Le Grand Mericourt

When eating out in France, I hope to be astonished and delighted. This restaurant did both: beautifully prepared combinations that seemed original but never weird, and all were marvelously delicious. Here we had the two best meals ever in several month-long visits to Paris. Staring at unfamiliar items on the menu, we avoided difficult choices by selecting the "tasting menu": six miniature sample dishes selected from the menu. We loved every one of them. When we returned a few days later, the owners offered to give us another "tasting menu" but with selections different from those we'd had previously. Because we came early (English-speakers often dine earlier than is customary in France) the place was quiet, the service unhurried and graceful-- but we were glad we'd phoned for a reservation to warn them we'd come soon after opening time.