Head to Pigalle to discover Chez Cheez, a dark kitchen set at Maison Lautrec, 1 rue de Douai in Paris 9th arrondissement. Young cooks have decided to make the most of the closure of restaurants to test Cheez concept dedicated to croque-monsieur. If Parisians and tourists come forward, they think they will open several spots in Paris.
To delight as many people as possible, Cheez bets on tasty ingredients and especially cheese, delivered in wheels by Tentation Fromage… Emmental, truffled gouda, PDO mozzarella di bufala, ingredients are classic, but nicely worked, in traditional but mastered recipes.
See for yourself: the Croque Panam mixes PGI raw milk Emmental, ham with herbs, and grilled mushrooms; the Croque Truffe is based on truffled gouda and ham; the Croque Veggie is based on fresh goat’s milk cheese, PDO mozzarella di bufala, sundried tomatoes, homemade cottage cheese sauce with chives and shallots. It is not rocket science, and this is the very cornerstone of the system, because the grilled cheese sandwich with quality ingredients is enough on its own.
We were promised to get the “cheesiest grilled cheese sandwiches in Paris”, we noticed it was very cheesy, deliciously flavorful, but we were expecting it to be a step ahead. But they are nice products able to compete with bagels and other sandwiches. Especially that Cheez goes all out with cheese-based or milk-based desserts. Homemade cheesecake, rice pudding, Fontainebleau dessert sell like hot cakes.
Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.
