Kitchen Galerie Bis

Last night I ate an incredible meal with PBers at Kitchen Galerie Bis (or KGB) in the 6th.

Atmosphere is simple, relaxed with the splashes of color from the abstract paintings on the walls and the food on your plate. I told you about eating at KGB's sister up the street (4, rue des Grand Augustin) Ze Kitchen Galerie? I knew it would be a tasting adventure.

Chef William Ledeuil is mad for Asian ingredients. He combs the 13th arrondissement Chinatown markets each morning for the day's fusion menus. So this framed apron from the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo is spot on.

The menu is a tad confusing and frankly from the descriptions I didn't see a single thing I wanted to eat. Honestly I could have chosen blindfolded but I trust this chef to make me happy. The staff could not have been kinder or more helpful with our choices. I'm glad we each chose different dishes (except for our similar 3 'zors-d'oeurvres).

You can order a 'flight' of firsts/entrees/bites/amuse bouche. Three or four or five. I can easily say they were extraordinary. Starting with a creamy chestnut velouté on the far right. In the middle was something with Basil. That's all I can tell you. And lastly on the left foie gras cru (C is French so she could identify it - READ all about foie gras here) with tiny dollops of Balsamic reduction (I think...) and slivers of tart Granny Smith apple. Are you salivating yet?

S ordered the 'marché' dish - a quail cooked Moroccan style - in a tajine. Our waiter said there would be 'seasonal vegetables' with each dish. Naturally you imagine everyone getting the same dish of puréed something or other.

NO way! Each dish had perfect accompanying vegetables like melt-in-your-mouth baby onions and paper-thin sweets serves with the quail.

C ordered a...Seabream-like fish with tiny clams. Delicious no matter what the H. it was. We shared tastes natch. Really it's the only way to go at KGB.

I ordered grilled squid, something I would normally never order. Go figure. I asked our waiter about the 'Peribleus' (?)crevette.

His response,

"They are the happiest shrimp in the world".

OK...

Well it was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious and sitting in a pool of black squid ink no less, something I wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole. They hardly needed to wash our dishes last night ;))

Dessert time. C got 'Cappucino Praline, Glace Granduja'. A home run for sure. Light and delicate.

I ordered the 'Soupe Coco, Mangue, Ananas, Passion', all my favorite tropical flavors.

But when I tasted S's dessert, 'Agrumes confits, Crème citron, Jus Clementine-Citronnelle' I must have looked like I had died and gone to heaven. He insisted we trade plates.

I think this dessert is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED! Intensely acidic and lemony with grapefruit zings. Words simply can't describe this experience. Do consider trying  Kitchen Galerie Bis (or KGB) when in Paris.

C and S ordered a larger than usual portrait in Paris (12" x 16"). They wanted a whole scene with lots going on so we picked the Christmas marche at Saint-Germain.

For some unknown reason S's portrait kept eluding me.

We even met again so I could do a reshoot. I must of done 25-30 head sketches and still...

Perhaps the portrait could have a French Revolutionary feeling...

With S remaining headless!?

At last I got him. Whew et voila.

They are both mad for their darling rescue cats so I added a few hither and thither including C's favorite Marc Jacobs cat Sweatshirt.

Thank you C and S for your patience and a divine dinner at KGB.

xxx CG

Les Climats

Wednesday I took went to a press tasting at Les Climats on 41, rue de Lille 75007

This Arts and Crafts building restaurant used to house all the switchboard operators of La Poste in 1905. The dinning room was once the refractory for the workers. Pretty swell no?

Les Climats is an homage to an all-Burgundian wine list with 600-700 choices making the most demanding pinot addict happy. This is where the white Burgundies are kept pitch perfect.

The red Burgundies are in the main dining room.

The bar room is happy to serve you Burgundy by the glass as well as the bottle. Les Climats means parcel of land, a small vineyard. The restaurant has relationships with 350 winemakers.

I drank a delicate, fresh cremente with the starters offered.

Saucisson des d'Aveyron from Maison Conquet.

Earlier in the day at marche Grenelle I was eyeing Ayeron saucisson. I'm making an effort to get familiar with French ingredients - it's a huge undertaking!

Petite gougeres - a typical Burgundy specialty.

A tartine of gibier (with a slice of truffle embedded in the toast!) and foie gras on a marmalade of coings/quince.

The décor is a contemporary version of Arts and Crafts designed by Bambi Sloan, who designed Hotel St. James.

There's a splendid outdoor garden plus a winter garden.

We got mini tastes of the mains/les plats. I had my favorite Saint-Jacques scallops, sitting on a tiny bed of carmelized fennel with a thin slice of very special Italian Parma jambon, culatello resting on top, crowned with an endive leaf.

Richard had braised Bar with a puree of artichokes topped with cepes and tarragon.

Cepes are at the top of my research list so I was lucky Richard let me have a taste.

Did we all have pheasant with marrons as an entrée? I can't remember.

It was a lovely tasting. Chapeau to chef Julien Bosous. See his sketch above.

What to wear to Les Climats? Something sparkly that will co-ordinate with the gorgeous Burgundy wine caves of course. When you get home you can sit on your coquille/shell chaise of course.