Paris/Reims Trip Report (Sep 2021)

After WAY too long, was finally able to make it back to Paris post COVID and had a really wonderful long weekend. This board has been very helpful to me over the years and I need to be better at offering my contributions. So, here’s a short recap.

My first stop, and my second time visiting, was David Toutain and I have to say, if anyone ever asks me “Hey, I’ve got one special meal in Paris, where should I go?” This is going to be the place I recommend. I went for lunch on a Thursday and four hours later, left very happy. I had the “small” menu and I’m pretty sure I still had 16+ different items visit my table. Food was outstanding, service was outstanding, wine list was outstanding. The Champagne offered by the glass (Bereche & Fils) was really tasty and my wine for my meal was an amazing value. I told the somm I love White Burgundy but normally can’t afford to drink it; she directed me to a delicious bottle of Lucien le Moine 2015 Bourgogne Blanc for 75 euro and I couldn’t have been happier. She also told me “no problem if you don’t finish, you can take the rest with you.” I was eating alone, and had no problem finishing. My first visit to this restaurant was a couple years ago and I actually had the vegetarian menu; I’m not a vegetarian and it was still incredible. I’ll very happily go again.

That evening for dinner I went to a place called Anona. Sadly, not nearly as big of a hit (for me). The wine pairing was pretty skimpy and the while the food wasn’t bad, it wasn’t something special that would bring me back again. My meal was fine, but I probably wouldn’t be going back.

The next day took me to Reims and another fantastic lunch, this time at Racine. Like David Toutaine, this is a 2-Star place and the lunch is a great value. Again, I took the smallest option and we still had probably 10-12 items come across our table. There is a strong Japanese influence here and the focus on fish/seafood. I am not a huge fish lover and they were willing to make some accommodations for me but I still ended up with a decent amount of fish/seafood plates. Overall, all very tasty. If you are a fish hater, this is probably not the place for you, but if you can flex a bit, great experience. They are particularly well known for their champagne list and there were a LOT of great options. Had a great bottle. Really great way to spend an afternoon in Reims.

That evening was Juveniles Wine Bar. I went much lighter on the dinner here because I was still pretty full from lunch, but this is a FUN place. Food was good, wine list was great, but the place was rocking. Every table was full and people were having a great time. My dinner companions are probably not the target audience of this place, but if you could get a table of food/wine lovers together that don’t mind a noisy restaurant, this place is a lot of fun. Much more casual than the other restaurants, but that’s what it’s supposed to be.

My last memorable meal was actually a supper club, The Twenty-Two Club in Paris. I read it about in Dorie Greenspan’s newsletter and had a great time there. It’s run by the people that run Verjus and it’s a beautiful apartment in the heart of the city. I really love these types of dinners; the hosts are fun, the crowd is always fascinating, and the food is usually very good. You can follow them on IG and they book up VERY quickly so if you see there’s a seat available, you want to sign up immediately because it won’t be there later that day. If you can get a seat, you should.

So that’s it for this one. Had a great trip and am on my way to Provence this Thursday. Going to spending some time in Menerbes, Avigon, St. Remy, and Arles and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll post another one for that trip as well.

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thanks for the great write up.

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I miss Racine and David Toutain so much. Great to hear that they’re in fine form, and thank you for the tip about Twenty Two Club

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Juveniles was my go-to place for casual visitors. Have had so many fun dinners there, including one with Michel Abood where we got Margaux to pose with a bottle of Bionic Frog. English friendly, great food and usually a couple of hidden gems on the wine list. Really great to see they’re still firing on all cylinders.

Like the Toutain shout-out, as well. Found out about his place on this board wellllll before he blew up with Michelin stars and Top 100 restaurants :smiley:

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We had hoped to go to Juveniles this trip, but by the time I got around to booking, nothing in the evening was available. Right now it looks booked full for dinner for the next 2 weeks. Lesson learned … don’t hesitate to book well in advance.

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