A Marathon List of Restos

I’m always looking for interesting lists of restaurants in Paris, especially if they include a few I like and can therefore conclude that the maker of the list and I agree on where to eat and I’d probably like his or her other favorite places. In November, in the Figaro subsidiary distributed in the US called France-Amerique, I saw a story about five men and one woman chef who ran the New York City Marathon and my jaw dropped.  For here was a list that included Thierry Breton of Chez Michel, Yves Camdeborde of Le Comptoir de Relais Saint-Germain, Thierry Faucher of L’Os à Moelle, Bertrand Bluy of Les Papilles, Flora Mikula of Flora and Rodolphe Paquin of Le Repaire de Cartouche.  Now this was a list! As an old marathoner myself, I can appreciate the time it takes to train and the sacrifices one makes to achieve such a goal.  But to do so while running a hot restaurant in Paris, then travel across the pond to run on the streets of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan – was awe inspiring. I wondered, do these guys and gal run Paris as well, because that show is just around the corner on April 15th.  In any case, I’m going to be watching for another story on the running chefs, because this could be a more accurate proxy for great cooking than any guide. My favorite from the above are: Chez Michel 10 rue de Belzunce, 10th (Metro : Gare du Nord) T : 01 44 53 06 20 Closed Sunday, Monday and all of August. About 30 € a la carte L’Os a Moelle 3, rue Vasca de Gama, 15th (Metro: Lourmel) T: 01.45.57.27.27 Closed Sundays and Mondays. Menus 32 € (lunch), 38 € (dinner) and 16 €. (children’s). Les Papilles 30 rue Gay Lussac, 5th (RER: Luxembourg) T: 01.43.25.20.79 Closed Sunday and Tuesday and Thursday nights Menu 28.50 €. Flora 36 ave George-V, 8th (Metro : George V) T : 01.40.70.10.49 Closed Saturday lunch and Sundays Menus 26 € at lunch, 34 & 60 €, a la carte 70 €. Le Repaire de Cartouche 8 blvd des Filles du Calvaire, 11th (Metro : Filles du Calvaire) T : 01.47.00.25.86 Closed Sundays and Mondays Lunch menus 13 & 24 €, a la carte 35-45 €. ©2007 John A. Talbott