Tonight I decided not to venture too far from my hotel. In fact I stay right on the street, 3 or 4 doors down.
Auberge de Jarente offers a 3 course meal with a pichet of wine (about 3 glasses) at €21 and an extended menu at €30. The selections range from meat to seafood and are mostly basque specialities.
The atmosphere here is simple and reminiscent of some places I visited in Spain. The walls are warm toned and tables stained in light wood finish. This is definity an unpretentious neighborhood joint.
For my entree I select the “Piperade St Jean” which is a dish like scrambled egg with onion, peppers and a nice slice of what seemed to be spanish ham on top. This was very tangy and tasted good.
For the main course I selected the “caille” which was quail cooked in “the style of the chef”. Hmmmmm, sounds like mystery preparation. In case you were wondering, caille is quail and, don't panic, its like a cornish hen.
The quail was served with a side of sliced fried potaoes which had a garlic and parsley flavour. To add insult to injury, they drizzled olive oil over the top. Very good, like thick cut potato chips (and I love potato chips).
Oh, the quail was good but not as delicate as I like. It was in a tasty gravy which was good for mopping up with the bread. The garlicky olive oil from the potatoes was the best part, equally as good as a mop sauce!
For dessert I ordered (he famous Parisian dessert “ouefs a l'neige” I think that translates as “eggs in the snow”. It sounds so graceful, so gentle, and it is. Basically, it's egg merangue (how the hell do you spell that) floating in a custard sauce. This is the first time I had this and although it was delicious, it was so light it left me wanting dessert!
The pichet of wine was enough for about 3 glasses and enough to give me (a lightweight) a buzz.
Service was good and very fast, in fact too fast. I wanted sit for a bit. The people working here were all very friendly, exchanging smiles and assisting wherever possible (but with limited English). The menu was also a bit hard to read, when I enquired about on item which I was unfamiliar with I was told it was “Bugs Bunny”. I replied, “you killed him?”. Pass!
Overall rate for this place is...
3 stars for atmosphere, 3 stars for food and 3 stars for service. A solid 3 and a good place for lunch or dinner if you are in the area, but don't go too far out of the way. Also a decent value.
3 course meal with a pichet of wine - €21.OO ($27)
Auberge de Jarente, 7 rue de Jarente, 75004 Paris, tel 01 42 77 49 35
Closed Sunday and Monday
No english menu.
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