Michele Kurlander
Unfortunately Lynn couldn't do lunch this month, but fortunately I had a good backup. My friend Michele Kurlander from Chicago was in town and was inspired by Meredith Mullins photos of Senegal last month and suggested a Senegalese restaurant she had written about before. I never had Senegalese food before so I didn't know what to expect. I had passed Le Petit Dakar while walking on the streets of the Marais but it never occurred to me to try it. Always game to try an unfamiliar cuisine, I said yes to Michele's suggestion.
The restaurant was small but not cramped with a relaxed ambience. Formules are always hit or miss and sometimes have very limited choice but the Petit Dakar formule had many appealing dishes and a selection of three in each menu category. We started with an appetizer of four very large gambas/ shrimp served with a small salad and sweet red tomato sauce. I was already impressed and happy with the portion sizes. I had been to a Thai restaurant in the Marais earlier in the week for a two-course formule for 14 euros and was so disappointed by the puny portion sizes and so little food, I had to go buy a quiche to supplement my hunger. The gambas were sautéed to perfection, moist and tender.
There is nothing better than a hot stew in the winter to warm you up and I had a plat of veal stew with a peanut sauce and spiced carrots. Again, it was a more than ample portion served with a generous portion of rice (Most restaurants serve a standard one cup size, this was about a cup and a half). It was made just the way I like stew, soft and melty, and the peanut sauce didn't have an obvious peanut taste, it was much more subtle. In fact I forgot it was peanut sauce till I looked at the menu again. Michele had a flavorful chicken stew with lemon confit and onions, similar to a Moroccan tagine.
We were stuffed but dessert was a must after the intense and spicy spices from our previous courses. We thought chocolate would be a good taste intervention. A most unusual chocolate cake with a mound of sweet potato puree and a scoop of mango was served. The two slices of cake were somewhere between a soft brownie and a chocolate fondant and the sweet potato puree oddly worked well.
I will be heading back to Le Petit Dakar next time I have a hearty appetite and don't want to spend much money to satisfy it, which means I will be going back any day now.
The owners of Le Petit Dakar also have a African crafts shop right across the street, C.S.A.O.
Le Petit Dakar
6 rue Elzevir, 75003
Metro: St. Paul
www.lepetitdakar.com
Lunch- Tuesday to Saturday 12:30 to 2:30
Dinner 730PM to 10:30PM Tuesday to Sunday
C.S.A.O.
9 rue Elzevir, 75003
In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!
Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
Comments