弁当パパ　Bento Papa: 遊鈴 YouLin: Cuisine française à la maniére japonaise

Having dropped our kids off with our Parisian friend, S for the night, our San Francisco friends, A & L, treated us to an amazing dinner at YouLin, an izakaya-style French restaurant in the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement). Tucked away in a tiny, uphill street, the understated exterior scales down even further to reveal a quiet and intimate interior. With just a few tables, the soft lighting and solid, dark wood furnishings reinforce the interior's elegantly minimal style.

"YouLin" translates into something like "playing bell," which I took to be a play on furin, a single-bell Japanese wind chime. It was an appropriate nod to the omakase menu—a playful, delicious and beautifully-presented, multi-course dinner of French cuisine infused with Japanese tastes and inspirations. Our Japanese waitress quietly explained each dish as she set them down; each was part of a thoughtfully orchestrated progression of flavors, textures and colors. YouLin has an extensive sake collection but the subtle and clean tastes paired nicely with a dry, Alsatian Rieseling.

パリで数日を過ごすとあきてしまうフランス料理。と言っても数多い似非日本料理店では高くて不味い寿司や焼き鳥でがっかり。そこに友達に紹介してもらった５区のカルチエ・ラテンの「レストラン遊鈴ユウリン」。エレガントな居酒屋雰囲気で和風フレンチをご馳走になった。一品づつ出てくるおまかせコースメニュー、地元の食材を柚子などとペアーリングした最高に美味しいディナー。もう普通のフランス料理はや・め・た！

http://www.youlin.fr

Vegetable, salmon sashimi terrine