The summer vacations may be over for the vast majority of Parisians, but that's no reason to give your digestive system the night off - far from it. For a one-way trip to South America, there's no better way than to discover Compadre, a new restaurant on the Grands Boulevards that's got Latin street-food on the move.
The pair behind this address know what they're doing: on the one hand, chef Felipe Camargo, Colombian by birth, who worked with Bocuse in Lyon and then with Gastón Acurio at Manko; on the other, Hugues Chevallereau, trained at a host of prestigious addresses in Paris ( Plaza Athénée, Pavillon Ledoyen) and elsewhere. What's more, this is not their first project, as they have already created the Selva address in the Latin Quarter.
This time, the duo is focusing on street-food, with a menu that honors the Peruvian sanguche-inspired sandwich. And since it's always a good idea to work with select producers, this is indeed the case here, with artisanal buns from The Bread Shop, chorizo from Maison Montalet made from free-range pigs from the Tarn and Aveyron regions, and free-range chicken .
So, how does this little world get along inside the sandwiches? Well, it all resonates and responds to each other perfectly. Whether inside or on the 20-seat terrace, it's easy to discover the richness of South American street-food, all at mini prices. In figures, count €14.50 for a sandwich+fries, €16 for a sandwich+fries+drink. No big deal!
The Compadre cheeseburger (12€) with French beef, cheddar, pickles, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, fried plantain and mayo rocoto (a chili-flavored mayonnaise) and the Choripan chimichurri (12€), a sandwich generously topped with chorizo, sweet potato, lettuce, avocado and chimichurri sauce. These are hearty, multi-faceted, fine sandwiches that are undeniably travel-worthy.
Another surprising discovery are the manioc French fries (4€), which have a rather muted flavor but a rather disconcerting stringy texture. A sip of chicha morada de la casa (7€) - a non-alcoholic drink made from purple corn - will make them go down a little easier, before finishing with the must-try: a good specialty coffee.
From Plural, a specialty café in the 20th arrondissement, this richly-flavored coffee would go well with merengón (7€), a crunchy meringue with guanabana cream and dulce de leche. Not for lack of hesitation, but we were no longer hungry. We'll take a rain check!
Location
Compadre
14 Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle
75010 Paris 10
Official website
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