[Clotilde’s Corsican Sandwich, as seen at Cojean’s]
I cannot begin to tell you how gratifying Chocolate & Zucchini has been, since the very early days. But this, having a sandwich named after me at one of my absolute favorite lunch places, is a benefit I clearly hadn’t foreseen. You must forgive my candor, but : how unbelievably cool is that, I ask you?
Okay, a little explanation is in order. Cojean is a sandwich and salad restaurant, founded by someone named Alain Cojean. Being a great fan of that place, I wrote a review for Bonjour Paris, and mentioned on C&Z that one of their sandwiches had been the inspiration for my Salade Figue et Poire à la Bresaola. This caught the attention of Fred Maquair, Alain Cojean’s associate, who liked C&Z and got in touch with me, to express his thanks.
I was delighted of course, but not half as much as a few days ago, when he sent me an email to let me know that a new menu was coming out, featuring a sandwich inspired in turn by my Tartine Corse, which was thus to be named, quite simply, “le sandwich corse de clotilde”.
“Aflutter with joy” is an understated description of yours truly, upon hearing the news.
Of course, I took a trip to Cojean’s as soon as I could, digital camera in hand, to immortalize the moment. I stepped in, right in the middle of the lunch rush, and quickly located my spiritual baby. “Nouveau“, said a little yellow label. “Le sandwich corse de clotilde”, said another, baby blue label. “Oh my”, thought I. I asked a waitress for permission to take a picture : “I’d love to take a picture of the sandwich corse de clotilde”, I said, “because um… you see, I am Clotilde.”
She said she had to ask her manager, and her manager turned out to be no other than Fred, as smiling and friendly as his emails had led me to believe. We chatted a little — “it’s a big hit!“, he kindly said — I took pictures, and proudly picked a sandwich off the pile, sneaking looks into other people’s baskets to see if they had made the right choice. Fred murmured a word to the cashier, instantly turning my sandwich into a gift-sandwich, and I took it to the front of the restaurant where I sat in the sun, with a view out on the busy sidewalk. And just as I was getting ready to get a taste, Fred came and introduced me to Alain Cojean himself, whom I was thrilled to meet as well.
But the sandwich, you ask, what about the sandwich? Well, the sandwich was fantastic — and don’t think I am biased : a half baguette lightly dusted with flour, thin and blond like a Hollywood actress, filled with thin slices of fleur du maquis (a herbed sheep’s milk cheese from Corsica), jambon de pays (dry-cured ham), sun-dried tomatoes, green olives, Batavia salad and chervil. Delicious, I tell you, moist and tasty, a perfect mix of flavors and textures.
So if you’re in the area, now or in the coming months, it’s your once-in-a-lifetime chance to taste the limited edition sandwich corse de Clotilde! And if I may make a suggestion, I also recommend the fantastic Panzanella salad (with eggplant, fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with herbed garlic croutons), which keeps my sandwich company as the newbies on the menu.
Cojean
4 rue de Sèze – 75008 Paris
01 40 06 08 80
19 rue de la Monnaie – 75001 Paris
01 40 26 13 02
17 bd Haussmann – 75009 Paris
01 47 70 22 65
53 bd du Général Martial Valin – 75015 Paris
01 44 26 28 30
