Tibi Eats 018 | Le Cheval d'Or
21 Rue de la Villette, 75019 Paris, France
We have been traveling to Paris, France around four times a year for the last two decades. Throughout this period of time, a lot has changed in the city, as does naturally everywhere. With this natural evolution has arisen a subtle changing of the guard, if you will. Questions of the definition of true luxury, what it means to live and travel well, to eat and experience the art of a different culture, or merger of cultures, are answered in a different way than before. Is luxury measured by the thread count of our sheets? Or by the care through the hand that wove them? Is it represented by an undying support in the belief that the customer is always right? Or is the customer maybe, sometimes, wrong? Where does the identity of a brand come into play? Is something interesting and creative because of the brand, or because of the person and the intent behind its inception? Or, can it be both?
With these questions in mind, we planned two nights in Paris. Sleep was found at Hôtel Bourg Tibourg - the second project from the owners of Hotel Côstes. 24 intimately designed rooms, characterized by a rich and warm palette of dirt clay reds and mustard yellows, they are really more like time capsules, and are a striking juxtaposition to the relative modernity of its outdoor surroundings. Slightly small and constrained in that ever so charming Parisian manner, the bedroom flows directly into the bathroom where a mirror frames a detailed reflection of the sleep quarters, granting the illusion of space where there is none. The hotel is a Bridgitte Bardot album in real life, specifically the Bubble Gum compilation, released in 1994, with songs like Une histoire de plage and Bonnie and Clyde.
During our time we stopped by the regulars - Septime la Cave, Tarantula, Maison - but the highlight this trip was found at Le Cheval d’Or. There was a rarity in our experience at this restaurant, the type that occurs once or twice a year if you’re lucky, and the conditions of which are defined by many intangibly tangible details that alone may confuse, but together form the harmony of, well, life. Inconspicuously placed in the Quartier Jordain, the East Asian flavor driven bistro’s facade coincidentally mimics a very similar color scheme to that of Hôtel Bourg Tibourg. Inside, exposed white brick walls and an open ceiling present the skeleton of the space in an elegant manner as the rawness of the physical interior is balanced by minimal wooden tables, chairs, and bar-tops of varying shades of light brown. Metal lamps hang from the ceiling, accenting the unveiled, silver air-ventilation tube that streams overhead in the foyer, while an arched entryway frames the dining room - a frame that is reinforced by another arch that leads to the restrooms in the rear.
There are two dining options at Cheval d’Or - Menu Or (nine course tasting menu) or Menu Cuivre (six courses à la carte) - we opted for the latter. A croque madame on shrimp toast, mapo tofu tortellinis, thickly sliced tuna akami, and a perfectly steamed fish, whose name I cannot recall, gently floating in a light sauce made of agretti, ginger, and spring onion - these are a few of the beautifully creative dishes we are grateful to have experienced. While typically savory leaning, our palette was delightfully rounded out by the freshest, crispest, cleanest pavlova that incorporated citrus flavors of meyer lemon, mandarin, and orange.
In addition to the food, the wine list at Cheval d’Or is one to be studied for far longer than the time before requesting a glass, or bottle, allots - our choice to accompany the food was a white wine from a fantastic, younger French winemaker, Fabien Duperray, who founded Domaine Jules Desjourneys in 2007. Producing in La Chapelle-de-Guinchay, Chénas, Beaujolais, his white wines have the substance and character of the boldest reds, and his reds have the ease and approachability of the greatest whites.
Other details of this space worth mentioning are the sculpturally textured, almost mosaic-like white walls of the restrooms, the open kitchen and its harmonic tool and utensil organization, and the people. The staff, the chefs, the cooks, the servers, all deeply interested in being the best at their specific craft within, and contributing to, the greater ethos of Cheval d’Or. This night was a core memory for inspiration, for loving life, and for experiencing life with others that you love. The kind of experience that touches you with a lasting feeling akin to leaving your family’s home after a wholesome Sunday evening dinner, where culinary ability is less important than the conversation and atmosphere - Cheval d’Or just happens to combine the best of it all.
