The nature of my job means that while I get the chance to try a lot of great restaurants, I rarely get the chance to return to old favorites. (I know, let me get out the world’s tiniest violin.) The list of restaurants I want or need to check out is so long (despite many, many attempts to keep it short and sweet) that even if I was going to a new restaurant every week, I couldn’t get to all of them in a year. And there are always newcomers joining the ranks.
So I was particularly chuffed to get the chance to return to Café les Deux Gares for dinner recently, nine months after I had such a drawdropping lunch I went so far as to declare it my new local.
The retro-kitsch dining room was still fairly empty at 7:30 in the evening, seeing as some were braving the chilly June temperatures for a chance to sit on the terrace with a gorgeous view over Gare de l’Est. We were warmly welcomed and led to a table with ample elbow room before being shown the short-and-sweet chalkboard menu – three hors d’oeuvres, five appetizers, and three mains. Despite the relative paucity of choices, I agonized over what to order. I see now that there was probably no way for me to go wrong.
Stuck between a crispy pig’s head or veal tartare, I ultimate let my server pick my starter for me and was rewarded with this gorgeous plate – a newcomer on the menu I was apparently the very first client to sample. The tender tartare (17) was laced with chunks of briny oyster and crisp cucumber and topped generously with dill and breadcrumbs. I got the impression that the meat was deliberately underseasoned so that each bite of oyster added just the right saline punch. Hidden beneath the pile of perfectly hand-cut veal was a mound of lactic crème crue, which provided just the right acidity to balance the dish.
I wouldn’t have thought it possible to one-up the creativity of that tartare, but this raw bluefin tuna (17) was an absolute revelation. The silky, generous chunks of tuna were arranged in a demure puddle of olive oil seasoned with strawberry juice. Topped with quartered strawberries and ribbons of celery and hiding a mound of strawberry-rhubarb compote, this tuna dish made me second-guess my aversion towards both celery and rhubarb. The pile of coriander flowers on top lent a lovely herbaceous note, and again, seasoning was judicious, with just the right hint of flaky sea salt.
I was already impressed with the main dishes at lunch, where Chef Jonathan Schweizer manages to wonderfully cohesive, complete ensembles – an art in the world of small plates. But this mastery is even more evident with the copious dinnertime offerings.
The vegetarian main (28) at first seemed like one of those ubiquitous “market vegetable plates” in disguise, with its jumble of asparagus, green bean, zucchini, spinach, and greens. But this dish proved to be way more than the sum of its parts. Not only was each vegetable perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned, but a generous garlic cream coated the bottom of the plate, adding a lovely richness to each bite. Sprinkled with deeply roasted Piedmont hazelnuts, it proved a delicious vegetarian offering – and those who fear a lack of starch on their plate need not, seeing as the bread service is generous, delicious, and swiftly refilled whenever the basket even approaches emptiness.
The pollack (32) was perfectly cooked, with thunderously crispy skin shielding a pearlescent fillet that came apart with the nudge of a fork. It was sitting pretty in rich fish soup whose flavor clearly came from reduction and extraction, with just the right finishing touch of cream.
The yellow carrots accompanying the fish were sweet as candy, and the roasted potatoes were perfectly tender and nutty – as spring potatoes should be. They were particularly tasty when dunked into an accompanying coupelle of bearnaise.
The crème brûlée (10) veers off the well-trod path in more ways than one, seasoned as it is with vin jaune. I didn’t get much of the oxidative notes promised by this Jurassian ingredient, but I did quite like the texture, creamier and less overtly eggy than most.
Crowned with even more of those crunchy hazelnuts, it was the ideal way to cap off the meal.
A meal at Café les Deux Gares would be wonderful even if the service were surly, but that’s far from the case. Efficient, smiling, and welcoming, these servers go above and beyond in making diners feel welcomed. The dining room is warm, and the view into the open kitchen is pleasant, but were this summer a bit warmer, I can only imagine how romantic it would be to watch the sun set over the train tracks below.
Let’s just say… I hope it won’t be a year til I get back.
Café les Deux Gares – 1, rue des Deux Gares, 75010