Italian Food In France

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Sormani's Chef Jean-Pascal Fayet	ll Cortile Restaurant

Near Notre Dame and the Sainte Chapelle, in the Ile de la Cîté, you will find ll Delfino. It is at the very end of the island, opening on one side to the Quai des Orfèvres, where are the Criminal Police Headquarters, familiar to Simenon's Inspecteur Maigret, to the Place Dauphine on the other side. The Place Dauphine is one of the loveliest places in Paris, which you must see when visiting this area. In the Delfino's friendly atmosphere, you will have a typical Italian experience.

Starting with fresh marinated sardines, grilled marinated peppers, a salad with fresh cheese in olive oil, or a carpaccio, you will soon be ready for pastas prepared the classical way: spaghetti alla Bolognese, Napoletana or Carbonara, fettucine alla Ciociara (with bacon, green peas, mushrooms and parmesan), penne all'arrabbiata, tortellini alla Tratevere, lasagna al forno. You may also have fish, grilled gambas, scampi in white wine and tomato sauce, or with a cream and Cognac sauce, or meat: veal scalopine Valdostana (with ham and cheese), or in a Marsala wine sauce, or Delfino (with a tomato sauce and mushrooms), saltimbocca alla Romana (with Parma prosciutto and white wine).

For dessert, you may want to try the ones I like most, the home made tiramisu, or the Marsala zabaglione. Each day, there are also the chef's specials, depending on his mood and on the market. The wines to go with all this are quite good and you will have no trouble to make your choice between the classics : Chianti, Valpolicella, Barolo, . . .  For two, it will cost you about $70.

Off the Place de la Concorde in the rue Cambon, almost across from the US Consulate, you will see the Castille Hotel (part of the Sofitel Demeure Hotels). It is ideally located, in the heart of one of the nicest shopping areas in Paris, at a walking distance from the Louvre Museum, the Place Vendôme, or the Opera. Inside, it opens onto a florentine-style patio, with a trompe l'oeil painted wall and a splendid stone fountain. This is the Cortile Restaurant. From the inside dining room, you can see the superb kitchen, a dream for any chef, with its broiler and spit. The Italian Cuisine at Il Cortile reaches summits. No wonder, it has been re-visited by Nicolas Vernier, 30, under the supervision of Alain Ducasse, our most starred chef in France (8 Michelin stars altogether). Nicolas is the living example of this subtle mixture between the French high cuisine which he learnt with Alain and the Italian spirit he has naturally from his Italian born mother and his own experience of the Riviera. The menu, which changes with the seasons, is just an Italian symphony: as starters, green asparagus with parmesan powder and reduced balsamic vinegar, or an assortment of salads and aromatic herbs with fried scampi. The pastas have been recreated as well: cannelloni with ink, crab and lobster meat and a subtle fennel cream, maltagliati with quails and morels stew, risotto with purple asparagus and roast juice, or a panned Milanese risotto with braised veal sweetbreads.

Then, from the broiler or the plancha, minute cooked, you will be tempted by a thick roasted slice of swordfish with mixed citrus and ground peppers, veal piccata with sage and beets, or a beef fillet with truffles and Marsala wine sauce. A la carte, you will have some other examples of this subtle, sunny, perfumed, colored and tasty Mediterranean cuisine. Gourmet dishes are here to celebrate each season's finest products. It is now the right time for asparagus (risotto with raw and cooked asparagus), lobster (lobster meat and coral with pasta salad and black Taggia olives), poutargue (also known as Sardinia caviar, in salad with artichokes, celery and tomato), Parmigiano Reggiano (parmigiano chips with figs, fresh fennel and balsamic vinegar), Tartufi d'Alba (white truffle from Piedmont, with spaghettini or a creamy risotto). For dessert, you will be in trouble to decide between strawberry soup in Barolo wine with lemon sherbet, tiramisu, Panna Cotta, or zabaglione with Marsala, . . .

For wines, Il Cortile offers one of the most comprehensive Italian wine list in Paris, from 80 vineyards, covering all the wine regions in Italy, even the most remote ones : Calabria (white 96 Pian della Corte Scavigna - Odoardi), Apulia (white 96 Vigna di Grazia - Maci, red 95 Falcone Ris), Valle d'Aosta (96 Syrah), Friuli (96 Merlot Grave - Fantinel), Sardegna (94 Terre Brune). A dinner for two will cost you about $140, and there is a 3 course luncheon special, wine included for $40 per person.