Big news out of Paris: the Michelin three-starred chef at the helm of Hotel Le Meurice is opening his first bistro. Called “Terroir Parisien,” the restaurant will open its doors any day now at 20 rue Saint Victor in the 5th arrondissement. A few years ago, Yannick Alléno launched a “terroir parisien” lunch menu, celebrating the local products and culinary history in the Parisian region, and this bistro is an extension of that concept. (Read our first-hand report of the lunch menu at Le Meurice here.) The celebrated chef published a book with the same name, which included commentary by the noted food critic, Jean-Claude Ribaut.
Alléno grew up in a family of restaurateurs in the Paris suburbs, and is thus attached to the local culinary tradition. “People ignore the fact that a real Parisian terroir exists. But I think that gastronomy was born in Paris. It’s important to revisit the culinary history of this city and rediscover the products that are about to disappear,” Alléno said.
The restaurant menu won’t cost more than 30 euros per person and will feature items like mackerel cooked in white wine, liver terrine from charcutier Gilles Vérot, and Parisien hotdogs-- think gourmet style, concoted from tête de veau, or cooked calf's head. All paired with a good pichet of wine, of course. Helmed by chef Eric Castandet, Terroir Parisien will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner including Sunday brunch.
Related Article: The New York Times, "A Parisian Hot Dog, Hold the Snark"