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TOQUE OF PARIS - FRANCE


Italian Food In France

By Eric Gaudet

Beato's Chef,
Ivano Giordani
Beato's Dining Room

The Italian food in France has roots which go back very far in history. Around the Mediterranean Basin, there were many exchanges in the ancient times. Cuisine and food habits were no exception to the rule and followed the trade routes. Although some products were already known in Massalia (now Marseille, a Phocaean counter since 600 BC), they spread widely among the Gauls as the influences from Italy grew quickly after the conquest of Gaul by the Caesar's legions 2000 years ago. Among these products, the Romans developed the culture of grapevine to make wine. They introduced the oven and with it the skills of cooking bread. They brought with them the choppers and taught how to prepare the sausages. In the mean time, the Gauls shipped to Rome live fish and oysters, kept in barrels with sea water...

Since then these cross border influences have not stopped. More recently, during the Renaissance, the fashion came again from Italy and benefited a lot to the French cuisine and tableware. The plates appeared first on the wedding table of François 1er, the forks during the reign of his grandson, Henri III. His mother Catherine of Medicis, when coming to marry his father Henri II, brought with her the pasta, and the American bean from the then West Indies. In her suite was Count Frangipani, already known for his pastry cream, together with many Italian cooks. In fact, at that time, having an Italian chef was a must in any noble house. Of course, this did challenge the French chefs who observed, compared, and improved their techniques to take the lead back.

Today, it is much easier to travel, and these transalpine influences are still present. One can experience a true superb Italian cuisine while staying in Paris. They are lots of Italian restaurants, ranging from the pizzeria to the high class tables. Here are some of our favourites, in different styles, and located in various places of interest, to help you to make an Italian trip to Paris.

About half way between the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower, in the little Malar Street, there is Beato, run by Ivano Giordani, who settled here in 1984. In this refined and cosy décor, you will run into some chic Paris people. When the headquarters of the French TV were nearby, lots of TV stars were seen in its elegant dining room, and even the late President Mitterrand used to invite his daughter here to share an Italian dinner with him.

Everything is of the utmost freshness, and besides the specials of the day, you can have an à la carte summary of Italian cuisine. As starters, you have a choice between different antipasti, a superb prosciutto di Parma, stewed artichokes with herbs or parmesan cheese, sautéed sea shells and crustaceans, an assortment of grilled vegetables, a scampi and shrimps salad, or a marinated salmon with basil and lemon, . . .

Then, of course, come the pastas, all sorts of pastas : penne all'arrabbiata (spicy tomato sauce with garlic), tortelloni al Gorgonzola, spaghetti ai frutti di mare, tagliatelle terra e mare (tomato sauce, artichokes and shrimps) or with scampi or salmon, penne ai quattro formaggi (in a creamy sauce with 4 cheeses),. . .

After the pastas, you can have fish: fried scampi and zucchini, assorted grilled catches of the day, or superb scampi with tomato and basil, or a roast salmon,. . . For meats, you may try the tasty veal scaloppine al limone (in a lemon sauce), or with artichokes, a beef fillet with a balsamic vinegar sauce, or even simple lamb cutlets grilled with herbs.

Should you care for a dessert, you may want the genuine tiramisu, with coffee or red fruit, the chocolate iced truffle or a thin hot apple pie.

To drink with all this, you will chose between French wines (with a short but good selection of Bordeaux wines : 95 Haut-Médoc Château du Taillan, Saint-Emilion Domaine de la Gaffelière, 97 Lalande de Pomerol Château de Viaud,..) or Italian wines, White (Pinot Grigio La Staffa, Orvieto Salviano) or Red : 97 Valpolicella Campolieti, 93 Portulano Rosso del Salento (from Apulia), 94 Barolo Pio Cesare, a rare 91 Barolo Gaia Sperss, 95 Tignanello Antinori, or a rarity, a 96 Sassicaia, which Ivano was among the first ones to serve in France, all of them at very reasonable prices. For two, you will spend about $100.

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