Chez Françoise
Aérogare des Invalides (7e) Invalides 92-20
Many travelers who leave Paris by air are unaware of the fact that gastronomic adventure follows them almost to the taking-off point. If you are flying back and are hesitating whether to have a meal at the Paris Air Terminal, for eaven' sake do it. This is no buffet de la gate, and it is a far cry from what you will find on Sloane Street or Forty-second and Park. Chez Françoise is a topnotch Paris restaurant, geared to the frequently hurried traveler, but still adhering to lofty culinary principles. Sounds contradictory, I know, but Monsieur Turenne Rousseau, the proprietor, is a most unusual man, endowed with numerous culinary honors and much imagination. He is from the Champagne and, naturally enough, offers you a tempting choice of still and sparkling wines from his native province. You will also find a wonderful rendition of that Champenois classic, pieds de pore à la Saiute-Menehould, But maybe you don't like pig' feet. Well, there are plenty f Other good dishes, particularly among the plats du jour. For example, there is the feuilleté furassien, a fascinating hot cheese tart to serve as an horsd'oeuvre. A ready-to-devour ragout of some sort is sure to be on the menu, which bears a gay cover design by Guy Amoux.
The restaurant is down one flight in an unpromising spot, but it has been skillfully decorated. There is a sort of Winter Garden terrace, latticed with bamboo and glass-enclosed to keep cut the cacophony of the loud speakers. The panorama is rather banal-merely the landing platforms for busses taking passengers to Orly or Le Bourget. But your fellow passenger, bound for Cairo, London, Copenhagen, or Buenos Aires, provides plenty of atmosphere, and Monsieur Rousseau' gifted young cooks do the rest. Prices are very reasonable indeed.
Closorie des Lilas
171 boulevard de Montparnasse (6e) Dantou 70-50
“Where is a nice place to dine on a warm summer evening?” I've heard that question more than once, and one of the most successful answers has been this famous old café-restaurant at the eastern extremity of Moutparnassc. In summer it is as sylvan as the Bois de Boulogne, its broad terrace being framed in hedges and abundantly sheltered with chestnut trees. And (miracle to us Americans) there isn't a trace of a mosquito. There couldn't be a more charming setling for a quiet, inexpensive dinner for two or for a resounding round table of all the people you liked on the boat.
The place has a notable history, loo, dating back to the time when Baudelaire was a client and Georges Ingres brought his models here for a bit of refreshment. Later it became (he favorite domain of avant-garde poets and painters: Paul Fort, Francis Carco, Picasso, and Bracque. The place once resounded with squabbles among the aesthetes, but now it is very tranquil. The avant-garde has deserted it for Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The food, service, and wine at the Closcric des Lilas are perfectly good, if not extraordinary, and (he prices are entirely fair. There is no extra cliarge for that sylvan setting.
Le Vert Bocage
96 boulevard Latour-Mattbourg (7e) Invalides 48-64
This is a most restful Jittle place, tucked in a quiet residential corner of Paris. It is not far from Les Invalides, whose gilded dome shimmers through the trees. It has a certain style, too, a hedged-in terrace, a coquettish bar, and comfortable green plush scats lining the walls. In this cordial and civilized atmosphere a young chef, Monsieur Jean Bak, and his smiling little spouse offer you a handsome choice of dishes, poules de Bresse à la Vallée d'Auge, iniile à la gelée, and saumou de la Loire an benrre blanc among them. Monsieur Buk is proudest of his grenouilles à la provençale, so if you like frogs' legs, here is the place. The prices are reasonable, find the setting is so friendly and familial that you are tempted to return at once. Closed on Sunday.
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