It was many years ago, in the era when I found new restaurants by searching through the weekly Pariscope magazine and made reservations at a phone booth, that I first discovered Le Navigator. It promised traditional French cuisine at a reasonable price. That first time the Waring Juniors sat in the basement and had Terrine de Lapin and onion soup.
We returned many times because this restaurant offered unusual traditional dishes and great desserts. So I wanted to eat there again to finish our stay in Paris.
We walked down the Boulevard St. Germain after church. The rain had stopped, and we only held our umbrellas at the ready in case the heavens opened again. The blackboard in front of the restaurant was as crowded as ever. There were at least ten choices in the entrée as well as the main course.
The restaurant was full, and we had to squeeze between tables to reach our seats. Next to us an older woman sat with a younger Asian friend. As I took off my coat she started complaining loudly about people who come in without closing their umbrellas. I could have understood her distress if the umbrella had been wet, but it was dry,and the waitress soon hung our coats and umbrellas in the closet. She seemed to enjoy being critical.
When Peter's onion soup arrived she was very dismissive of the way it was prepared, but as she realized that we were speaking French, and that we could overhear her rudeness, she calmed down and stopped talking about our food and our conduct.
When she finally ordered dessert, she chose the same one as me.
This time I remembered to take photos of each course (except the Kir Royal and the Boudin Noir on toast). Here's what I ordered.
Entrée was pheasant terrine.
The Plat was Magret de canard (duck breast), tender and rosy, with Gratin Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes) cooked to creamy perfection.
Dessert was a poached pear with hot chocolate sauce in a pool of crème Anglaise.
Finished with un petit café. Perfection !!!
No comments:
Post a Comment