3.5 Matière à...., 15, rue Marie et Louise in the 10th, 09.83.07.37.85 (Metro: Gare de l'Est, Goncourt, Colonel Fabien), closed Saturday lunch and Sundays, was a place a blogger-friend who specializes in restos of the 10th raved about a month ago or so. I booked. Then Colette said "Forced choice menu, dangerous." And I cancelled. Then a trusted Chowhounder wrote that she loved it. So today, I was on my own and decided to try it.
The fascade is the now-requisite anonymous gunmeter gray fascade unmarked save for tiny lettering in the window. There is a table d'hote for 15, one table for two and one outside for two as well but the kitchen is quite commodious.
Before anything, the waitguy brought out a nice loaf of bread (homemade he said) with ginger-peanut butter (equally so) - this was the highlight of the meal - not astonishing in retrospect, when I leaned the chef was a baker by training. The first course was a thick cream of broccoli with raw and cooked cauliflower and broccoli, mustard and nuts. And the second was a filet of daurade with a citronated crisp skin, confited Jerusalem artichokes, slices of raw Granny Smith apples and a cream of watercress. Truth be told, both dishes had a healthy undistinguished blandness that cried out for some character - if they had been served together I'm not sure I could have distinguished their ingredients blindfolded.
My bill with a half-bottle of South African wine and no coffee or dessert, was 30.50 E.
Go? All my sources love it so sure.