Daniel Rose is a charming young man from Chicago who, in addition to knowing all the songs from "Guys and Dolls" (no mean talent in itself), also happens to own and run a restaurant in central Paris called Spring. Having met him a couple of times at parties and, indeed, listened to his theory of the perfect chocolate tart, when the ever-lovely Meg Le Blagueur and Petite Anglaise invited Micke and I to join them for dinner there, well, they didn't need to ask twice. Now, having someone you know cook for you always has a high potential for embarassment and awkwardness and this is multiplied by 10 when you're actually paying. What if he was having an off night? What if my most hated vegetable (endive) featured heavily in every course? Because there isn't a choice. Daniel goes to the market and does the shopping himself every day, taking his cue from whatever's in season, looks good and could feasibly provide two starters, a main course and a pudding. And trust me, he knows what he's doing. I'm no food critic, so I'll spare you any purple prose on the meal itself (though you can see the pics at the top of this post) but it was very, very good. The highlights, for me at least, were a selection of fresh, sweet peas and beans served in a chicken broth and given added richness by the addition of diced foie gras, and the duck -- cooked to perfection and the meatiest magret de canard I've had in nine years here. Simply delicious. Add to this a bottle of white, a bottle of red and a bottle of champers and you've got a very happy Rhino and chums. Of course, I'm being a bit of a tease here because Spring is actually closed from July 22 for the summer, but if you're looking for the perfect way to ease into what the French call la rentrée in September, I'd thoroughly recommend it.
7 comments:
I love it when the plate looks so appetizing, when it looks good... it's just that much easier to allow yourself to enjoy the food once you bite into it.
That stuff looks Great!
Rob, it was soooooo good, I can't tell you. And he's a fun guy too. I'm adding it to your Paris itinerary!!
It really is a wonderful restaurant... The only reason I didn't blog it was because I think it's plenty popular enough already! I don't want to wait three months for a table.
You're right, of course Amy. He's doing a roaring trade. I may resort to tracking down and bumping off people ahead of me on the waiting list :-)
Hmmm... remind me to keep my reservations a secret, then.
I was really hoping for a bit of that purple prose, Mr. Seamouth.
Meg, if only he'd served eggs with lavender!!
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