Increasingly, the traditional French brasserie, with their frozen French fries, stale baguette and powdered eggs for omelettes, is disappearing. I have no doubt that this is hard for the older French generations to accept but it is an indication of a growing ethnic and foreign population that provide outside culinary influences and subsequently introduce the younger generations to a whole variety of foods that you’d never find on a standard brasserie menu.

Long gone are the days when France was a gastronomical beacon. Young people are traveling more and more and exposing themselves to new cultures, foods and ways of life. When and if they return to France, the croque monsieur and steak-frites no longer cuts it. The food elite are taking notice. Tokyo was recently crowned the epicenter of fine dining forcing the French to wonder, is the state of French food really that dismal? Yes. It Is. But there’s hope.

Back in November, I mentioned that the 17th’s L’Accolade restored my faith in French food and have since added Pomze to the list for originality and quality. I am happy to add two other restaurants to this list, turning this week into a foody heaven.

First up, LeTemps au Temps on rue Paul Bert, a calm and charming little street in the 11th which is most known for Le Bistrot Paul Bert – classic bistro fare that wins on authenticity and generous portions. But a few doors down and across the street is Le Temps Au Temps, contemporary French cuisine. Reservations were a must as the new-wave bistro only has about 8 tables. Mr. Cheeseland and I went with my friend who has been staying with us for over a week, someone who had been to the restaurant before and was blown away. The second time was no exception.

 

My friend started off the meal with a crème de carottes et queues de gambas – a carrot cream soup with prawns. Often with soups like these the cream overpowers any vegetables used but this one kept the taste of carrots with just the right amount of cream.

My friend and I both ordered the Filet de sandre avec une mousseline de céleri et épinards. Unbelievably flavorful. Much more original than fish with rice or mashed potatoes which I’ve seen on too many menus.

But dessert was the most noteworthy course of the evening, ordered out of pure decadence.

 Extremely full after the meal, I got what I thought was going to be a relatively light dessert – a feuilleté d’ananas, sorbet passion (sliced pineapple in a light pastry with passion-fruit sorbet). What I got was much better. Again, the chefs really got the portion sizes right, serving just the right amount of indulgence. The mixed berries along the bottom added a nice flavor.

The service was charming, the food was modern and unpretentious and the décor held onto a more traditional bistro theme with handwritten menus on chalkboards hung on the walls and simple tableware. Our only complaint was the musical accompaniment – from Michael Jackson to 90’s dance and pop – which clashed with the more sophisticated and reserved ambiance. We thought about mentioning something to the maître d’ before leaving, but left giggling instead. All in all, a fantastic meal with fantastic people.