Rue Saint Jacques is a new French restaurant that opened a mere six months ago. I once lived at 123 rue Saint Jacques in Paris, when staying in a dorm at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, so I got a kick from the name. It is apparently named after a tony restaurant in London where the chef once worked. Also a pun on Jackson street where the restaurant is located (on the Powell-Hyde cable car line).
The first time I went there, the starter course, a salmon tartare on a bed of Belgian endives was somewhat lackluster, but the next course, a filet of beef in a foie gras sauce, was absolutely heavenly, as was the nougat glacé, a sort of ice cream studded with candied fruit and nuts to resemble Montélimar nougat. I have been there again several times, and was not disappointed, for instance with scallops that melted in my mouth on a bed of green lentils with a bell pepper coulis.
One of my two favorite places in the city.
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