Falling off the Wagon into Verjus !

Falling off the Wagon into Verjus !

I am in Paris for a few days, meeting up with my daughter to have some quality time together, and to attend a Snow Patrol concert together – the band being my daughters favourites for many, many, years.

After delays for both of us due to snow hitting Paris the day of our arrival, all plans are slightly rescheduled and we are having a pit stop before dinner at the Bar and – I would never have predicted this – but my first drink of 2019 is a Paul Ricard with water – How Very French. Tastes good and warming, on a very chilly Paris night.

We have one night free before the Gig, so of course I wanted to visit a Cool Paris restaurant. I am not a regular visitor here, so what is regarded as trendy now in Paris escapes me, but I narrow down the possibilities and increase my opportunities of visiting a good establishment by referring to the web based Food Reviewer “Infatuation” – notwithstanding they had rejected my application to become their new London based staff Food writer during the past week. I hold no grudges !

One of their top rated recommendations was a restaurant in the 11th Arondisiment named Verjus. I appreciated they would only have a tasting menu available, but looking at what they were offering at a price of EU79 it appeared unusual and good value. A little more research and I established that the Chef was self taught Braden Perkins who travels the world experiencing various cuisines before reinterpreting and personalising them for his restaurant. His partner is Laura Adrian who curates a pairing wine list which focuses on organic and biodynamic wines. Braden and and Laura used to run an internet based Hidden Supper club from their own apartment before moving to this permenant establishment some 7 or so years ago. They are both US citizens, so I supposed you could call them the original Americans in Paris taking on local gastronomy and chefs of high French Cuisine.

After walking straight past the restaurant using google maps – beware it is off the main road and down a narrow alley – then the welcome was friendly and the decor would not have been out of place in Shoreditch. Wooden tables, very relaxed and shabby chic feel to it, and we were offered a circular table in the corner, which in my view was probably the pick of the tables. The menu appeared which also offered the aforementioned wine pairing option at EU55 which we opted for on the basis my daughter had not tried this before.

The first course consisted of an assortment of canapés that all arrived together and represented a table of food that I did not recognise from any other restaurants visited recently.

First up were 2 eggshells containing a very slightly warmed egg yolk combined with chives and mandarin. You basically carefully scooped out the yolk from the fragile eggshells and then just savoured a citrusy infused egg yolk. Delicate, fruity and moorish. I wonder if bread soldiers would have worked more than a dainty spoon ? Great start. Then Chickpea Socca crunchy Tacos filled with fragrant fresh herbs.

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The strong flavour of the dill and mint awoke your tastebuds so that they were dancing around awaiting the next course, which were purple carrots and blood orange on little wooden skewers. It had the colour of beetroot, and the appearance of meat, but when tasted you discovered were sweet and earthy carrots with again a citrus kick. They were presented with buckwheat and sunflower biscuits which provided the contrast in texture.

The final part of the quad of starters was a large disc of paper thin golden coloured sliced potatoes sitting atop some dots of horseradish cream. You could basically break off shards of the cremated smokey potato’s and dip them into the modestly spiced Horseradish before they melted into your mouth. It reminded me of a jacket potato prepared on Bonfire night – smokey burnt umami taste, and not something experienced in this form before. A fantastic offering of snacks which would be appreciated by anybody who enjoys new flavours.

Our next course was headed up Scallop, Watercress and Marrow. It arrived with a small layer of raw scallops at the bottom of a shallow dish over which a veloute of Watercress was poured which very slightly cooked the scallops before you the polished it off far too quickly. There were crunchy little bread croutons to provide some texture and the Marrow must have been hidden in there somewhere to, but the overwhelming taste was of the silky scallops against the Watercress.

What appeared next resembled a black oil slick on a plate which was not what I was expecting when I read the ingredients of the dish – Celeriac, Chestnuts and a Truffle. The Celeriac had been roasted and cut into a circle with the centre stuffed with a type of mushroom pate studded with big bold chesnuts.

It was black as it was smothered in a charcoal and truffle cream. On the plate it did not look appetising – question mark over presentation – but all fears were gone when you tasted the dish. Celeriac always teters on the brink of love and hate with me, but this time it just about crossed over to the Love cabin, helped by the contrasting tastes of the powerful chesnuts and earthy mushrooms.

The remaining savoury course was Duck served with a huge bowl of (just about) dressed Radicchio on the side, together with an unusual, but beautifully presented beetroot and apple Tarte Tatin. To complete the meal a bowl of new potatoes smothered in a potato cream. The duck itself was an indelicate hunk of breast sitting on a sauce of blood red beetroot sauce which in turn had a white beetroot purée on the side. Whilst being a die hard beetroot hater this dish came together spectacularly well and the Tarte Tatin was a revelation.

A quick note on the Wine, very well chosen, and complimenting each course but a special word for the Pierre Goigoux IGP Puy De Dome, Damascus Noir 2015, a blend of Syrah and a grape variety almost extinct due to phylloxera, and the Great War called Black Damas ( a Syrah variety) , and researched and brought back to life over the past 15 years by Pierre Goignoux who was fascinated by the grape. His vineyard is apparently now unique in the Workd being the ink producer of this grape variety. A lovely delicate red with black fruit and a volcanic minerality.

To desserts – the first of two was a classic from Brittany, a “Far Breton” which is basically eggs, cream and prunes made into a type of flan. Rich and yet light – no complaints here. To finish we had something which could have been served for breakfast or dessert – a Carrot, Yoghurt concoction topped with Clementine Granita. Refreshing, and brought us full circle to the first egg yolk dish also infused with Clementine. I don’t know if this was deliberate but it worked for me.

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Downstairs in the restaurant was a tiny and very trendy looking wine bar which had its own entrance in a different street to the restaurant. Apparently they do good sandwiches at lunch.

We really enjoyed Verjus – it was unstuffy, the service was excellent with a little story being provided for each of the wines, and the food all hit the spot in a very un French way. But maybe I am just not familiar with the current Food scene in Paris. Whatever, it is a far cry from the establishments still insisting on suits and ties to be worn in the evenings – a la Tour D’ Argent with its famous name but crazily priced menus.

Our next venue after our lovely evening at Verjus was a Blues Club called Cafe Utopia. This is where I really fell off the Wagon, and got back to the Hotel at 4am after being poured into an Uber by the Singers Wife – but that’s a whole different story……..

Rating – VeryHotpan – 4/ 5 , great value but maybe a little more attention to some indelicate presentation ?

Service 5/5 – Could not be faulted

Verjus– 52 Rue De Richelieu, 75001, Paris.

+33 (0) 1 42975440

Verjusparis.com