On Rue des Grands-Augustins, a neon red sign shines bright above the cheekiest aristocratic wine bar on the Left Bank! In this small spot with exposed stone walls and wooden rafters, the aptly named Augustin Marchand pops open bottles of wine with so much gusto he could convert a nonbeliever. The night we went, we paired them with: saucisson from the Ardèche sliced extra thin; delicious coppa from Puglia; diabolically good burrata sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts and shaved mushrooms – or maybe even black or white truffles; a springtime salad of haricots verts and nectarines; stylish vitello tonnato; before some ravishing roasted figs served with halva and pomegranate seeds. // A.D.
FEELING THIRSTY? Soaringly good naturophile wines: a Burgundy Aligoté from Marthe Henry Boillot (€9 a glass), La Petite Robe, a lightly macerated a Savoy Jacquère from Jean-Yves Péron (€11), Lulu, an Auvergne Gamay from Patrick Bouju (€59 a bottle), a Crozes-Hermitage from Dard et Ribo (€46)…
PRICE: Plates €8-26.
