Underground restaurants in Paris make patrons at home
July 18, 2009
Some Americans in Paris are running unofficial restaurants out of their residences.
Talk about catering to your clientele! Imagine arriving at someone’s Paris apartment only to find it packed with strangers enjoying a meal in an impromptu restaurant. It has been happening more and more in Paris lately. People have been running secret underground temporary restaurants in cities all over the world. However, Paris, acknowledged by foodies as one of the world’s capitals of cuisine, was left out for a long time. The near-religious zeal surrounding cuisine and restaurants, plus the sheer number of eateries in Paris (more per per resident and in terms of geography than any other city) made the informal, fly-by-night –and illegal– restaurants seem superfluous.
However, opening up a more “normal” restaurant in Paris is fraught with that uniquely French brand of red tape that seem both longer and stickier than in other countries. This, plus the risk associated with the restaurant business in general (most new restaurants fail their first year in business) make an underground restaurant a way for a frustrated chef in Paris to hedge his or her bets. Americans in Paris have an especially uphill battle to open a “normal” eating establishment there. So, these “occasional” places to get a meal in someone’s home have been popping up in Paris lately. And while the emphasis is still on — literally — home cooking, Paris’ underground restaurants are trending rather upscale food-wise, as American chefs let their creativity run wild with local ingredients and wines. “Le Chien Lunatique”, open weekly to up to 12 hungry and savvy gourmet customers, is located in the the Latin Quarter apartment of the chef of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA (he spends half the year in Paris). Another popular home-based restaurant is the aptly-named “The Hidden Kitchen”, run by Seattle chef Braden Perkins. Both projects are publicized via websites, blogs and word of mouth, and have patrons lining up to pay 70 euros and up for whatever the chef feels like cooking tonight. Unlike a traditional restaurant, patrons at underground restaurants generally eat what is put in front of them; there is no menu of options, just what’s on order for that evening. Of course, dinner is not the only meal one can find in Paris is one wants to go underground. “Lunch in the Loft” is the brainchild of artist Claude Cabri, an amateur chef who only asks a suggested 45 euro donation for her meals and often barely breaks even. Her love of cooking and good conversation are all the compensation she really needs.
While eating in an underground restaurant in Paris has its drawbacks (lack of choice, few seats, never knowing where and when it will be the next time you come) there are decided advantages. The relaxing atmosphere of eating in someone’s home, and the presence of the chef at the table are unique, as is the ability to stay as long as you like; there is no turning over of tables. Patrons get to know each other well over a meal and often engage in the the quintessentially Parisian custom of lively debate over a good meal and a glass — or a bottle — of wine, often migrating from the dining room to their host or hostess’ living room sofa.
Of course , a few stalwarts in Paris have been feeding strangers in their homes for money for a long time. An American artist in the Montparnasse area, Jim Haynes, has been running an ersatz bistro out of his art studio for over 30 years. It began when he took in a boarder who offered to cook for his friends in exchange for her rent, and then became a regular event, with a different guest chef every time and up to 70 customers. His proceeds go to charity.
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