Vin des Pyrenees worth a visit if in the Paris Marais (3-10-25)

 Our last dinner before heading back to the states (unhappily) was at an adorable little bistro in the Marais district just blocks from our hotel. Vin des Pyrenees is as quaint as it can get with black and white tile floors, lots of mirrors, wooden tables that wobble, benches with cushions and chairs that can make your already bad back feel even worse. The walls were wines stored on shelves and in "lot" boxes and the server, while looking like a jail matron, always served with a smile and made us feel more than welcome. A couple of nice French ladies sat next to us and when the table at the window near us hosted three loud cackling foreigners (two very loud Americans) we began to cringe. The "1905" vintage bar at the rear was also a site to be seen.

The menu was as traditional as it gets with special hints of the Pyrenees, so we started with Croquettes de Confit Canard des Pyrenees which were thinly super crunchy crusted balls filled with only duck confit and deep fried with a "raita" sauce which is not the Greek one we know, but more of a mustard/sauce vert combo that was superb. These were a real treat. We ordered a bottle of Les Terrases 2017 Cabernet Franc from Clotilde Legrand in Saumur-Champigny in the Loire (where we shall visit this August) which was a medium bodied red that really fit the bill. The sommelier was impressed that we even wanted a Cab Franc and he remarked how nice it would be with our varied dishes.

The Tartare de Boeuf au Couteau avec Pignons (pine nuts), Olives Taggiasche, Parmesan et Frites arrived, and it was a gorgeous one indeed with lots of flavor so that we need not add any of the tabasco or Worcestershire sauce our server provided! the bread was superb and for a change the crust was less chewy. 

Back in December we had an amazing Croque Monsieur at a small bistro and we were ready for L'Incontoumable (essential) Croque Monsieur au Gouda Truffe avec Jambon et mesclun.  The gouda oozed and reeked of truffle, and it was indeed a treat, but we did have to agree the one from December may have been a tad better. We needed more wine and ordered a glass each of VDP Herrault Les Creisses 2022 from Philippe Chesneloy made of Cab, Syrah, Grenache and Carignane that our server suggested with the croque--perfect!

There was no room for dessert, so we headed back to our hotel for a farewell to Paris drink at the rooftop bar overlooking the city very sad that we had to leave our adopted country.

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