wow. what a little gem. i had taken along all our michelin guide hoping we'd get into a few of the bib gourmand places and we did make it to one on this night.
chez mathilde was also getting no answer via telephone so at 6 with hungry bellies we set out towards chez mathilde to see if it was open or closed for holiday or what, and we decided we'd find somewhere to eat nearby if they weren't open.
we found the place pretty easily and the gal was just setting out the table. turns out they opened at 7 so there wasn't anyone there until a little after 6 to answer the phone. we asked if we could get a table and she said yes, service started at 7, so while we're hungry we decided to walk down a couple blocks to this great neighborhood park and watch people/children until 7. in some ways it reminded me of comm ave in boston, but this was more neighborhoodly. to find out more about this park you'll have to check into my travel blog for this date.there was 1 table for 2 outside on the sidewalk - limited due to some road work being done, but inside there was only 6 or 7 tables. i have no idea how many people were in the kitchen but there was only 1 gal on the main floor. she bused, served, did the drinks, sommeliered, cashiered, and answered the phones.
the menu for the day was handwritten on chalkboards. of course we ordered a bottle of wine to go with.
an amuse-bouche:
it was a poppy & sesame seed butter cookie kind of thing
me: gaspacho de poivron piquillos
other than a chiled soup and i guessed piquillos was a type of pepper i had no idea. i just thought it sounded like a good thing to have and boy was it! red pepper with a basil leaf.
matt: terrine forestiere
this was a country style pate/terrine with greens. it was pretty good, but i'm glad i had the soup
me: saute de porck au curry, pates coquillage
pork brochettes in curry sauce with pasta shells (that's the coquillage). this was great. it took a few bites for the curry to kick in but wow.
matt: st jacques roties, p. puree
st jacques. we would never have figured this out if our server was as nice as she is. there was a lot on the menu we just simply did not recognize and with no context other than knowing it was an edible item, we had a real hard time figuring out what things were. she went and pulled out her dictionary and helped translate a lot of words, actually. st jacques = scallops!
so scallops with potato puree. yummy!
me: tarte aux cerises
i knew this was a cherry tart but that's all i would've been able to tell you. oh my. it was like a pudding quiche with cherries.
matt: sable breton, framboises et chantilly
raspberries, whip cream and cake (kind of thing)
matt says it was very good.
mingardise - i think these were the little raspberry madelines.
while we were eating another couple came in and were seated at a nearby table. we struck up a conversation with them somehow. anyway they're served a dessert and matt and i are both like "wow that looks good". now mind you there were a couple 'wow' moments in this meal. the soup, the scallops, the cherry tart - and everything else earned at least a 'yummy!', but when i returned from the ladies matt tells me to sit down, we can't leave yet.
molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a gooseberry
i have absolutely nothing but good things to say about this place. it was superb. perhaps it was such a 'wow' because we weren't expecting such a great meal, just a really good value and a good meal. perhaps the small place overwhelmed us with its charm. but the fact that the gal who was working that night went so out of her way to help us figure out what was on the menu and had limited english - but it was more english than i had french - that did it. i'd like to keep this place my little secret, but i can't. it's too good for that. it's a bit out of the way - one has to walk about 6 blks off the port maillot Mo stop, but if you can i suggest you get out there.
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