It was 5pm on a warm Saturday evening in early August in Paris. The city was quiet, as many businesses and locals had vacated town for summer holidays. Adam and I had spent the better part of the morning and afternoon exploring the inner arrondissements and were now beginning to think about an evening meal as we roamed the 11th. Unfortunately, our dinner reservation at Clown Bar wasn't until 10pm and so we scanned our list of restaurants in the 11th arrondissement for options to supply a pre-dinner snack. On our list-and nearby-was the old school French bistro, Aux Deux Amis, which was highly touted for its inventive tapas-sized plates of neo-French dishes served in a casual, retro bistro setting. We knew that Clown Bar would offer a more modern take on French bistro cuisine later that evening, and so we decided to visit Aux Deux Amis for what we hoped would be a delicious bit of contrast to start the night.
Approaching the restaurant on the lively Rue Oberkampf, we saw waiters setting up outdoor tables for dinner service, all of which had been occupied by small groups, casually drinking wine. We stepped inside and claimed a small table in the front that opened up to the street. The space inside invokes a classic French bistro that has been untouched for many, many years. The interior was small, with seating for approximately 20-30 patrons. Since we had arrived as they were still setting up, the daily menu had not yet been placed on the menu board and instead they handed us a sheet of paper with their handwritten dishes for the day.
Everything sounded great and it was difficult to restrain ourselves, as we knew we had dinner in just a few (short) hours; however, Adam and I agreed to try just a couple...no, a few...of the dishes. Hey, we were on vacation and couldn't resist!
I started with a glass of the house vin blanc (€5 = $6.50) while Adam had a local beer from Montreuil (€3.40 = $4.50). We both sipped our drinks while we gazed out onto the passerbys with their meat from the butcher from across the street and fresh baguettes from the bakery just a couple of doors down. It all felt so wonderfully Parisian and we soaked up every in-hand baguette and bottle of wine.
Within a few minutes, a wicker basket of cut baguette was presented alongside a cheese plate and some almonds. While the cheese had not been on the menu, our server was happy to share that he could put together a plate of cheese (€9.00 = $12.00) for us. Slightly more than we would have liked to pay but the cheese was quite good (it was a hard, nutty cheese, though we forgot to get the name) and the other items were so reasonable we weren't too bothered by it.
We had used our rudimentary French skills to suss out that the rillette de thon (€7.50 = $9.75) would be a tuna rillete and we were very happy with this dish. It had the consistency of canned tuna (the $1 US variety, not the €8/tin Spanish kind) but none of the fishiness and all the flavor of a really lovely cured tuna. The raw red onion and pickles were a nice accompaniment and we both polished this off quite quickly. It was such a simple dish, when looked at, but the flavors all worked really well with one another.
The mousse de foie de volaille (€7.00 = $9.00) or chicken liver mousse caught our eye, and when it came to the table we were not disappointed. The mousse was so smooth and creamy and went beautifully with the salty capers and pickled onions. Another "simple" dish that used high-quality ingredients and worked really well together.
Our favorite dish of the meal-and one that our waiter deliberately explained to us before we ordered-was the bulots aioli (€6.50 = $8.50). Through broken English and intermixed French, our server described that bulots are sea snails. Thid would be a first for Adam and I, and so we placed an order for a serving. The bulots arrived to the table cold, still in their shells, and we were given two metal toothpicks for retrieving the meat from the shells. A little tug and the snails released cleanly, followed by one swipe through the aioli and I was in heaven. I'm not always a fan of cold seafood because, if it is done incorrectly, the texture and taste can be very off-putting. However, these were excellent and tasted similar to a clam. The bulots were cooked well and still maintained a very meat-like texture that complemented the lemony/herby aioli that accompanied them. Adam and I agreed this was our favorite dish and we would be actively seeking out bulots in our future eating experiences.
Aux Deux Amis is churning out classic French bistro food in a laid-back, no-frills setting, which Adam and I loved. The space, its ambiance and daily changing menu all scream out "French bistro" without becoming kitschy or touristy. It feels like a neighborhood gem that, if Adam and I lived in Paris, we would be weekly patrons. read more
