Thanks for the review. The lunch set menu is a real bargain! I believe I remember that this is one of Mai Tai Tom's favorites.

We usually opt for a lovely meal at mid-day complete with wine, then have something light in our room for dinner. That way, we get exquisite French food at a bargain price. I think we will be staying in this area our next trip.

hey FuryFluffy, you were sitting at MY table. :)

Ger: sounds like I step on many of your steps. I'll also go to the Vermeer exhibition in Louvre on April, but that one was planned a long time ago.


Kathie: thanks, you're welcome^^ That area is nice and lively to stay at for your next trip.

thanks FF - another must for next time we are in Paris.

I was interested in your take on Victor Hugo's house - DH and I went about 35 years ago [sadly I am that old] and the impression we had was that Monsieur Hugo had just stepped out and might return at any time, so strong was his presence in the house. I still remember expecting him to walk in and sit down at his desk to start writing. I'm not sure that I want to go back because it might break the spell!

annhig: you're right, I stared at his writing desk for a long time. A simple desk with a writing plume, without even a chair (Hugo often wrote in standing), yet he wrote his greatest oeuvres on it. A plume with inspiration is stronger than swords and guns. Recently there's a real story in my country that resembles Jean Valjean's story: a hungry boy robbed a loaf of bread and was convicted of several months in prison, while the villain who sold the country to mafia got no punishment. Luckily, if not for the pressure from society, the boy would have gotten years of prison. Funny how Hugo wrote about it hundred years ago and nowadays there are still countries, who read Hugo, where the story comes alive.

My visit to Hugo's house is a contrast of a quiet, spiritual immersion into the poem of Hugo, with the inspired art arrangement around, and a noisy teenagers quarrel on the square, just in front of the house's door. The quarreling sounded very clearly inside the house, and broke the ambience. I imagine Hugo would also hear such conversations on his daily life. To be capable of writing such pages about Paris' crowd, he must have listened to them all and watched them all, and loved them all. I peered from his window on 2nd floor, and see the surrounding streets. Somewhere out there, the miserables are still going on.

I had dinner at L'Ange 20 three days ago, the night before I flew home from Paris. I was sitting at the same table as Ger and FF, next to the post. I also enjoyed my meal very much. I had to cancel a lunch reservation I had made there the previous week because I wasn't feeling well so I had the dinner menu and ordered the fondant d'agneau, seven hour lamb, which was extremely tasty.

Everybody must be reading about this restaurant on Fodor's because there was only one party in the restaurant who were not native English speakers, and that party was conversing in English with the couple next to them, who were from Chicago. Yes, the place is so small I heard everyone's conversations. The two waiters spoke English quite well, and they would have had a much harder evening if they didn't.

Thanks for the reports! Sounds as if Ange 20 is good, a nice value with correct food for a touristy area, but not insanely great, just mentioned heavily on this board?

Several years ago I went to Paris by myself for a week or so. I visited the Hugo museum and one of the young ladies working there said to me, "Were you yesterday at the Petit Palais, madame?" She had been working there. Suddenly it felt like a small city.

Nikki: aha, that table could be called "Fodors single pole" now. When I was there they didn't have lamb on the menu, otherwise I would have loved to eat lamb too.

Leely: I'd say the food in L'Ange 20 is better than correct. A 4/5 rating is high on my book. A 5/5 rating would be only for my mum!
After that, my taste is really biased. Only you can tell if it's insane great for you. For its price range and location, it's the tastiest I've experienced.

Paris is indeed a small and intimate city. I felt that after I saw New York for a long time.

We should ask permission to carve our names into that pillar: "Here once sat 'FODERITE X" :)

Ger: I'm afraid if we leave our names there, fans may start to leave flowers or gifts on the table. Some here can have quite a fan base (not me).

* * *

This is an ongoing series of reviews. I'm not sure what'll be next up, maybe L'Epicure or Philou.

May I suggest you try Pramhil - nicely priced and very good food. While very busy, a lot quieter than L'Ange. We also sat one time by the pole.

Thank you for the suggestion, yestravel. Pramil's menu does look nice. It might be a long time before I return to eating out, but I'll note down the name. Also, the place being quiet or not doesn't have an effect on me.

Thanks to StCirq's recommendation, I had a great boeuf bourguignon at L’Auberge Bressane in Paris 7th arrondissement.

Restaurant reviews: part 4, L’Auberge Bressane

Photos:
https://moveablefeastofamess.wordpre...ressane-paris/

It was a quiet but beautiful auberge in the quarter of Invalid museum and Eiffel Tower. Customers were all local business people, no tourist. With a lunch menu of 24.5 euros, I had:

A tiny amuse-bouche
A crispy small bread, with salted butter from Normandy, served on a table cloth printed with fleur-de-lys motifs. You can’t get more French than that.
An entrée of Catalan anchovies, which was really good
A pan of boeuf bourguignon, vegetables and cigar-shaped pasta, enough for 2 people. It tasted NOTHING like the bourguignons that I have eaten previously. I don’t know how they did it, the meat here was so tender but did not have the stewed-to-death taste (when your meat tastes like straw). Maybe the key was that they used good wine, then reduced it to a thick sauce? You don’t smell wine in the dish, but it must use a ton of wine, because after the bourguignon pan I felt slightly drunken!

So I had to order an ice-cream coup to dilute the wine sauce and the kg of beef I chewed. It’s not within the 24.5E menu, but you had delicious icecream with fresh fruit for 4E, not bad.

I walked away in the rain, fully satisfied. I found a real boeuf bourguignon at last.

Rating: 4.5/5

Price: 24.5 euros/person, lunch formula for entrée + main dish, plus 4E icecream

Hey, I have not seen you here for a while FuryFluffy. Thank you for your recommendation.

boeuf bourguignon is my 'go-to' recipe in the depths of winter, although I always add potatoes instead of pasta, as I am Irish: boeuf bourguignon a la Irlandaise :)

Yes, you MUST use good wine - if you can't drink it, you should not cook with it.


regards Ger

Hi Ger, I've been busy travelling ^^
When the sun's out in the sky I'm gone.
Been to Qatar, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Dordogne region & Rome city during the summer.

I also prefer potatoes with boeuf bourguignon. About the wine, I didn't know it: I often thought that if you can drink it, why waste it in cooking (-:

WOW, you certainly get around. I am off on Friday to Italy for 16 days.

It makes me laugh when recipes call for 'left-over' wine. The concept is unknown in my house - who has 'left-over' wine? :)

No leftover wine in my house--ever!

I love reading these reviews. Please keep this up, wherever you travel!! I'd love to read about your Japanese and Bangkok experiences (if you did go to Bangkok).

Thank you very much.

Thanks ekscrunchy. The review series is still ongoing. I did go to Bangkok, will write about it and Japan when I have time (may give you some restaurant recommendations in Tokyo ^^).

FuryFluffy, I was just thinking about you as I have not seen you here for a while. We will be in Paris soon and I will put this on my list. Merci!

gomiki, you're going back to Paris soon! You really love Paris don't you ^^


yestravel: I almost tried Pramil, in fact I have already booked a table there, but then I was busy and had to cancel it. But it will not escape my gluttony.

L’Auberge Bressane is fabulous. Thanks for making me think of Paris today! :)

Oh well, there is always a next time.

I came back to L'Ange20 with my friends, and it's still excellent as ever. Tried new dishes on their menu: maigret de canard (duck breast), agneau fondant cuit pendant 7h (slow cooked lamb) and quasi veau (nearly veal?). They were all tasty, with crunchy accompanying vegetables. The desserts were okay, but nothing compare to the cheesecake I had tried the previous time. I think the cheesecake is the best bet among L'Ange20 desserts.

The price is still the same as last year, surprisingly. 9e for starters/desserts and 19e for main dishes. The portions might be smaller than last year but I quite understand that.

@yestravel : I went to Pramil and it became my favorite restaurant. Thank you for introducing it to me. I would have eaten there everyday if it'd been closer to my house. Will report on it soon.

@ FuryFluffy: Nice to know that you're still around! :)

Hi kja, I'm always around, just... don't know what to write :embarassed:

Hi Fury, We have met at past Paris GTGs and will be back in March...let's do it again!

Traviata, of course I remember you :blowkiss:
Whenever you put up a GTG, and if I'm in Paris I will participate.

Great! It's a date.......see you soon....

Hey, FuryFluffy -- haven't seen your name for a while. I hope all is well!

Hi kja, thank you for thinking about me.
I'm still around but struggling a bit with life :-)
I have difficulties finding a community here (not even dream of finding friends).
At work, no one talks with me because I'm a complete loser.

And it's not like I don't make efforts. I have tried everything: online meeting sites, psychiatrist, travelling, meditation (yuck!), language classes, other kinds of classes, so on & so on.

Well you are popular here with us fodorites. Why would you presume it is YOU that is the loser? Sounds like maybe your workmates are the real losers. :)

Fury.......it's time to get together for lunch or dinner.......let's make a good time happen. A bientot.....

Ah, FuryFluffy, I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a tough time. :( FWIW, I have complete faith in you, and like nanabee, I see no reason to believe that YOU are the loser in your group. In fact, from what I know of you, I'd say I have proof that THEY are losers.

I spent some time in a place where I encountered some of the difficulties that you are, perhaps, experiencing -- I felt totally out-of-sync with people and excluded and unhappy. And then one day I realized that I didn't like them, either. :omg: So I moved. It didn't happen overnight, but I found a community that not only welcomed me, but moreover, allowed me some wonderful friendships and opportunities. Any chance of relocating to a place more attuned to your ways and interests? I know that can be difficult....

I'm grateful for your warm support and your kind advice. That's all I need: a little bit of luv :)

@ nanabee: thank you !

@ Traviata: yes, I would really like to !

@ kja : You're right, I should probably move to another location. But right now I'm still so much in love with Paris, I can't imagine saying goodbye to her yet.
(A love that many of us fodorites share.)

Understandable! Please take every moment you can to savor Paris and it's many, many delights. And know that you have friends in distant places. :)

Aaagggh! FF I just hate to hear you're having a tough time! Like others, I've also lived in places and worked in places where I had nothing in common with others there. But I do know that the problem is not you! I so enjoyed meeting you, and I know you are a wonderful and interesting person!

I'll be in Paris again in January -- maybe we can meet again and spend some time together? Let me know!

s

FuryFluffy, I am so sorry to hear you are having trouble meeting people in Paris. You are so friendly and outgoing I am surprised you are not making friends easily. But I am sure that it is difficult to live in a new country and be seen as an outsider.

And if you see yourself as a loser, I can only think that your English needs more work, as you don’t fit into any definition of “loser” that I can think of.

@ swan: Yes, I would like to meet up, any month around :) That's sweet of you.

@ Nikki: at first glance at your message I thought it was " your English needs more work as you don’t fit into the society, you need more language classes ! More étiquette classes !"
Ah ha.
How much my brain tricks me to see things it believes in.
But of course your real message was much more encouraging. Thank you.

Furyfluffy,

Have you tried Restaurant Phillipe Excoffier? I highly recommend it, Great food!