Le Repaire de Cartouche in the 11th has been a favorite of mine, even before my colleague at Paris By Mouth, Patricia Wells, said one must visit it once a year - and it being the beginning of game season and a Saturday, what better excuse? Rodolphe Pacquin has a new toy, a veritable pink stuffed pig that oinks and talks in American English that someone gave him, that's an ideal companion for a hearty meal.
For starters our companions had the mozzarella buffala with a chopped tomato concortion and haricots verts with mushrooms and I had the foie gras with a terrific spicy salad - all equal to mains in most joints.
For mains Colette had a very nice piece of bar cooked in its skin and scales with interesting beets; Madame had a fricassee of poularde with white beans; M. the cote de veau with cepes that he (and I) was entranced by; and I had the grouse breast with a forcemeat of foie gras wrapped in cabbage with sliced cabbabe all around and underneath - wow!
Finally Colette had the peach melba (not pictured), Madame the sable with Reine Claudes and nougat ice cream and M. the platter of wonderfully ripe cheeses.
Our bill with 2 bottles of wine, no bottled water and four coffees was 232 E for four or 116 E a couple.
Bonus Photo seen in the Spring Boutique/Wine Shop in Paris:
