Les Fables de la Fontaine

On recommendation from Willi's Wine Bar we made a lunch reservation as this 25-seater was booked all week for dinner. It is in the 7th near the Tower just off the Champs de Mars and was a pleasant 20 minute walk in the wet 50 degree weather. Some suggested global warming. I'd like to think it was just a warm send off from Paris so I would return again. Paris does that to you.

This is not a bistro but fine dining. The small space is elegantly and simply done as are the dishes. I didn't expect the 4 mini lobsters as an appetizer as my French is still weak, but the wet nap and lobster fork and cracker should have been a warning, but by then it was too late. In Midwestern fashion I got it done but left the little claws alone as I was beginning to splatter the nearby guests. And as this was a popular spot, the guests included a table of dignified grand parents, their son and grand son, a table with a married middle-aged business man in his suit and his elegant but mature 'niece' who was decked and voluptuous with signs of some work done to improve her looks, and a table of 16 workers on a Holiday lunch with their boss.

As homage to Julia Childs, we ordered sole meuniere for two as this was the first dish she had when she first landed in France after WWII. The Sancerre paired very well with all courses. We skipped dessert and settled on cafe noisette and then headed back out into the warm January afternoon. Stop in if you can get a reservation.