their place of origin. I think Parisians buy a lot of their food based on the region, and even the town, that it comes from. That's certainly true of oysters.

Nikki, you are awake! Are you having jet lag? I hope you don't have to go to work Monday. And hope you get your luggage soon.

And I am serious about Paris. I have never been to France and never had a big desire to until I came on Fodors. Now I want to visit Paris so bad.

I suggest, on a nice day, going to Rue Buci, getting a &quot;takeout&quot; rotisserie chicken, carrot puree, and/or other vegetables, and having the best atmosphere of all - a picnic on the Seine. (the take out place in the middle of the street on the side close to the river comes to mind)

When I lived there, it was a staple of our diet. Far less expensive than a restaurant, equally delicious, a better view, and you can gnaw on the fabulous bones and morsels all you want without getting strange looks from dining patrons.

At every market we went to in France (Paris, Burgundy, Provence) there was a mobile chicken rotisserie truck. They always smelled incredible. My husband dubbed it the Chicken-mobile. That is how we want to spend our retirement. We will need to work due to lack of foresight in our youth so why not travel the world on the back of a chicken?

I must remember to pack the handi-wipes! I think I'll take some cheap wine glasses this time, too. (Please, I hope no one brings up the wineglass thread from last year!)

we got the best rotisserie chicken off a massive rotisserie in the Latin Qtr, in the outdoor market on rue moffetard (sp?)

My mouth is watering. Actually sounds better to me than the $500 dinner someone mentioned a few months ago!

we walked around the market w/ our chicken and picked up 2 kinds of cheese, a baguette and some fresh figs. The trick was asking for a plastic knife in french so we could use it on the cheese/bread. It was comical but eventually got one.

I've been chicken about alot of things, but never in Paris. :)

About grades of chickens: the Label Rouge is a sign of quality. Bresse chickens are reputedly the best, but chickens from Les Landes also have a good rep. &quot;Poulet fermier&quot; means farm-raised, as opposed to &quot;poulet blanc&quot; which means the more ordinary kind.

the need for a knife is why I pack in my checked luggage some paperplates and plastic utensils, and a corkscrew
:)

Thanks for the information~