This is a scene of the River Seine during the day, around lunchtime, from the Pont Neuf. It's magnificent and expansive, but what may not be immediately evident is the cluster of autos on the street, on the Quai des Grands Augustins. Along the middle right side of the picture, a traffic jam, or embouteillage, as the French call it, which is a fact of life here, the quiet hum of running but non-moving cars punctuated by the occasional shrieking ambulance and the tolling bells of nearby Notre Dame Cathedral.
Across the street, Ze Kitchen Gallerie offers a welcome respite from the interminable bustle, a place for a filling repast before you move on to your next touristic adventure. Chef William Ledeuil honed his craft at Les Bouquinistes, which abuts ZKG, before moving on to open his own place to showcase his playful culinary creations. A source of solidly prepared, delicious food along the rive gauche, ZKG is a grand gastronomic stop in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
A rosé Champagne and some water to start us off. I swear, we spend a fortune on bottled water in these gastronomic trips. We should think twice; "tap water, s'il vous plait"? On the right, an Alsatian Riesling from Ostertag that we chose to go with the Asian-inflected lunch.
Of all the restaurants we visited, Ze Kitchen Galerie showed the most Asian influences with its ingredients and cooking techniques. Married with French methods, they produced a meal that was satisfying, if a bit rich (though not as rich as that at Jean-François Piège). The casual crowd and the natural light coming through the glass windows, even on a mostly gray late-winter day, made for some relaxing eating. Around 40€ gets you a starter (an entrée in French), entrée (plat principal, here called a plat "à la plancha" to refer to their specialty of grilling) and dessert, all pretty generous servings. You can skip either entrée or dessert for 5€ less, but really, why? There's also a degustation for 70€, but we may save that for another time, when I don't have a need to walk or, indeed, rise from the chair at all after lunch.
I finished my meal off with an espresso to jolt me back to life after that benevolent lunch. It came with a nice chocolate and nut disc, which I think may have neutralized the awakening effect of the coffee. But not to worry, I made it out with enough energy for an afternoon of strolling and picture posing. (More pictures of the area in another post.)
4, rue des Grands-Augustins
75006 Paris
T. : + 33 (1) 44 32 00 32 - F. : + 33 (1) 44 32 00 33
Across the street, Ze Kitchen Gallerie offers a welcome respite from the interminable bustle, a place for a filling repast before you move on to your next touristic adventure. Chef William Ledeuil honed his craft at Les Bouquinistes, which abuts ZKG, before moving on to open his own place to showcase his playful culinary creations. A source of solidly prepared, delicious food along the rive gauche, ZKG is a grand gastronomic stop in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
On the left: Ravioli de porc, condiment pistou et jus Thaï (pork ravioli, Thai jus, pistou condiment). Probably the best of a series of good plates, the pork was meltingly tender, the sauce light and well seasoned. On the right: Saint Jacques, oursin et condiment citron "Meyer" (scallop, sea urchin, "Meyer" lemon condiment). I still don't know why Meyer was in quotes; not-really Meyer lemons are usually just called lemons. This is the better appetizer for those looking for a more straightforward, clean taste, but for me, it can't beat the raviolis.
Below: bouillon topinambour-citronelle, ris de veau, condiment sesamé noir (Jerusalem artichoke broth, sweetbread, black sesame condiment). This dish was also quite excellent, though I felt the sesame condiment didn't add enough of a punch; in fact, it was rather bland. But the sweetbread and broth? Sensational. Moreover, the sauce being poured, in action, earned this photo a right to be enlarged.
Left: encornet grillé, crabe mou en tempura et aïoli gingembre (grilled squid and tempura of soft-shell crab with ginger aioli). Again, those looking for lighter fare would do well to order this together with the seafood dish above. Ideally grilled squid and tender soft-shell crab in a colorful mosaic-like presentation equals delicious. Right: poulette "cour d'armoise," jus d'un curry Thaï, Sancho-mostarda (cour d'Armoise spring chicken, Thai curry jus with mostarda-Sancho). This chicken gave in so easily to the bite, one could have mistaken it for fish.
Below: agneau de lait confit grillé, condiment miso-chorizo (confit-grilled suckling lamb with chorizo-miso condiment). Where is the tenderness? Right here on this veal. The slightest hint of gaminess, the visual impact, the unique chorizo condiment all add up to a stunning yet in the end quite simple dish.
The desserts were truly marvelous, preparation- and taste-wise. Left: glace chocolat blanc-wasabi, condiment pistache-torrone, emulsion thé rouge (white chocolate-wasabi ice cream, pistachio-torrone condiment with red-tea emulsion). Right: crème de citron, sablé yusu, sorbet mandarine-citronelle (lemon cream, yuzu cookie, mandarin-lemongrass sorbet).
Below: soupe de châtaigne, poire confite, condiment datte-vin de noix (chestnut soup, pear confit with date-walnut wine condiment). The fancy soup-based desserts reminded me somewhat of many Asian desserts, like those in dim sum restaurants, for instance (check out the sago dumplings in coconut milk here), and ginataan (red or green beans and coconut milk soup) from the Philippines. Or maybe I was just homesick.
Of all the restaurants we visited, Ze Kitchen Galerie showed the most Asian influences with its ingredients and cooking techniques. Married with French methods, they produced a meal that was satisfying, if a bit rich (though not as rich as that at Jean-François Piège). The casual crowd and the natural light coming through the glass windows, even on a mostly gray late-winter day, made for some relaxing eating. Around 40€ gets you a starter (an entrée in French), entrée (plat principal, here called a plat "à la plancha" to refer to their specialty of grilling) and dessert, all pretty generous servings. You can skip either entrée or dessert for 5€ less, but really, why? There's also a degustation for 70€, but we may save that for another time, when I don't have a need to walk or, indeed, rise from the chair at all after lunch.
I finished my meal off with an espresso to jolt me back to life after that benevolent lunch. It came with a nice chocolate and nut disc, which I think may have neutralized the awakening effect of the coffee. But not to worry, I made it out with enough energy for an afternoon of strolling and picture posing. (More pictures of the area in another post.)
Reservations recommended and you can request one online via the LaFourchette service, the French equivalent of OpenTable.
75006 Paris
T. : + 33 (1) 44 32 00 32 - F. : + 33 (1) 44 32 00 33
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