6.3 52 Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis in the 10th, address obvious, no phone, no reservations, open 7/7 8 AM to 12 midnight (Metro: Chateau D'Eau) is a sort of cantine/neobistro/restaurant that a dear friend in the business said was one of the best meals of her rentree. It serves breakfast, lunch, high-tea, dinner and snacks between those occasions.
The French friend we've known the longest in Paris started off with a carpaccio of daurade, with lemon/pears/wasabi, macademia nuts and parsley, Colette had a nut sable with different colored beets cooked in Port, celery and white chocolate shavings; and I had balsamic-marinated chicken livers on a sweet potato puree with tajine juice and pistachios. If there is any fault to this place, it is that every dish has multiple ingredients (which work very well together, thank you) but which look somewhat similar to deconstructed horizontal shish-kebabs.
Then the two ladies had the joue de cochon lacquered with ginger, butternut squash, chestnuts and bacon and I had some of the best slices of beef in my life (tenderly undercooked to perfection without my asking) with a potato puree Robuchon would die for, bok choi, black sesame and watercress. All this with a nice bottle of Syrah.
For dessert Colette had the caramelized apple slices with uncooked apple slivers and green apple sorbet and meringue bits; our friend of long-standing had a slice of ginger/pear clafoutis, sesame ice cream and Jamaican pepper aka allspice and I had spoonfuls of chocolate mousse, roasted banana, cacao sorbet and another (different) sable. Outstanding all!
Our bill, with a bottle and glass of wine, Campagnon's own coffee and his next door neighbor (the specialty food & wine place Julhe)'s grain bread, was 140.40 E for three, thus 93.60 E a couple.
Go? Before the local Bobo's and the Yankees from the NYT over-run it. Even with the kiddies and young crowd the dB level didn't exceed 80 dB until they turned the bass on the canned music up.
