My friend Richard
booked us into this restaurant near Madeleine the other day. He knew
it in its previous incarnation as a Burgundian brasserie, complete
with cheap brass plaques commemorating regulars' favourite tables.
It's morphed into Chez
Cécile now, a comfortable restaurant with an ambitious
chef. I'm writing this too far after the meal to remember details, but
there were a lot of touches of inventiveness on the menu that worked.
Meat flavoured with smoked hay. Ravioli with coconut milk and vanilla.
Etc. New cooking, not hidebound French tradition, and it worked. We'll
be back.
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