Five years ago, in an article in The San Diego Union-Tribune, I raved about dinner at Le Violon d’Ingres in Paris, where chef Christian Constant wowed me with his inventive and brilliantly executed food.
How does one restaurant manage to stand out in a formidable food city like Paris? Ask Christian Constant. Dinner in his elegant Le Violon d'Ingres included sauteed cod filet set in a veritable vegetable garden; a confit of foie gras with pureed figs; sweet scallops playing games with bitter oranges; and, for dessert, whimsical pommes souffles served with lighter-than-air mousse and hot chocolate sauce. Along with the food, it was the warm welcome, gracious service and lack of pretension that set Le Violon d'Ingres apart from other Paris temples of haute cuisine.
(Ingres, by the way, was a French Neoclassical painter famed for his portraits. He was also a childhood phenom as a violinist, playing in a major orchestra at the age of 13.)
Two weeks ago when I was in Paris, I went back to Rue St.-Dominique for more…..but this time I sat in Constant’s Les Cocottes, a three-year-old casual but stylish café a few doors down from the elegant Violon. Again, I feasted …and again, I raved. .
But this time it wasn’t over a perfectly choreographed procession of haute cuisine. Rather it was one tiny cast-iron casserole filled with baby potatoes, thin carrot discs, and a petite piece of perfectly seared cod. From the first whiff when the lid was removed, to the final slurp of broth, it was a supremely satisfying experience.
Cocotte is the French word for casserole, the star of this popular eatery that hums from late morning to late night. Many of the dishes served are cooked in a Staub cocotte, a handsome cast iron enamel oven-to-table casserole that’s similar to Le Creuset. (Fans of Staub insist that the Staub manufacturing process is more complicated and the final product more refined.)
The little pots are adorable; what’s inside them is delicious. In addition to the voluptuously moist, flaky piece of cod that sat under a crackly, herb-dusted crust, we enjoyed a wonderful lamb stew with couscous, and grilled shrimp with Greek-style veggies and Espelette peppers from the Basque region…all cooked slowly in cocottes.
The menu also includes a confit of duck foie gras; caramelized potatoes stuffed with pork; an acclaimed Caesar salad which I didn’t taste; and a terrific tuna creation, a cross between rillettes and mousse, that I did.
Prices are moderate – appetizers are about 8 Euros; main courses, about 20 Euros. The wine list is short but sweet. You can blend right into the chic scene with just a glass of Bourgogne Aligoté and a platter of terrine de campagne for a total of 12 Euros.
Les Cocottes is a long, narrow storefront with an inviting counter and a handful of high-top tables for foursomes. Even on a gloomy Monday afternoon, the place was packed with animated diners who were clearly thrilled to be there. Constant, himself, is, er, a constant presence. Though the passionate, gregarious guy is also running both Le Violon d’Ingres on one side and the super-casual Café Constant on the other, he tends to spend much of his time in Les Cocottes, schmoozing with regulars, sipping espresso or a glass of wine. His charming, British-born wife, Catherine, is also there extending the Constant brand of hospitality to non-French speakers.
Because of les Cocotte’s no-reservations policy, there’s often a line on the sidewalk. It’s best to go right at noon, or late evening after a concert or movie.
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