The Juvénile in Me
Every country has its watering holes… the English have pubs, the Germans pile into beer gardens, the French have les bistros à vin (wine bistros or wine bars). Typical wine bars like Le Baron Bouge serve only wine with different types of cheeses and slices of saucissons (dried sausages). . In recent years, les bistros à vin have included cooked food on their menus when more and more clients started demanding food and when the proprietaires (owners) realise that good wines should be enjoyed with food.
One of my favourite wine bars is Juvéniles, owned and run by Tim Johnstone, a boyish-looking transplanted Scot in France. Tim’s help are Cammy, a bubbly Australian, who makes clients feel welcome and at home at Juvéniles, and a Sri Lankan cook, who prepares all the meals with a smile. When I’m at Juvéniles, I’m relaxed and I joke and laugh with Tim, Cammy and the clients at the table beside me. Tim’s clientele consists of residents in the neighbourhood, old-time clients and also many Anglophones who either live in Paris or drop into Juvéniles every time they pass through Paris.
Tim sources his wines from all over France and also from far away lands like South America and Australia. He goes often to the French countryside to look for the best of the smaller good wines. He visits almost all the vineyards in France where he buys his cases of wine. The wine list changes when Tim finds something special or the wines run out, which is often. You can order the wine by the glass or demi-carafe or bottle. You can also walk in to buy bottles of wine.
At Juvéniles, we find the typical wine bar fare such as “Foie gras de carnard frais”, “Entrecôte de Montbéliard with pommes de terre sautées”, classic desserts like “crème brulée”. We also find Scottish favourites like haggis and mash (haggis is sheep intestines stuffed with meat) and light curries such as “Poulet tikka et concombre rafraîchissant” (chicken tikka curry with refreshing cucumbers).
Tonight, I tell Cammy that I’m parched from the heat and asked her to pick my wines… and then to pick the food to go with her choices of wine. I had a glass of Navarre 2001 “El Chaparral” Vega Sindoa from Spain, which was light and fresh, to go with a plate of jambon basque Ibaiona (dried Ibaiona ham from Spain) and ripe cantaloupe melon. For the main dish, I had fricasée of calamars aux épices et timbale de riz de Basmati (fried squids with spices and Basmati rice) to go with my second glass of Coteaux du Languedoc 2004 “Podio Alto” Domaine du Poujol. To finish off, I had a generous slice of chocolate cheesecake with a small glass of brandy de Jerez “Sënor Lustau Solera Reserva 40° from Spain.
My three course wines with dinner came up to €44. I leave for my real home, slightly zinged and with a full belly.
Juvéniles
47 rue Richelieu
75001, Paris
Tél : 01 42 97 46 49
Fax : 01 42 60 31 52
Métro : Pyramids, Opéra
Reservations advised esp during non-summer evenings
Comments
It seems very attractive, like a lot of bar à vin in Paris and especially if like wine.
Do they have corsican wine ?
Posted by: seb | August 30, 2006 09:06 PM
Hello Sebastien: I think I had a muscat at Juvéniles once... it was all very good. I agree with you that wine bars in Paris are a great place for wine lovers and to discover wines.
Posted by: LPC | August 30, 2006 09:13 PM
Juveniles is good choise. They always have many differnt choises of wine, aspecially from my country - Spain!
Posted by: Javier | August 30, 2006 09:35 PM
This is an excellent blog, and this entry epitomizes it.
I have a couple of French buddies in the SF Bay Area, and we meet frequently. Everytime we meet, the wife would cook up a storm. She will only do authentic French cuisine when I show up. Wine and ingredients are imported, and the meal preparations usually take the whole day. Nice couple, and they are proud of their food, just like you with your taste.
Hope we can meet up in California if you happen to travel west. I'm a food junkie too.
Posted by: eatmyfifthhoof | August 30, 2006 10:02 PM