Last weekend we headed out to Pavel and Tatiana's for a Russian meal. None of us really knew what to expect, except a lot of vodka. When we arrived, the table was set with three large salads (and I mean large, each salad could have served at least 10 people. There were eight of us). One was Pavel's famous layered herring salad which we'd had before, there was a pickled vegetable salad, and a potato-type salad. All were delicious, and were of course accompanied by vodka. Which actually wasn't that bad. And apparently the Russians drink their vodka with pickles, and Tatiana had made her own dill pickles witch were also delicious, and a surprisingly tasty partner to the drink. There were also little homemade buns stuffed with cabbage, hard boiled eggs and cheese, that are called pirogi. Last time we were there we had talked about pirogi, and how they were such an easy thing to cook when we were in university. Tatiana was very confused, and we learned why when she whipped these things out. Apparently the pirogi that we eat in Canada are actually called something else in Ukraine. The main course was meat baked with onions and cheese on top, and was also very good. For dessert we had a red berry semifreddo-type dessert, that was very refreshing. What an experience! There was so much food left over that Erik got to have it again for lunch the next day when Pavel invited everyone back to help finish the leftovers.
Here are some bad photos of the meal:
Tatiana, and the multi-layer herring salad. Pirogi in the basket on the right.
Bicher and Alex behind the two other salads. Note how much was left. This was after everyone had been served.
The aftermath. Pavel has a habit of carting out the digestifs after dinner, and last weekend was no exception. The Suze wasn't too popular though.
On Tuesday we saw the movie Babel. What a great movie. So interesting, neither of us could sleep that night because we kept thinking about it. Highly recommend it, and not just because Brad Pitt is in it. Parts of it also take place in Japan, and I spent much of the movie nudging Erik every time I heard a 'des-ka' or 'konichiwa'. We want to go back.
On Thursday we were woken up at 5:30am by the Braveheart soundtrack, and other surprisingly good tunes blaring from the apartment above. We waited it out for about thirty minutes before Erik decided to be an 'adult' and tell them to turn it down.
And last night, we had dinner at the other restaurant I had made reservations at. This place was right around the corner, but we seriously have to start making our reservations for a later time. I always say 8:00, because it seems kind of late for some reason. But realistically, neither of us get home until 7:00 on Fridays, and we usually eat dinner at 9:00 or 10:00 during the week, so I don't know. Anyway, of course we were the first people there, and it was so uncomfortably quiet until the place started filling up.
I have to say that this place was a bit of a disappointment. We were both seated on the same side of our table, which was odd, and it was right in the entry, which was kind of interesting because we could watch the bar, but we really felt like we were on display once we started eating. The food was nothing spectacular, and certainly not worth the amount we paid for it. We think it was our most expensive meal yet, by a couple of euros. We've come a long way from the 9 euro menus that we were eating in Montmartre when we first arrived, but we haven't come too far.
So, the food. I had warm artichoke salad for an entree and confit de canard for my plat. The salad was fine, and the duck was good, but it was served with sauteed potatoes that were burnt. Erik had foie gras to start, and it's hard to go wrong with that, and andouillettes as his main, but his potatoes were burnt too, and he ranked his cafeteria andouillette higher than this one*. For dessert I had the Grand Marnier souffle, which I actually didn't like that much, and Erik had a yummy chocolate mousse. The bread was good, and I regret not eating more of it.
Anyway the place was called Chez Dumonet and it is at 112 rue Cherche Midi. The food that was being served around us looked good, so eat at your own risk.
This weekend we have a date with Ina and her Paris cookbook. Steak with bernaise sauce; pear, endive and roquefort salad, and some dessert that doesn't involve the use of the oven. It broke again. We're off to the basement at BHV to look for another fuse. Plus, if we do get the oven fixed, I intend to buy some beaters (only 25 euros at Darty!) and do some baking. Wish me luck.
*For anyone who's interested, the first place goes to the Encrier; the cafeteria andouillette is number two and third place goes to the Raspail Vert.
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