Another foodie post here, not to everyone's taste I know. We tried to book for dinner at the restaurant Spring for our anniversary which was on 3 May. No luck - the best we could get a late sitting at 9.30pm on 8 May. Better late than never.
Spring is downstairs in rue Bailleul, one of the original streets of Paris and about 500 m from our little apartment. It is owned by Daniel Rose, an American chef. The staff run up and down these stairs continuously and the kitchens and cellars are a further level down.
Paul was excited. That's the wine list not the menu. There is no menu The food is whatever the chef has decided to prepare for that day based on availability. So it's a surprise.
First up was smoked eel with foie gras and aubergine ceviche - the aubergine had been cooked without heat in lemon juice and lemon verbena. Unusual because the aubergine was still a bit crunchy, but very good overall.
Next up was ceviche of mackerel in a wine foam flavoured with mint and accompanied by tiny raw vegetables - peas, radish, turnip, pea tendrils and crunchy little seeds that I couldn't identify. Right on the mark.
My dish of the day. Chewy little pointed crepe capped Morel mushrooms topped with a perfectly cooked whole egg with runny yolk, crunchy green asparagus, watercress and a fine prosciutto, all in a foam of mushroom juice. Superb.
Fillet of veal with carrots cooked in butter, plus a fine veal jus and deep fried parsley. A few more veggies would have been good.
Blackberry clafoutis to share. Incredibly good.
Run of the mill strawberry ice-cream, over an excellent thick pistachio creme de patisserie, sprinkled with really fresh, young pistachios.
Chocolate and coffee something or other. Paul ate mine. Three deserts is over the top when the vegetables have been light-on.
But they did serve excellent espresso and offered a tiny bowl of blueberries, red currants and raspberries to finish, instead of a sweet biscuit or chocolate. A nice touch.
All up - the wine pairing with the food was excellent, the food was not as good overall as our first visit 4 years ago and Passage 53 was better value for money.
We walked home around the perimeter fence of the Les Halles project, up near Saint-Eustache church with its strange new lighting.
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