Yves Camdeborde (aka “The Bistro King”) has done it again.

He’s opened something new and fabulous in the neighborhood, adjacent to his wildly popular bistro Le Comptoir du Relais - which is one of the hardest to get dinner reservations in town.

The new place is called “L’Avant Comptoir”, a miniscule hors d'œuvres wine bar concept in his former crêperie. Not to worry, the fabulous crêpes are still on offer from the take away window, but it’s the place to be before dinner for wines by the glass or bottle and pâtés, terrines, sausages, hams - typical of his native Pays Basque origin.

Walk in and tell supermen Eric and Thomas behind the bar that you’d like to sample a glass off of the small production winemaker list, then, look over the list of goodies - starting with the Zinc bar. There are jars of cured pickles, mushrooms and cherries next to Bordier butter and baskets of oven baked rolls. Menu hors d'œuvres offerings are made one at a time on the spot and the menu reads like a who’s who of the best Southwestern regional producers.

Not to be missed are the “croquettes de jambon” – a Parisian version of cheese sticks stuffed with Eric Ospital prized Ibaïona ham - stacked like Lincoln Logs. The “boîte de Paté” is a golden tin of gorgeous country paté from Grésigne and the warm sliver of croque d’effilochée de queue de boeuf (beef tail pie) is served with a horseradish crème.

On opening night, Chef was throwing as much our way as we could consume. In addition to cutting boards piled high with Eric’s red jambon, there were roasted duck necks with tiny forks shoved in each end. I took the forks out and used my fingers (hello, Southern gals don’t “do” forks when it’s that good).  Then, the crab brandade, seared scallops and sautéed poultry link sausages joined the party.

The place was packed with loyal friends and customers sharing bottles and plates. Over food and wine, strangers became friends. What’s not to love?

When someone asked what the concept was, Yves winked at me from behind the stove and on cue we ran our hands over our stomachs and said, “apero!” Someone else asked if the stuffed pig head on the wall was real. The ever-jovial Elvis look-alike chef waved his spatula in the air, “Mais bîen sûr! Everything here is real!”

Make sure to have a look overhead to see his favorite regional producers written in cursive around the edge of the ceiling. The name of my favorite wine producer and good friend Charles Hours is in the corner. One taste of his wine and you might be tempted to say, “No one puts Charles in the corner!”

Le Comptoir du Relais, 9 carrefour de l'Odéon, M° Odeon. Open every day.