Petit Pain makes bistro kitchen without ostentation in the beautiful view

One of the joys of strolling through France is to stumble in the bistro. Despite the pomp that the term has gained here, they are traditionally small and familiar restaurants. Passing in front awakens the senses, with aromas that hunger and invite to enter.

Anyone who has had this experience rescues the memory by walking in front of Petit Pain & Cia, bistro of chef Jacky Caillier, born in Burgundy, France’s center-central region, and his wife, Luciana Carvalho.

French music in low volume that arrives on the sidewalk completes the scene. And it’s hard not to go to a peek. Inside it’s very simple, with checkered plastic fabric towels – which ends up giving an air of Italian canteen to the place – and the unusual presence of a washing machine in the bathroom.

The cups arranged at the tables are an invitation to give in to a lunch with wine right on Thursday. The address serves only French labels. A cup costs $ 36. The bottles, from $ 169 to $ 189.

And the kitchen makes a naked and raw French cuisine, marked by the long preparation times, a lot of flavor and, of course, a lot of butter.

Among the entrances, the onion soup (R $ 30) fills the taste. You can feel that it was made from the classic recipe, which involves caramelizing onions, swallowing with wine, using a good broth and gratin.

The pork rillete (R $ 38), a species of pate, comes with natural fermentation bread made in the house that, incidentally, was born as a handcrafted bakery. At first, the portion looks small. But the rillete, a recipe where the meat cooks slowly in its own fat, is robust. And soon you realize that the size is enough.

With main course, the flagship is Bouef Bourguignon (R $ 52). As the recipe was over the day of the visit, the attendant suggested the bourguignon duck (R $ 67).

The preparation has come unpretentious, in a very basic brown bowl. But it was enough to pass the fork and feel the meat crumbling over the full -bodied sauce to notice the care.

To reach such a result, it takes many hours between marinar the meat and cooking it with the vegetables in red wine. The chips were oily. A pity. It is a strong dish that weighs beyond the count with too greasy accompaniment.

The menu has vegan dishes, such as the jackfruit (R $ 33) and Ratatouille (R $ 33). But if you bother with the aromas of meat cooking, this is not the best place to go.

Before you pay – you need to go to the cashier – it is worth checking the showcase with breads and croissants that is at the entrance. You can buy and take. There are also the colorful macarons (R $ 24 the packaging with three units).

Because it is difficult to find really good macarons in Sao Paulo and the petit Pain kitchen is more rustic, it was unlikely to imagine that there they would surprise. The criticism was mistaken. They were excellent.

Crème brûlée serves to kill sweet hunger

Finally, Crème Brûlée (R $ 17). Under the caramelized cone, a fluid and delicate cream. It comes little, playing the role of a sweetie to end the meal than a dessert.