Chef Antoine Westermann earned 3 Michelin stars at Le Buerehiesel, the restaurant he opened in his native Alsace in 1969. In 2006 he took over Paris' struggling Le Drouant, home of the Goncourt literary prizes, and restored it to its former glory before selling and launching Le Coq Rico where poulet is king, or should I say queen?
Here he celebrates the varieties of chicken the way a sommelier celebrates his cellar, capped by his annual TOUR DES FRANCE DES BELLES VOLAILLES where whole birds are roasted for groups of three or four persons.
If you are not feeling like Henry VIII, the daily menu will satisfy a lusty appetite.It features roasted chicken, guinea hen and duck-a generous complement of almost all two-legged creatures.After Cyril seated us he poured a Bourgogne Blanc to accompany the platter of chicken offal-liver, heart, glazed wings and spicy croquettes followed by delicious organic deviled eggs that will turn you off to those Carrefour of Franprix eggs forever.
To accompany the half of a roasted chicken Cyril selected a 2018 Macon rouge that brought oohs and aahs from Le Nez de Neuilly aka M. The chicken was moist and crisp like the perfectly golden french fries that shared the table with a medley of root vegetables, mac & cheese à la française and lightly dressed salad.
So far, no surprises, the meal met my high expectations but the desserts. M is and aficionado of ile flottante and this giant ball of soft meringue in a lake of crème anglaise was top-notch. I would normally opt for cheese over dessert but Cyril insisted that I try the caramelized brioche with preserved red berries, vanilla yogurt with a sprinkling of lime zest, and I was glad he did.
Le Coq Rico
98 rue Lepic
Paris 75018
M: Abbesses
