The food at the bistro Trois B was wonderful, but, unusually, a major part of our enjoyment of a meal there could be credited to the co-owner and only server that evening, Victor Allenou, a friendly, easy-going Breton who switched easily from French to English and back again and managed to keep everyone in the medium-sized dining room happy while taking the time to chat and joke around a little with everyone.
It’s pretty amazing that this operation runs so smoothly with such a small staff. In the open kitchen in the back, we could see only two people at work, the chef and her assistant.
The short menu sounded creative and was full of interesting juxtapositions of ingredients, with lots of vegetables and fruits – often nearly absent from French menus. One starter and one main course were totally vegetarian.
I started off with a dish of cooked radishes (a new one on me) with guanciale (similar to pancetta), a garlicky condiment and Comté-enhanced crumble. The bacony guanciale seemed unnecessary, given all the other good, powerful flavors in the dish, with the exception of the radishes, which had been drained of their piquancy in the cooking process.
Another near-vegetarian dish that might as well have been – carrots and apples with goat cheese, carrot jelly, walnuts and coriander – came with “chips of ham.“ Did the chef throw in these gratuitous ingredients for fear of alienating meat-eaters? No need, in my opinion, since both of these starters stood on their own without them.
The true vegetarian dish, Brussels sprouts tempura, was a big hit, with the crunchy sprouts sitting on a bed of Comté cream and “seaweed ketchup” for added flavor.
Of the three main courses, I chose the meatiest and most copious: fillet of duck with sauce rouennaise (a red-wine sauce with puréed duck liver), chimichurri, mashed potatoes and kale. The duck was tender and flavorful, and everything else was just right, but what really brought it all together was the poached pear, a delicious and unusual choice for the obligatory fruit accompanying duck.
The fish option, thonine (little tunny), was satisfyingly livened up with creamed herring, guanciale, a salad with fresh fruit and coriander, baby potatoes and spinach.
The one vegetarian at our table and another near-vegetarian were thrilled with a dish of braised fennel, cabbage, gremolata (a sauce made with parsley, lemon zest and garlic), fresh vegetables and creamed navy beans. Now that’s a creative combination of veggies.
Vegetables also made an appearance in one of the desserts: beet and grenadine sorbet with chestnut mousse and buckwheat crumble. The beet sorbet was not to the liking of everyone, but even though I am not a fan of vegetables in desserts, I thought that, in this case, it was quite well balanced with the grenadine and found it rather delightful.
The other dessert was basboussa (a Middle Eastern cake made with semolina) with lemon-flavored whipped cream, grapefruit and clementine jelly. No complaints there; this treat was quickly scarfed down by everyone.
This little bistro is quite a gem in a neighborhood sorely lacking in decent places to eat after seeing a film at the nearby Quai de Seine or Quai de Loire cinema. And thanks again to Victor for his oh-so-agreeable presence!
See our Favorite Restaurants by Arrondissement page to find a good restaurant in the neighborhood where you want to eat.
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