Honoring Chartier Restaurant - the French Bankers' Lunch Spot in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Honoring Chartier Restaurant – the French Bankers’ Lunch Spot in Paris (France) by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

(Note: In the US, a chain like Williams-Sonoma might be able to offer cooking classes to make the dishes listed below.  Or, use French and Italian cookbooks.)

In the 9^th arrondisement in Paris (France), there is a restaurant that caters to the banking and finance industry called Chartier. 

The “tablecloths” are white paper for easy clean-up.  The waiters write up your itemized bill on a corner of the tablecloth and tear it off for payment at the cash register.  Chartier always gives sales receipts.  They mention that they do catering on the receipt.

Most of Chartier’s banker clients come from the higher rent 8^th arrondisement next door.  Chartier can offer less expensive lunch meals, because they are in a less expensive city neighborhood.  Lower rent carries over to less expensive prices charged on meals.

The 9^th is also easy to access with food and drink due to its proximity to several of Hausmann’s “Grands Boulevards.”  These large boulevards lead into the 9^th from the Périphérique or ring road around Paris.  Logistics companies love its location for ease of delivery (no tickets for obstructing sidewalks) and not too much gas used thanks to fewer stoplights.

The rent is high in the 8^th because there are many bank headquarters there as well as apartments owned by aristocrats.

Chartier’s menus are simple, but excellently prepared.  I do not remember all of them, but the book entitled Champagne Uncorked about Krug champagne jarred my memory about meal rotation.

I learned how to make Chartier’s menu offerings at home when I began working part-time once my daughter Florence was born when my family lived in Paris.  I have added to them now that I am back in the US in California.  You can find recipes for most of these items in cookbooks or online.

Drinks:

-gazpacho from Spain, if made traditionally with bread it may qualify as a full protein - grain from flour plus seeds in the vegetables and in the olive oil.  Factcheck needed from Purdue University.

-Thai iced tea

-apple cider

-pear cider

-Vouvray – fruity white from the Loire Valley (located close to Paris via highway and train, including TGV)

-Montlouis – fruity white from the Loire Valley

-Saumur Champigny – light red from the Loire Valley

-Bourgueil – light red from the Loire Valley

-Moretti amber beer from Udine, Italy

-Taittinger Champagne for deals signed and “name days” instead of birthdays for everyone.  (Taittinger is also the brand of the LA Rapper Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in New York I believe – factcheck needed.)

-Champagne Deutz – Not as well known, but very good.  My family served this at my daughter Florence’s baptism party held at the Chateau de la Jonchere at Bougival next to the Seine River outside Paris.

-Lillet - Sweet cordial from Bordeaux in both white and red

-Cointreau - Sweet orange cordial from Angers

-Tyrconnel Irish whiskey

-Dalmore Single Malt Scottish Whisky

-Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky

-Bombay Gin

-Tanqueray Gin

-Courvoisier Cognac

-Marc de Champagne or Burgundy to add to espresso, if desired.  This is called a café coretto in Italy.

-Mariage Frères Teas

-Lavazza Coffee for café crème

-Carte Noire for espresso

-Black currant liqueur to make kids with sweet white wine or Kir Royal with champagne

Hors d’oeuvre:

Offer a selection of 3 of the following items while guests wait on the rest of the meal:

-Roquefort with cream spread on toast squares

You can substitute the following cheese selections for Roquefort to make the dish above.  Sometimes your main supplier might be short of supply for any number of reasons, so it is good to have two or more other suppliers that you order from:

-Maytag blue – from US

-Cabrales – from Spain

-Gorgonzola – from Italy

-Carrot Purée made with butter and olive oil to spread on toast squares

-Sliced radishes served on top of buttered toast squares

-Braised red cabbage made with brown sugar with crumbled bacon sprinkled on top

-garlic-butter toast squares

-apple slices with cheddar cubes

-lentil salad made with lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, and chopped Italian parsley.  (Claudia Roden recipe)

-chopped iceberg lettuce, cashews, tangerine slices, and orange-blossom water with lemon juice dressing (Riff on a Paula Wolfert recipe using walnuts instead of cashews)

-cheddar-butter-paprika cheese balls

-smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg slices, and horseradish sauce on toasted pumpernickel squares

(This is great with Moretti beer and maybe Tyrconnel whiskey.)

  

Entrées

A choice of one of the following:

-Seasonal vegetable soup – puréed with cream offered on the side.  Cabbage, by the way, is a little easier to digest, if it is puréed in a soup.

-Greek Village salad with oil and vinegar dressing and two slices of feta cheese

-Plain salad with a choice of blue cheese dressing, Ranch dressing, or balsamic and vinegar dressing

Main Dishes

-Monday

Coq au Vin (Chicken Stewed in red wine with buttered tagliatelle on the side), or

Gratin Dauphinois (from the Jura Mountain area of France – potato casserole made with sliced potatoes, crème fraîche, butter, liquid cream, and grated gruyère on top)

-Tuesday

Seafood Pasta – use an Italian recipe for whatever is freshly caught that day.  If the catch is bad, make gambas al ajillo (Spanish garlic shrimp) with frozen, raw shrimp, or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Wednesday

Roast Chicken with potatoes and puréed spinach on the side made with cream and butter.  You can vary this by making Greek lemon-garlic chicken sometimes, or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Thursday

Boeuf Bourguignon – (Beef stew made with red wine and served with buttered tagliatelle), or

Gratin Dauphinois

-Friday

-Baked Fish (Cod) with sheet-pan, baked potatoes with Italian herbs, chopped garlic, and olive oil, or

-Gratin Dauphinois

Cheese Platter

Offer a selection of 8 different cheeses with a choice of 1 or 2 with two baguette slices.

Vegetarian Options:

There are vegetarian options for a main dish from several world cuisines.  I have listed several below that I like that can be served with bread made with California black olives and olive oil:

-Turkish-Lebanese-Egyptian – Spinach and or Cheese Phyllo Pies

-Thailand – Panang Curry with Vegetables (The curry is made with stewed peppers that can mild or spicy.)

-Greece – Salad buffet Greek Village Salad, Tomato and Onion Salad, and Tzatziki dip for toasted bread

-India – Vegetable curries, saags, and vindaloos

Dessert:

-Fruit Salads with cream on the side

-Fruit or vegetable breads or muffins such as banana bread, zucchini bread, or carrot cake served as a bread or muffin.

-Valrhona chocolate muffins

-Vanilla custard made with cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla beans from Madagascar

Coffee and Digestif Alcohols as Desired

I loved eating at Chartier and have always believed that real food should not be limited to the bankers of France.  

This little spiel is a manifesto in support of the real food movement from Italy.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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