Tag Archives: Daniel Rose

Paris Burger Wars – more News from the Bun

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Following my February posting about the change of pace with regard to American culinary offerings in the Capital, breaking news on Wendy-Lyn’s ‘The Paris Kitchen‘ caught my eye this morning. Who would have ever imagined that Ralph Lauren, Danny Meyer & Michel Romano would loose beauty sleep to open a state of the art Bugerria at the very heart of Paris’s most chic quartier on the Boulevard Saint Germain ? Well, if Wendy (& Alexander Lobrano) are to be believed, it has happened & the photographic evidence provided is pretty convincing. I am left with the vision of various members of the Chambre des Deputés being caught on UTube, defending a misplaced notion of ‘Savoir Vivre à la Française’ – Bun in hand.

Clearly not simply a desire to sell another pair of slacks, this news is altogether heartening, highlighting that the change from ‘without’ that is very much part of the change from ‘within’. Add to this most recent cocktail of Magnificent Mousquetaires, the almost unnoticed disappearence of the ledgendary ‘Chez Pauline’ in the Rue Viledo, Paris 1er – now an up market Japanese Udonaria – include the observant Michael Steinberger’s book, “Au Revoir to All That”, the busy man at Spring, Daniel Rose – at last poised to launch a further salvo with the much awaited opening of his apropriately named ‘Spring’ – & even ignoring the “Blogettes Parisiennes” generously served ‘Plats du Jour’, one can not escape this new reality.

Obama said it. We have it. ‘Change’ est ici.

Paris Burger Wars

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News, I find, often misses the point. A recent example that comes to mind would be the huge amount of noise that greeted the opening of yet another “Murder Burger” outlet. Had it not been encased in one of the Capital’s show piece tourist attractions, no one would have noticed the queues craving nutritional impoverishment.

I detect a shift, similar to that which followed the bankrupcy of the local boulangerie in the ’70′s & ’80′s, not far removed from the dire chocolate scene of the ’90′s, where ludicrously bad outlets from Belgium’s industrial ZAC smothered the Capital with dismal confection. Then came the revolt.

Boulangeries like Jean Luc Pougeran arrived on the scene, showing quickly that with great bread on offer, queues would form. As with bread, so with chocolate. Behind the talent of Robert Linx of Maison du Chocolat fame, arrived others, so that it is almost as hard today to find poor chocolate, as it was back then to find good.

But this is about America. Good news. Well it can happen. Don’t go away yet. France, in spite of the immense capital of ‘Savoir Vivre’, has a discomforting fetish with regard to the ubiquitous burger, consuming quantities that bring embarrassment to the statistics. Beyond the type peddled by the armada of Fast Food outlets there have always been a number of ‘American Restaurants’ offering a ‘business class’ alternative. Never very exciting. But I think this mindset is changing at last.

Enter from the right last summer, a few days late, came the man from Spring, Daniel Rose, with his ‘Lobster Roll’. Simply delicious & though I do not need to tell you this, an instant sell out. This it seems was to be the first salvo in the firework display. As a couple of weeks ago things suddenly flaired up on the Left Bank. Paris received the first of a new kind of hamburger. Pictured above. Juan Sanchez of the DerniereGoûte, started serving, Sunday lunch only, the best hamburger in Paris at his restaurant Fish la Boissonnerie.

By far the best hamburger in Paris.

To date, that is. Who can tell where a little skirmish will lead ? Hamburger buns at dawn, les citoyennes !