When chef Daniel Rose began to renovate a former skate shop on the rue Bailleul, he discovered a wealth of subterranean possibilities. His construction team unearthed not one but two sixteenth century cellars, complete with crumbling stone arches and stairs. This gift of historically classified atmosphere came with plenty of red strings attached. The renovation of Rose’s restaurant was delayed by more than a year.

That restaurant opened on July 14 (see reviews via Paris by Mouth) but work below ground continued throughout the summer. Finally (and very quietly), Spring Wine Bar opened in the basement last Friday night.

The vision for this wine bar has changed a lot over time. Never one to be short on ideas, Rose has promised everything from a late night Champagne bar with a separate entrance from the restaurant to a spot for gourmet hot dogs and Japanese whiskey. He settled on something that’s more familiar – a wine bar with food – but still very much needed in Paris today.

Those who can’t book a table at the restaurant upstairs or don’t want to shell out for the full €85 shebang can dip downstairs to share some wine, small plates, and a cozy informal experience. My friend and I sat on high stools at one of several long, communal tables. We ate and drank far more than necessary and left paying €60 per head.

That’s at least double what I usually spend at a wine bar, but I suppose that we ate and drank doubly well. To wit: a plate of “Pont Neuf aubergine” – slim logs of fried eggplant with a hint of tangy tonnato inside (€5), a plate of pommes dauphines – luscious puffs of whipped potato (€4), a plate of “pig bits Iberique” – Spanish chorizo and lomo with homemade pickles (€14), an elegant pair of squash blossoms stuffed with shrimp (€12), and a fig-spattered cheese board (we chose Langres, Cantal fermier, Cosne, and Roquefort) for €14. Bread came from a crusty Julien loaf (the same that is served in the restaurant upstairs). Among the 8 glasses of wine that we somehow managed to put away, six were priced at €6 and two were €12.

I can think of a dozen joints where I could drink for less, but Spring Wine Bar brings a few things that these other spots can’t match. For one, there is seating, something that I rarely find at Le Garde Robe or L’Avant Comptoir. For another, the food is unexpected, a nice change from basic cheese and charcuterie. The two servers, Fabien and Sofian, are both knowledgeable and kind. There’s also the historical charm of the cellar, the crumbling stones still visible beneath the new glass stairs.

Price-wise, this isn’t the sort of wine bar that provides a cheap alternative to dinner. Barring the development of some personal restraint (say, 2 glasses instead of 4?), I can’t afford to make this place a habit. Still, I’m glad that Spring Wine Bar is here and I’m sure I’ll be back to discover new bottles with some wine friends very soon.

Update May 2011: Spring is now seating guests for the full tasting menu downstairs and I’m told that it’s no longer possible, or at least dependable, to be able to walk in and nibble small plates.

Spring Wine Bar
6 rue Bailleul, 75001 (downstairs)
Closed Sunday & Monday

I ate at Spring on Friday night, along with two other writers who have already published accounts of the very same meal. I’ll spare you the repetition and simply direct you to these reviews by Barbra Austin and Adrian Moore. You might also like to read the review by Mr. Lung from the following night, which Daniel Rose told me was the “most sensitive review” that he had seen in a long time.

For my part, I wrote a story that was published by BlackBook today, detailing the hype that surrounds this opening. I’ve excerpted a bit below and you can head over there to read the whole thing.

With Expectations High, Spring Restaurant Reopens in Paris

…“I’m terrified of being seen like Itinéraires,” says Rose, referring to the disdain that greeted Sylvain Sendra’s new venture after he sold Le Temps au Temps. Some of the things that diners loved about Sendra’s cramped little bistro didn’t seem to work at the new restaurant.

Rose faces a similar challenge, moving from an undecorated shoebox in a far-out neighborhood to a flashier space in central Paris. Like Sendra, he added staff and raised prices in order to pay for them. These aren’t the only changes, however. Nearly all of the hooks that comprised Rose’s story have changed within the last three years. The underdog who cooked alone and undercharged for every plate has grown into the Hot Chef who manages a team and sometimes speaks in terms of “branding.”

Such changes have done nothing to slow the rush for reservations at the new Spring. The sense of urgency surrounding this second coming is reflected in the jittery title of a discussion thread on Chowhound: “Report on New Spring? Someone? Please?”

Rose wishes it weren’t this way. “A restaurant is just part of the decoration of life,” he said. “It isn’t life itself. I want Spring to be a normal restaurant.”

Whatever the chef may wish, Spring was far from normal on the first Friday of opening week. With the exception of one small family and two neighbors from the building, the restaurant was filled with industry folk. Rival bloggers sat shoulder to shoulder in one corner while Masson and Rubin nuzzled at the bar. Everyone watched the open kitchen as if it were a stage….

> Continue reading at BlackBook

> Read other trusted reviews of Spring Restaurant at Paris by Mouth

The Paris by Mouth launch party at Spring Boutique

All photos by Nicolas Calcott

The calm before the storm:

Me and Assistant Editor Barbra Austin

Five hours later:

The crowd at Spring Boutique spilling onto the sidewalk

A few favorites:

Drew Carré, Contributing Editor Wendy Lyn and Daniel Rose

Contributing Editor Clotilde Dusoulier, Laura Adrian and Ellise Pierce

Contributing Editor Phyllis Flick

Contributing Editor Christophe Wakim (and girlfriend Oanèse) in the spotlight

Sidewalk ceviche with Elisabeth Fourmont, David Lebovitz and Daniel Rose

For more photos, visit Paris by Mouth.

Thanks to everyone who came!

And a major merci to Daniel Rose, Josh Adler, Marie-Aude Mery and the entire Spring team for making this party so delicious.

Thanks also to our Contributing Editors for sharing their time and ideas, including those who were traveling and unable to attend the launch party: Alexander Lobrano, John Talbott and Sophie Brissaud.

See you soon at Paris by Mouth?

The new Spring, on the rue Bailleul around the corner from the Louvre, will open in June July. With additional dining room seating, a basement wine bar and a private table inside the cave, there will be greater opportunities to get a bite of Spring. But will it still feel special?

Before the restaurant opens, and before the mad rush begins for first bookings and reports, I’d like to share with you my first impression of Rose’s cooking three years ago. At the end, you’ll find a video testimonial from one of Rose’s earliest diners at Spring. If he can live up to her standard with his new restaurant, we’ll all be very lucky indeed.

Spring Crush

Daniel Rose, the American chef, is being wooed. Every day his phone at Spring rings off the hook. “Are you free?” beg the callers, a little too desperate at times for his taste. The answer, short of ten days’ notice, is no.

Hard-to-get is not just a pose for a man with sixteen seats. The diners know their luck in scoring a date. They have read the reviews and know all the rules: one seating and no substitutions. They arrive bursting with anticipation, walking billboards for the season.

The foodie faithful enter the 26 m2 chapel through a door that Rose designed. They are greeted by the acolyte, a lovely waitress who whispers the menu. She constitutes, aside from the occasional stagière, the entire staff of Spring. Rose himself shops and mops and does everything else in between.

The “clients,” as he likes to call them, fall silent with the first course – a velouté sans crème (carotte). They ponder the secret (duck fat) behind his famous creamless soup, which is prettied by a foie gras throw pillow.

When presented with a whole dorade, stuffed with rosemary and red onion, every diner wears the young face of love. Round three, during which Rose wanders, looking worried and asking about salt, is spring lamb en croute à l’Italien .

One wonders, watching Rose with his clients, if perhaps he is wooing them, too. But as he builds the dessert, little towers of cake and cream, the object of his desire becomes clear. Is he touching a lover’s face or arranging a garnish? This young chef has got it bad for his food.

(posted here in April 2007)

Video Testimonial About Daniel Rose’s Cooking

For the lucky/sturdy souls who managed to battle through the bloggers, there were winemakers (Catherine Breton, Jean-Christophe Comor and Jean Montanet) pouring at the back of the boutique. Another wine stand at the front, manned by a cast of headlit deer, kept the ever-growing horde well-lubricated.

And to soak up all that wine, there were stacks of jambon persillé and a “hot dog” of white sausage (boudin blanc) with morilles. The latter – a juicy and slippery thing – continues to perfume the front of my sweater with its sweet and earthy fragrance.

Between the mob, the musicians, and the distraction of delicious things, it was hard to make out the exact details of what they’re selling here at Spring. But this I did see: a basket of oozy Robiola, silver vats of olive oil (Manzanilla from Spain) balancing upon the most beautiful antique stove, floor-to-ceiling cases of wine, a selection of chocolates that drew an approving nod from my pastry-making friend, curious jams with pumpkin and dandelion flower, Martelli pasta, and much more. They’re also stocking fresh seasonal vegetables like black turnip and mâche.

Anyone staying much after 8:00 was almost obliged to escape to the sidewalk, where the expanding crowd threatened to merge with the one spilling out from La Garde Robe across the street. It was a great party, and I’m curious to return another day to drool over the careful selections of Mary-Aude. I don’t expect it to be cheap visit…

Spring Boutique
52 rue de l’Arbre Sec, 75001
01 58 62 44 30

Sunday night I stepped in out of the rain and said hello to my dinner. “Robert,” having just descended from the spit, was resting quietly on the counter. The suckling pig would soon be joined on the table by a roasted Coucou de Rennes. But at this early hour, before the others arrived, there was time to sip my wine and watch Marie-Aude sharpen her knives.

My friend turned up and we sat down to share a slice of house-made foie gras. With a puddle of green tomato jelly and aided by a crémant de Jura, it was well-worth the €14 add-on.

The “official” dinner menu began with a salad of sucrine, pomegranate and échine de porc Noir de Bigorre (baby Romaine and high-falutin’ pork belly). Not bad, but not at all in line with my previous meals in this space. It isn’t Spring – I know, I know – but it’s hard to adjust one’s expectation. Then again, I may have just been distracted by what was happening in the kitchen:Is that not hot?

Back at the table: A heaping bowl of pork and bird, with chunks of roasted squash. A “creamless” gratin (with plenty of duck fat) on the side. It was good – copiously so – we couldn’t possibly have finished.

Dessert was pear cake with a side bowl of yum. The latter might have been raw crème fraîche and pear compote. Or it might have been some-other-fruit compote. That detail disappeared along with the last drops of an under-ripe Pommard.

So what did I think of my first visit to Table 28?
It wasn’t anything to do with why Daniel Rose is famous. It wasn’t the kind of thing that made me once write this. But hey,  it was a warm and welcoming place to share some satisfying food. I had a wonderful night and can recognize that this, more than anything else, is the aim of Table 28. So bravo Daniel, it’s good to see you smile.

Table 28
28 rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, 75009
Reservations: 06 42 87 79 64
Menu for €38 (starter, main, dessert) and wines ranging from affordable to stoopid.

]]> http://megzimbeck.com/2009/11/daniel-rose-table-28/feed/ 0 http://megzimbeck.com/2009/10/you-cant-keep-a-good-man-down/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=you-cant-keep-a-good-man-down http://megzimbeck.com/2009/10/you-cant-keep-a-good-man-down/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:02:40 +0000 Meg http://megzimbeck.com/?p=1262 Daniel Rose, the American chef who rose  international acclaim with his first-ever restaurant Spring, has had a terrible year. When I interviewed him last December (see article here), he was full of optimism about a new space near the Louvre:

We’ll add a lunch service so that people can come more spontaneously. And we’ll add more staff, which will allow me to do things that are a little more creative than answering the phone. The idea is to reduce the frustrations so that the joy which is already here can have room to express itself more fully. I may be dreaming, but I think there’s a way to have a restaurant with both happy cooks and happy customers. Doesn’t everyone want to have fun?

While he could see the fun at the end of the tunnel, Rose never anticipated that opening the new space would be easy. But he couldn’t have predicted the volume of red tape required to rebirth Spring in the classified center. Any new restaurant in Paris is required to provide access for the disabled. But the city permits few, if any, structural changes to its protected buildings. Figuring out what they were supposed to do wasn’t easy for Rose and his team of architects. The plans have just now been approved, and Rose is forecasting an opening in March 2010 – fourteen months after our interview.

In the intervening months, Rose has to some extent been a man without a country. He closed Spring, at least officially, in February 2009. After time off and traveling, he returned to Paris to find the new place nowhere near ready. With the old space still intact (unsold) and requests pouring in every day, he decided in May to reopen again. But like anyone who has already resigned from a job, his heart wasn’t entirely in it.

He changed the game over the summer – adding weekend lobster roll parties – and then closed up shop again. After more time off and traveling, Rose returned to Paris with renewed focus and has managed to push through the plans for the rue Bailleul restaurant. He’s also constructing a boutique around the corner at 52 rue de l’Arbre Sec. This shop is the pet project of Marie-Aude Mery (Rose’s co-chef and girlfriend), who has been tasting and buying a host of Spring-worthy products. Rose promises on his blog that the boutique will be open in November, selling honey, wine, charcuterie, hot chocolate, HOT DOGS, and other delicious necessities.

In the meantime, however, one problem has remained – the original restaurant space. Rose put it on the market just as the clouds of la Crise were gathering. Despite offering a free t-shirt with every restaurant purchase, he hasn’t managed to sell it. So he’s returned again to the rue de la Tour d’Auvergne, but this time under a new banner. For Table 28, his “rusti-chic” neighborhood place, Rose has ripped out the kitchen (“I can’t even boil water!”) and has installed a €5000 rotisserie grill. Dinner for now is Coucou de Rennes with potatoes au gratin (Rose is working on a new recipe that uses goose fat in place of cream) and veggies roasted on the rotisserie. Including dessert, prices run  €29 for a 1/4 chicken portion and a 1/2 bird is €35. Don’t expect the program to stay the same, though – he’ll will be roasting a whole cochon de lait on Thursday night and who knows what after that. He’s also coming to the aid of lazy hosts by offering dinner pour emporter. Take out for four people (a chicken and sides) will run between €52-56. Table 28 will be open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday, with lunch service (sandwich de porcelet, anyone?) beginning shortly.

Anyone who wants to eat from the hand of Rose, however, should book a table now (call Fabian at 06 42 87 79 64). As soon as the concept and grill are running smoothly, Rose will turn his attention once again to urgent matters south at Spring, including what kind of snacks (beignets d‘huîtres?) should be offered in the basement wine bar on rue Bailleul.

As promised, Daniel Rose hosted an indoor picnic de luxe last Saturday at Spring restaurant in the 9th. On the menu: lobster rolls, duck-fat french fries (a nod to Hot Doug?) and some very cold champagne.

We arrive late (quelle surprise) after a noisy afternoon at the Villette Sonique music festival. Walking in around 9pm, we’re met with fallen face and the words “we just sold the last sandwich.” There is a table, though, so we sit for wine and to plan our next move.

A bottle of champagne lands on the table. Soon after, a half-packet of algae-flecked Bordier butter. I see Daniel dash out and return with an armful of bread. “Well you’re here, you’ll eat a little something.” Then a platter arrives, grinning with cherry tomatoes and a pile of parsley-topped lobster salad. We split into the warm rolls, with one knife and no napkins, making DIY sandwiches on the table top.

Daniel and Marie-Aude start to clean the soon-empty restaurant, but stop over to replace and swig from a succession of bottles. Between chores, they assemble a bowl of raspberries for us to share, fresh cream and chocolate mousse on the side. Scraps of bright green pistachio cake also find their way from the pan to our plateless table.

We stay longer than is polite, allowing them to leave as the clock strikes midnight. We continue along to Chez Moune (dancing models are a let-down after this), while our hosts totter off to ponder the fact that they made more money selling sandwiches than their regular four-course menu.

For those who prefer a proper meal over communal scraps, you can call Spring to “reserve your beast” and then show up anytime on Saturday between 12-7. Normal price is €23 for a sandwich, and €5 for duck fat fries. Emptying the fridge and the cave (rightly) costs a little more…

When he did answer, I could tell from his face that there a lot of begging going on. “I’m sorry (Ambassador… Mr. Editor… Mom) but there’s just nothing I can do…” “That phone,” he later told me, “is the enemy of joy.”

Shortly thereafter, he closed Spring with a plan to reopen around the corner from the Louvre. Unsurprisingly, that address has been wrapped up tightly in red tape, and it will be months before clients can descend down into its 16th century cave.

In the meantime, Rose has retreated to his original restaurant in the 9th. He announced quietly on the blog that he’ll once again be taking reservations. So anybody who’s been dying to try Spring but couldn’t face the half-year wait should call today… like, seriously, right now.

The most exciting part of his post, however, was this:

“Next Saturday, May 30th we are starting a new formula at SPRING. Service all day [on Saturday]… no reservations. Champagne, cold beer and LOBSTER SANDWICHES. Just what you always wanted during an economic crisis – a pricey luxury sandwich and enough cheap booze to help you forget about it. Call ahead and order live lobsters to go at cost + 5 eurobucks”

Lobster rolls and beer, with no phone reservations… could Daniel Rose actually be having fun?

Update: Spring reopened in July 2010 around the corner from the Louvre. A collection of reviews on the new Spring Restaurant can be found on Paris by Mouth.