Dinner at Astier

Faced with a near-empty refrigerator, we decided to find a neighborhood bistro open for dinner on a Monday evening -- not an easy task as it turns out. We consulted Patricia Wells' Food Lover's Guide to Paris and our Zagat guide for Paris (thanks, Vicki and Stew!), and decided on Restaurant Astier, a 8-minute stroll from our apartment. We packed up Emmett's dinner and off we went.


The restaurant opened at 8 p.m. and we were the first customers to arrive, but trendsetters that we are, the restaurant was full within minutes. (I have no idea where all the people emerged from -- I thought we were the only ones in the vicinity!)

Their prix-fixe was a steal at 28€ for 4 courses: entrée, plat, fromage and dessert. For our first course, I ordered a fricasee of mixed wild mushrooms which was garlicky, earthy, and unlike any other mushroom dish I've ever tasted. David ordered mussels, which were not only delicious, but the shells provided Emmett with endless entertainment for the entire evening. For the second course, David ordered a tasty lapin á la moutarde with fresh pasta to soak up the sauce, while I ordered roasted pork with chanterelle mushrooms.

But the most memorable part of the meal was the giant cheese platter that arrived at our table on its own stand. I have never seen a platter as large as this filled with an endless variety of cheese. Oozing brie, a buttery reblochon, salty chevres, aged sheep's milk cheese, paprika-dusted cow's milk cheese, a pungent bleu.... We hardly knew where to begin first, and I'm sure we didn't get to sample every one, but oooooh, were we in heaven!!


Dessert put us over the edge: David had a roasted pear wrapped in filo dough with a scoop of caramel ice cream while I had a chocolate pot de creme with sauce au lait and a tiny perfect madeleine.



Restaurant Astier
44, rue J.P. Timbaud
11th arr.
Open on Mondays!