The First Night Of Nouveau Beaujolais (Chez Cusimir)
Our new-found buddy Claude (of L'Alsaco, see entry below or in the archives) recommended HIS favorite restaurants to us when we ate in his. He gave us a handful of business cards and gave some pretty specific descriptions of each one ("this one: the food is expensive but the wine is not"...and so on...). We were starting to get a bit worn out (and Russell and I were still a bit ill) and chose something close to the apartment.
Tonight is the first night of Nouveau Beaujolais and all of the restaurants are celebrating. At Chez Cusimir, the party is just getting started. Chez Cusimir is exactly what we've been looking for in a neighbourhood restaurant or at least it fits "bistro" pretty well. Small, very homey, chalkboard menus, lively clientele and waitstaff...ahh. We have had a few "interesting" experiences in local (as opposed to "tourist") restaurants all involving the locals looking askance at four food lovers chattering away in English, probably louder than anyone else in the restaurant. Cusimir was a totally different experience: everyone chattering away in their native languages, no strange looks, all food-wine-food-wine...the most whole-fun restaurant experience we've had so far.
Our menu included starters, mains and dessert - 2-4 in each category all written on a smallish chalkboard propped up on a chair near our table. As with several meals on this trip, Janet and Russell concurred on dishes as did Meriko and I. They ordered the foie gras terrine; Meriko and I ordered the soupe des legumes. The foie was rich, smooth, as satisfiying as all of the ones we've had so far. The soup was a cumin-laced, pea puree which was medium thin and huge in flavor. We had a big tureen of it so everyone had some. Delicious. Naturally, we had two bottles of 2005 Scea du Chateau Cambon Beaujolais Nouveau.
For mains, we followed our spouse-food-swap suit: Janet and Russell opted for Saute de Biche (venison) with ratatoule, Meriko and I, the Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops), Tartare de Tomates au Pistou with Puree de Celri. 
Rich biche...
The venison was a rich stew of dense deer meat with a reduced sauce: very, very hearty. Jan eschewed the ratatoule due to her experience in Amsterdam but it was decent but nothing special. The scallops were served broiled in their shells with a simple tomato and pesto sauce. A little pot of celery root puree sat in the center of the plate and was an excellent counterpoint to the tangy scallops.
Coquilles St. Jacques and a pot of celeri puree...
Dessert was a Pain Perdue with apples and a caramel sauce. Pain Perdue is what we call French Toast and this one was beautifully cooked (one had to order this in advance...with the initial dinner order). From experience, soaking then slowly pan saute'ing bread is a bit of a trick as you want to preserve the creamy soaked bread inside but crisp the outside just enough to give it tooth. This one was definitely done "right". The apples and sauce made the dish complete.
A few coffees and calvados (calvados'es?) later...we trudged off into the 32° night air sated, happy to have finally appproached the kick-ass French restaurant experience.