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Paris has been reinvented once again and the buzzword is "bistronomy." Yves Camdebourg kicked off the trend in 2005 when he gave up his coveted post at La Régalade to open a small restaurant, Le Comptoir, where patrons eat whatever he is making for dinner that night - no choices.

For 50 euros (about $75) each, guests are served five courses and a glass of champagne. It is nearly impossible to get reservations but, if you ever have the chance to eat there, you'll understand why. Simple yet luxurious, his menus cover the taste gamut from artichoke broth with lobster lasagna to perfectly roasted veal and mushrooms.

We ate recently at four new Paris bistros and loved them all, but Chez L'Ami Jean, a small room where Chef Stéphane Jégo serves French food with Basque riffs, was a favourite.

Another bistro with a strong following is Le Beurre Noisette in the 15th arrondissement, where chef Thierry Blanqui's traditional technique is loaded with imagination. And in the Marais, Le Gaigne is run by a young husband-and-wife team that prepares sublime fish. Here are my adaptations of some of the dishes we tried:

MUSHROOM COMPOTE

WITH CELERIAC PURÉE

This dish is based on a recipe from L'Ami Jean, where Chef Jégo included boudin noir (blood sausage) mixed with the mushrooms.

What you need

Celeriac purée:

1 pound celeriac, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)

½ cup diced Yukon gold potatoes

3 cups milk

1/3 cup whipping cream

1½ teaspoons lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mushroom compote:

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup chopped shallots

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 pound mixed whole mushrooms (including honey mushrooms), halved or quartered if large

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

¼ cup red wine

2 cups homemade or low-sodium beef or chicken stock

¼ cup butter

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

what you do

Place celeriac, potatoes and milk in a pot over medium-high heat. Bring to boil and boil for 15 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Drain and reserve liquid.

Place vegetables in a food processor with ½ cup of reserved liquid and 1/3 cup cream and purée until smooth. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Place oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add mushrooms and thyme and sauté for 4 minutes or until mushrooms release their juices. Remove mushrooms from skillet and pour in wine. Bring to boil and add stock. Reduce for 4 minutes or until stock thickens. Stir in mushrooms, butter and season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley.

To serve, spoon celeriac purée in to a soup bowl. Top with mushroom mixture including juice. Top with a slice of bacon if desired. Serves 4.

FISH WITH RATATOUILLE

FROM LE GAIGNE

Chef Gaignon used merlu (hake), which is hard to get here. I substituted our own native pickerel. Striped bass would also work. This is not your usual ratatouille but a savoury mixture of vegetables combined with squid.

What you need

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 cup peeled, ¼-inch diced eggplant

1 cup ¼-inch diced zucchini

1 cup finely diced onions

12 cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 4-ounce (125-gram) pieces pickerel

½ cup chopped squid

½ cup white wine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

what you do

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, eggplant, zucchini and onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes, parsley and thyme and bake for 15 minutes, stirring once, or until vegetables are cooked through and slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper and reserve in pan.

Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Season pickerel with salt and pepper and add to pan, skin side down. Cook for 3 minutes or until skin is golden. Turn over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until white juices appear. Remove fish from pan and keep warm. Add squid, sauté for 1 minute and add squid to ratatouille mixture. Return non-stick pan to burner, add wine, turn heat to high and reduce until 1 tablespoon remains. Turn heat to low, add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking to combine.

Scatter vegetables and squid over 4 plates. Top with pickerel and drizzle sauce over each fillet. Serves 4.

ROAST VEAL

WITH BRAISED VEGETABLES

In every restaurant we went to, veal was the special that night. It ranged from giant veal chops to braised veal cheeks to this roast from Le Beurre Noisette. The cut used was veal sirloin, but I used veal filet, which is easier to find. An Italian butcher will have veal sirloin (from which they slice scaloppini). It takes 30 minutes longer to cook. This dish was served with a dollop of creamy potato purée.

What you need

1 1½-pound (750 grams) veal filet

2 tablespoons small rosemary sprigs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup beef or chicken stock

4 cloves garlic, peeledBraised vegetables:

3 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths

3 cups chicken stock

2 white turnips, peeled and cut into wedges

1 bunch leeks, dark green leaves removed, cut lengthwise through the root

what you do

Preheat oven to 400 F. Cover meat with rosemary sprigs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over high heat until sizzling. Add veal and brown on all sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove veal and place in a roasting pan. Discard fat from skillet; add stock and garlic, scraping up all the browned bits in the pan. Bring to boil. Pour hot stock into roasting pan.

Place pan in oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes or until medium-rare.

While veal is roasting, place carrots into a pot of cold chicken stock over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add turnips and leeks and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes longer or until cooked through. Reserve vegetables and cooking liquid and reheat when needed.

Remove roasting pan from oven and let veal rest for 10 minutes. Place pan over burner and add 1 cup reserved liquid.

Bring to boil stirring up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer 2 minutes to intensify flavours.

Cut veal into ½-inch slices. Serve with braised vegetables and sauce. Serves 6.