Paris Dining Out
Restaurant rating is one of the great pasttimes of residents and visitors alike. Some might say it is getting more and more difficult to find Parisian restaurants that offer traditional French cooking at affordable prices. Dining out in Paris can be a challenge and on certain occasions, it will be one of the experiences transfixed in your memory banks for a lifetime.
Best Eclair in Paris
Recently, while walking along Rue Montorgueil in the 2nd arrondissement, I couldn’t pass by the Stohrer bakery without dropping in. This is not your ordinary bakery. Established in 1730 as a royal bakery, modern-day royalty including HRH Queen Elizabeth have actually graced this establishment with a visit (and a taste, of course). Even if you don’t care for sweets, a stroll down the pedestrian Rue Montorgueil is well worth the detour. I always think of Montorgeuil as being Sarah Turnbull’s ‘hood’ (author of
lAlmost French). In fact it was Turnbull’s beautiful description of this street which first brought me to Montorgueil. Stohrer’s is one of the several landmark shops and restaurants.
A good way to judge the quality of a patisserie (pastry/bakery shop) is by tasting its eclairs. The outer shell made with eggs should be light and airy. The cream is rich and velvety without being too cloyingly sweet. A difficult balancing act. Eclairs normally are chocolate with chocolate or vanilla cream filling or coffee-flavored with coffee-flavored filling.
Figaro newspaper rated Stohrer’s custard cream-filled eclairs as being the best in Paris - but they must have missed one of the bakeries in my neighborhood - the Bonjour Bakery. It’s hard to compare a cafe-cream eclair with a vanilla bourbon eclair.
But I think if one of the Bourbon kings had stumbled into the ‘Bonjour Bakery’ (newly opened) at 16 Ave Rene Coty in the 14th arrondissement, he may have preferred this delicious treat over the Figaro’s choice for best eclair. You can pick up your eclair on your way to Montsouris garden. There is something exquisitely decadent about vanilla cream laced with bourbon. Marie Antoinette would have lapped this one up. “Whatever you do, don’t let them eat my boubon eclair!”
Date: May 15th, 2008 |
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Paris's Most Beautiful Museums
Les Invalides
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
The List
Earlier this year, the French magazine GEO came out with an entire issue devoted to Paris’s top fifty museums (forty located within the city limits). The ten remaining museums are found in the Paris metropolitan region and Versailles. if you do speak French, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of this Special edition if you can.
In addition to including a pictorial visit to some of the ‘biggies’, i.e. Le Louvre, Musee du Quai Branly, Centre Pompidou, this Special edition issue includes a number of articles discussing the trends and evolution of Paris Museums in the last thirty years.
Date: May 2nd, 2008 |
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Vegetarian Chic: La Victoire Supreme du Coeur
The name of the restaurant is enticing - The Supreme Victory of the Heart. Its new location on Rue Bourg Tibourg in the 4th arrondissement is perfect for people-watching. The ambiance is super calm - and super clean with colors that soothe the spirit and prices that don’t shock the wallet.
Geneveive and I arrive at 12 noon - we were lucky on this Wednesday to have our choice of tables - so we chose a table right by the window to enjoy the passing scenery (including one of the locals sporting his Chanel handbag and cowboy boots (yes). You have to have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to pull off this kind of ‘mix and match’.
But getting back to food, I really like the plate presentation - the daily menu is presented on a chalk board. Today’s choice was sauteed mushrooms with brown rice and a creamy white sauce. With a richly flavored cup of Earl Grey tea, this lunch cost 15 Euros.
Date: April 25th, 2008 |
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Restaurants Open on Sunday in Paris
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Sundays in Paris. Here’s another example of when your trusty restaurant guidebook isn’t worth the dollars, the Euros or the luggage space you used to bring it along. For example, I told you in a past post about one of my favorite guidebooks “Les Meilleurs Restos a Petits Prix by Catherine Jarrige, but guess what? Most of those really excellent quality/price ratio restaurants are closed on Sunday and sometimes for the entire month of August.
So, instead of using a guidebook, I decided to wing it and head out this Sunday afternoon on the tail end of the lunch hour (around 1:30) to see what might be open. Just like you, when I’m really hungry, I don’t want to eat junk food - and especially not in Paris. You can find plenty of cafe/brasseries, but the food is predictable. I was looking for the kind of place you might want to hang out for a while on a lazy Sunday, and enjoy the ambiance.
You might be surprised at my choice. I wended my way over to the Pantheon and St.Etienne du Mont church. Directly across from St. Etienne du Mont church’s entrance on Place du Pantheon, right at the corner where Rue Mont St. Genevieve begins, you’ll find the beckoning entrance (particularly if you’re a British soccer fan) of the Bombardier Pub. So, you’re saying, “Well, we didn’t come to Paris to spend our Sunday lunch at an English pub.”
Date: April 20th, 2008 |
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Comfort Food in France: Couscous
Prepare to be shocked. I think it’s safe to say that we may be the only couple - EVER in the history of gourmet dining in Paris - to cancel a reservation (made six months in advance) at the Tour d’Argent, one of Paris’s most well-known Michelin-star restaurants, - to opt for a couscous restaurant.
The reason I’m telling you this (which is a secret that I wouldn’t share with anyone except you, dear Parislogue reader) is because this is reality. Things happen. For example, yes, you CAN get food poisoning in Geneva, Switzerland.
Date: April 14th, 2008 |
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Dining Alone in Paris
Dining alone is not much fun – even, and especially if you happen to be in the most romantic city in the world.
You’ll note that the French love to eat together. Café conversations are intense and lengthy. If you do see a Parisian alone in a café or on the street, he or she is probably having an animated conversation on his or her mobile phone.
So, the challenge is to find a café/restaurant or bar where you as a non-French-speaking visitor can sit down and feel instantly at home. This past week, I struck gold twice.
Date: May 9th, 2008 |
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May 1st: Lilies of the Valley for Labor Day
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Today is a holiday for everyone except those in the restaurant business. This year May 1st turns out to be a double-header - two holidays wrapped into one, Ascension Thursday and the Fete du Travail,or the Worker’s Holiday. I’ve always associated this European holiday with parades in Moscow’s Red Square. Guess that’s because I’m and a product of the ‘Cold War Era’ Actually, May 1st Labor Day was inspired by an event in Chicago.
The important thing to remember about May 1st if you’re visiting …
Date: May 1st, 2008 |
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St. Germain des Près: Wine Bar & Bistro
The best way to find the best places to while away a Monday afternoon in Paris is to wander aimlessly. This is one of my specialties - frittering away time (at least now I can call it research!). If you can manage to never take the same path twice, you’re bound to discover great little treasures.
Today we stumbled upon Le Bistrot de La Grille Saint Germain around 6:30 pm - just the right time for a little wine tasting. The wine list at the Bistrot de la Grille is amply stocked with delightful wines served by the glass, the carafe, or the bottle.
We opted for a 25 cl carafe of Graves for 11 Euros. This is one of the few bistros in the neighborhood where you’re likely to find main courses ranging from 13.50 Euros to 15 Euros (including lamb chops). Although we didn’t stay for dinner this evening, we will definitely be back. Located just across the street from the Saint Germain market, this is an ideal corner for people watching. But, as Chris said, it’s hard to decide - which direction do you look? The people inside this bistro are more gorgeous than the people outside. And if you happen to stop by during off hours when the tables are empty, you can gaze at an array of France’s past great movie stars. I could find it very easy to sit here for hours sipping delicious wine.
Date: April 21st, 2008 |
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French Comfort Food: Blanquette de Veau
It may be springtime in Paris, but there’s still a crispness in the air and you’re likely to find a ‘blanquette d veau’ or veal stew on the menu at your local cafe or brasserie.
Blanquette de veau is considered one of the few French dishes you’re likely to find in every region. The veal is simmered until it melts in your mouth. A little bit of creme fraiche is added to give the sauce that special tang. Normally this veal stew is served up with carrots, but mushrooms are also added. You start with a bechamel …
Date: April 16th, 2008 |
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Merde, Maupassant, & Other Acceptable Dinner Topics
Although ‘merde’ may sound like a cross between Tuesday and Wednesday (mardi and mercredi), it really means ‘shit’. It also means ‘Good Luck’ when you say it to a friend who’s about to pass his driving exam.
So, if ‘merde’ comes up in a dinner conversation, don’t be too surprised, but also, don’t be too shocked if a guest asks you how to translate ‘chiotta’ in English i.e. the ‘crapper’. French dinner conversations take as many twists an turns as a country road, and depending on your openness to hilarity and …
Date: April 10th, 2008 |
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