Zoe Bouillon: Boutique A Soupe

The other night after gallery hopping to various openings in Belleville, I searched for a restaurant for dinner. Belleville, in the 19th Arr., is a funky East village-like neighborhood that is now getting an infusion of young creative people and the area’s cafes, restaurants, bars reflect that. I passed many lively joints busting with energetic 20 something-year-olds drinking, smoking, eating and carousing.

Not knowing the area at all, looking for a restaurant was chancy. They may look good from the outside and the menu tempting, but I have been disappointed too many times. I settled by default on an intriguing place called Zoe Bouillon, after my first three choices were full. Even though the restaurant was almost empty at 10PM, not a great sign considering all the other restaurants were full, I trusted my instinct. The menu looked interesting and the 3-course 21 euros formule was the dealmaker.

Zoe Bouillon specializes in soup obviously and being the soup lover I am, I was in heaven. I’ve sorely missed soup living here, since most restaurants don’t even serve soup and when they do it’s usually a classic or something boring. I was delighted to hit the soup jackpot: there were 4 soups on the menu and I was able to choose 2 out of the 4. I selected a ginger leek and a carrot. A few minutes later a white ceramic square tray arrived with 2 small bowls of soup. The carrot soup was pureed with chunks of carrot giving it a hearty but smooth consistency. The ginger leek was savory and tangy. The only flaw was that the soup was warm, not hot.

Next up was grilled salmon with a subtle tangerine sauce served on a bed of chunky mashed potatoes. The mild citrus flavor was just enough to give the salmon the boost it needed.

For dessert, my other favorite course, I was also given a choice of 2 desserts. Someone was after my own heart when they put the menu concept together. I choose the mango soup with raisins and nuts and the orange pound cake.The soup was thick and pungent and the crunchiness from the nuts & raisins gave it the extra needed dimension. The pound cake was dry and I spooned the soup on top, which made for an intense fruity combination.

The friend I was with is a dessert fiend, and when she saw the waiter giving 3 desserts to the table of his friends, she balked. The waiter’s ears must have been burning from the other side of the room because he later came over and offered us a third dessert. I declined for the first time in my life, being full and satisfied. The bill came out to 26 euros a person with water and a pichet of wine. I was a very happy camper having been able to double up on my two favorite food groups and not having my pockets emptied out. Paris is an easy place to spend a lot of money on food, so I am always thrilled to find a good restaurant with affordable prices using a little patience, fortitude, and instinct.

The service was relaxed and friendly. One of the reasons the restaurant intrigued me was because of the funny and quirky window display of 2 tableaus of mixed Barbie, Ken, G.I. Joe dolls, etc. I think the reason why the restaurant was not crowded is because it is more of a lunch place. They also have take out, delivery, and catering.

Barbie Doll Tableau

Zoe Bouillon
66 rue Rébéval, 75019
01 42 02 02 83
www.zoebouillon.fr
Lunch & dinner
Open 11:30- 23:30, Monday to Saturday
Metro: Belleville or Pyrenees

Dear Readers,
Thanks so much for all the inside places you sent me. I look forward to visiting them in the next few weeks. I especially want to thank my friend Paul Cruce aka Louis La Vache for all his suggestions and for his “shameless” plug about www.eyepreferparistours.com on his wonderful and graphically beautiful blog, The Frog Blog of Louis LaVache.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Comments

[Alice]

Richard, this resto sounds like my kind of place! I'm a soup-lover too, and I'm always looking for places that experiment a bit more with soups. I've got to check this out...

And I'm also on the lookout for more reasonably-priced places to have a great 3-course meal. This sounds like a winner! I used to know a few in the 18th, but I'm no longer living in Paris intramuros, unfortunately... That may change (here's hoping!).

For lunch, I have a fave right at métro 4 septembre: a tiny place called Stanie's. They do mainly sandwiches, but also soups-of-the-day. The owner is a young couple who used to work in marketing. Rebecca's daily soups are always inventive and delicious! Rue de Monsigny, if I'm not mistaken. Modern deco, and the food is fresh and always quite good.

[Luc-Roger Bédard]

Bonjour Richard, An other great place for soups is Le Bar à Soupes at 33, rue de Charonne in my next of the wood. You can check their daily selection at their website www.lebarasoupes.com
All fresh produces with interesting mix of flavors and a little price. Great rapport qualité / prix.

Next time you are in Belleville stop by Le Vieux Belleville to discover the Parisian version of a Karaoke evening. THe food is traditional bistro fare but it the sing-a-long to old French song complete with accordeon that is a most see.
www.le-vieux-belleville.com/

A bientôt.

[Emma]

Another great soup&tartine place is: SPANK
85, Rue Albert
75013 Paris
01 45 82 19 71