Live from Paris - Rue Montorgueil et Bonne-Nouvelle
Sunday, February 27, 2022
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We start the walk under the mural by CK Combo of TinTIn and Captain Haddock kissing at the crossroads of Rue d’Aboukir and Rue des Petits Carreaux.
Just to the right is the living wall at No 83, the Oasis of Aboukir by Patrick Blanc created in 2013.
This area and street was once just outside the wall of Charles V that was built in 1356. The Rue d’Aboukir itself was just outside the ditch which ran on the south side of the street. It was demolished in 1634.
No 82 to 86 on the south side are the oldest and date back to 1640-1650. The street is named for the battle of Aboukir fought on July 25, 1799 between the French led by Napoleon and the Ottoman Turks in Egypt. Many of the streets in the surrounding area are named for events and locations in Egypt.
Right on Rue de Damiette, also named after a battle in Egypt, the battle of Damiette on November 1, 1799. This area was known for its Courtyard of Miracles back in the 16th century. Beggars, thieves and prostitutes set up here and enticed others to come showing that if they were sick or suffering they could be healed. There was a king and a full court that flourished under for over 200 years. Many would arrive and be miraculously cured overnight, when in fact many weren’t sick at all and the ruse was all to rob people looking for help. These courtyards were located around the city but this was the largest and was finally disbanded on August 21, 1784.
Rue du Nil, named for the Nile, the longest river in Africa, is a short street that is filled with everything you need. If it’s not on this street, you don’t need it. Not that long ago it was vacant and run down stores and then in 2009 Grégory Marchand arrived and opened Frenchie. Grégory got the nickname “Frenchie” from Jamie Oliver when he worked at his restaurant Fifteen in London and after working in London and New York he came back to Paris and opened the small 26 seat restaurant here on Rue du Nil.
Reservations for Frenchie open 3 weeks out and go quick. Open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, grab a reservation when you can.
In 2011 he opened Frenchie Bar à Vin and in 2018 Frenchie To Go. With the success of each of these restaurants the rest of the street began to fill with the purveyors that provided his fantastic products. A produce market, fromagerie, bucherie, boulangerie that smells amazing as well as coffee, ice cream and the Frenchie Caviste.
There is even a Frenchie Pigalle and he has also worked on many of the Experimental cocktail bars on their menu. Marchand is also incredibly humble and one of the nicest chefs (after my Comptoir family ) in Paris.
What many think of as Rue Montogeuil is technically Rue des Petits-Carreaux. On the left at No 10 is a ceramic panel that was added in 1890 for the store once here that sold coffee and spices from exotic locations. The plaque shows a slave serving a colonial white man. Named a historic monument in 1984 it is not without its controversy and a victim of vandalism.
A few doors down at No 6 is a former charcuterie that was created in the late 19th century and classified as a historical monument for its facade and interior.
Where Cafe Compas is now, from no 64 - 74 was the location of the Compas d’Or. A large stagecoach station and inn that was also the site of a lot of crime in the 19th and 20th century.
At No 67 down in the sidewalk is a plaque that reminds everyone of a horrible act that took place in 1750. On January 4, 1750 Jean Diot and Bruno Lenior were arrested after being spotted in an “indecent position” at 11am. They were arrested and put on trial and sentenced to death. Jean was 40 and worked at a nearby charcuterie and Bruno was 21 and a shoemaker. On July 6,, 1750 at 5pm the two were strangled and burned to death for their homesexuality. A plaque was added in 2014 and has been vandalized many times.
No 59 was once the location of Au Rocher de Cancale, opened in 1804 by Alexis Balaine who was an oyster seller at Les Halles. In 1815 it was sold to Jean Pierre de Montalivet who elevated the restaurant to fine dining to compete with the excess and money that was spreading through Paris under Louis-Philippe. In 1846 after losing all his money he closed the location and reopened on Rue de Richelieu.
Across the street at No 78 M. Pécune opened a restaurant and after 1846 renamed it Au Rocher de Cancale. Balzac used the restaurant many times in his grand work, La Comedie Humaine as well as frequenting the location. Alexander Dumas and Théophile Gautier and many of the authors gathered here.
No 51 Patisserie Stohrer that dates back to 1730. In 1725 Louis XV married Marie Leczinska, daughter of the exiled Polish king Stanislas Leczinska. Exiled in France with his pastry chef Nicolas Stohrer they all traveled to Versailles for the wedding to the king. Working in the kitchen of Versailles for five years before leaving for Paris to open his patisserie here on Rue Montorgueil with his delicious creation, created by necessity.
When king Leczinska was exiled in Linerville, France chef Stohrer took the local kougelhopf that was quite dry and poured local herbal liqueur into the cake. Voila. Today the same store is still her 292 years later! Inside the panels were painted by Paul Baudry who also created the fresco of the Palais Garnier. In 2017 it was purchased by the A la Mere de Famille chocolate shop.
A slight walk down the Rue Etienne Marcel named for the first Provost of Merchants, or mayor of Paris. At no 20 on the left is the Tour Jean sans Peur, one of the only remaining pieces of the Middle Ages. Once part of the Hôtel des Ducs de Bourgogne and built in 1409 by Jean sans Peur. In 1407 he had his cousin Louis I d’Orleans, brother of King Charles VI killed on the streets of the Marais on November 23, 1467. This act started the civil war between the Armagnacs and Burgundians that lasted 28 years.
Opened to the public in 1999, you can get a glimpse into Medieval life and one of the first toilets at the time. The inner staircase was inspired by Charles V escalier to his library in the Louvre and at the very top rising on the ceiling is the branches and leaves of an oak tree.
Opened 1:30pm - 6pn Wednesday to Sunday
Escargot Montorgueil was opened in 1832 or 1836 and was once on the old road and Poissonniere gate. In 1900 Theodore Lécomte took over and turned it into an upscale restaurant. André Terrail who also owned La Tour d’Argent in 1914 bought Escargot in 1919 and with the former chef to the king of Europe Francois Lespina redid the menu once again. In 1923 at a Druout auction, Terrail bought the ceiling designed by Georges Jules Victor Clarin for the apartment of Sarah Bernhadt and added it to the restaurant. During this period it was a hot spot in Paris but when Les Halles slowly disappeared so did the customers.
Since 2010 it has been owned by Emma Laporte and has been restoring it to its former glory.
Above the door at number 17 is a plain sign that says Passage de la Reine de Hongrie. Did the Queen of Hungary once live here? Well sort of. Julie Bécheur, the “Rose de Mai” lived here in 1789 and had a striking resemblance to the archduchess MarieTherese of Austria and queen of Hungary, better known as the mother of Marie Antoinette.
Once at Versailles the young queen saw Julie and was shocked to see how much she looked like her mother. The passage was named for Julie who was well known and loved in the area. She would sadly lose her head during the Revolution, maybe looking like the mother of the most hated woman in Paris wasn’t such a good thing.