Paris

Place Vendome

Well, I'm finally home after an absolutely spectacular week in Paris. Mom and I ate, drank and explored. It was wonderful to be back in my old home and to discover new haunts and visit old ones. Also, now that I'm so attuned to vegetarianism, it was certainly heartening to see how many more meatless options there were, even at bistros! This means it'll be even more fun to introduce the Vegetarian to my "other home."


There's something about Paris that, as Mom says, makes the whole place feel like a museum, so that just walking around is fulfilling. And even though it was January, the weather was unseasonable warm, 40-55F, so we were never tempted to hibernate. 


Since I know I won't have the time to write more than one post about the trip, I'm going to leave you with highlights, links and (unfortunately few) pictures. The lack of pictures compared to how busy we were is due to the fact that it took me almost the whole week to remember to charge my camera. Oops!


So without further ado, I present... Paris.


Day 1:

Breakfast

We stayed at a lovely hotel in the Marais, Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais, which I cannot recommend enough. Definitely a place to remember. So after showering and changing, we went off in search of food. Galettes, savory crepes, to be exact. We decided to return to Breizh Cafe, in the 3rd. We then wandered around the Marais for a bit, getting reacquainted with the area, before finally heading back to the hotel for a quick nap. A few hours later, we woke up and headed off the Saint Germain des Pres for dinner at Le Bistrot d'Henri, my favorite restaurant in Paris and one that I visited often when living there. Mom began her meal with a salade de roquette while I had chevre et pesto on toast sur une salade verte. For main courses, Mom went with magret de canard while I had foie de veau. Both our plats came with the amazing gratin dauphinoise for which Bistrot d'Henri is famous. We also shared a pot de vin.


Day 2:


We headed down to the Village Saint-Paul for an antiques fair, where I bought a decorative knife and Mom found a necklace and green snakeskin handbag from the '40's. We then walked through the Ile St-Louis, stopping at a Laguiole store, then checking out the line in front of Berthillon before finally winding our way to the 6th, where we stopped at Da Rosa (where I finally tasted the famous Bellota ham--worthy of all the hype) for lunch. We then continued meandering, this time around the left bank, finally ending up at Monoprix to invest in stockings, socks, Labello lip products and walnut vinegar. We stumbled out, now laden down with packages, dropped everything off at the hotel, changed and freshened up quickly before heading all the way up to the 17th for a fantastic dinner at L'entredgeu (absolutely worth the trek!), where we enjoyed a pumpkin soup with chestnuts and coquilles saint-jacques for appetizers and an extremely thick piece of cod and pigeonnau au foie gras for main dishes. For dessert, we each went with a hunk of chevre, drizzled with olive oil and accompanied by a green salad. We shared a bottle of wine.


Day 3:


It being Sunday, we headed straight up to the 12th to tour the Richard Lenoir Market. We ogled all the produce, fish and meat, wishing we were staying somewhere with a kitchenette. Not being able to resist, we ended up with a picnic of cheese, raspberries, tomatoes, jus de pomme biologique and 1/2 a boiled Brittany lobster (!). Needless to say, this was one of the best lunches I've ever had and what made it even better was that it was over 50 F in January and we ate outside. Considering how much I hate cold weather, few things make me happier. We then wandered back to the Ile St-Louis, where Mom bought a gorgeous embroidered jacket at Banon, a store with clothing designed by an Italian, made from Indian fabrics and produced in France. Whew! Berthillon was, as usual, incredibly crowded, so instead we took a walk along the Seine (back on the left bank), stopping to admire the vendors' used books, magazines and posters, then up to Cahiers de Colette in the 1st for some reading material to last until the next trip. After such an exhausting day, we stopped at the hotel to freshen up, then off to the 15th for a delicious Vietnamese dinner at Kim Anh, where we had a delicious half-bottle of Sancerre. And for someone who normally prefers red wine, that's a winning endorsement indeed!


Day 4:


This was really our left bank shopping day. We started off at Heimstone, a clothing boutique in the 6th where I picked up a very French skirt. Then we wandered around more, faisant du leche-vitrines. (window-shopping; literally licking the windows). We finally stopped at La grande epicerie for lunch and to pick out the goodies we'd bring home to our men. Then onto Le bon marche's fantastic lingerie department which was filled with all the -50% soldes that abound in January. Finally, thoroughly exhausted, we went off to the 14th for dinner at La regalade, where we enjoyed more coquilles saint-jacques, pate, wild duck, st-nectaire, riz au lait and cotes de rhone. Delicieux!


Day 5:


After walking around the 3rd a bit, we wandered into the Jewish Quarter, the Rue des Rosiers and found, much to our surprise, that there was no line in front of L'as du falafel, what I (and many others) believe is the best falafel joint! We took a table and devoured our lunch (a messy sandwich for me and a plat for Mom). It began drizzling, so we then continued on our way, meandering up to the Musee Carnavalet where we spent several hours enjoying a delightful exhibit: Voyage en Capitale: Louis Vuitton et Paris, learning all about how the designer changed luggage and travel and seeing some truly fantastic picnic baskets and trunks. It certainly enhanced our appreciation for him! We stopped off at Cafes Amazone for an espresso, then went to the movies in the 9th where we saw a delightful romantic comedy-mystery, Poupoupidou, about a starlet, a novelist and Marilyn Monroe. If you have the chance, I highly recommend it! Finally, a light vegetarian dinner in the Marais and off to bed.


Day 6:

Louvre brulant

Galerie Valois

Cafe Verlet

Our last full day, we walked over to the 1st, stopping off at Spring Boutique for a popote (a stew) and a chat with the delightful, American chef-owner. Next time we'll be sure to come back for a wine tasting and a cheese plate. Then it was off to Astier de Villatte to look at beautiful porcelain and buy a small, decorative plate (which, unfortunately, broke during transit and which the Vegetarian and I are now working to repair). Next we headed over to Place Vendome, one of the ritziest areas, where we continued to lecher les vitrines, and even stopped off at Charvet to pick up some ties for Dad (and took the picture of the sky that's at the beginning of this post). 

Chocolat Verlet

Needing to refuel, we had a snack, coffee and tea at Verlet before heading back towards the Louvre, stopping off to admire more windows and architecture in the Galerie de Valois. And, finally, we spent the evening at the Louvre, first a video installation in the basement, the louvre medieval, then a beautiful exhibit, L'antiquite revee, which has inspired us to purchase some more artwork for the apartment. A quick stop at the Cour Marly to see some of my favorite sculptures and across the Seine to Gaya for a delicious seafood dinner with delightfully attentive waitstaff.


Day 7:


Our flight was late enough that we were able to have a nice half-day, so, upon discovering the Musee Picasso is currently undergoing renovation(!), we took the opportunity to wander through the northern reaches of the Marais, which Mom had never done. We stopped for couscous at Chez Omar, then

Marais graffiti

 meandered back to the hotel and off the Charles de Gaulle and then home. A Bientot, Paris!


Some addresses. If I haven't listed an address you'd like, just ask!


Astier de Villatte
173, Rue St-Honore
75001


Verlet
256, Rue St-Honore
75001


Cafes Amazone
11, Rue Rambuteau
75004


Da Rosa
62, Rue de Seine
75006


Heimstone
23, Rue Cherche-Midi
75006


Richard Lenoir Market
Place de la Bastille
75012


L'entredgeu
83, Rue Laugier
75017

Asian Persuasion: Darvish Restaurant

One of the ladies I live with, Miss Julie, is sick. It's nothing serious, just that time of year. But her throat hurts and nothing looks especially appetizing. So I suggested we three go out for dinner and Sunday night and find some nice, homemade soup for our patient. I also casually mentioned that it would be great if we could go somewhere Asian since Sarah's theme this month for Dine & Dish is Asian Persuasian.

After searching online and taking into account our various restrictions (nothing too expensive, nothing carb heavy for Miss Julie or fish-heavy for Miss Jess), we opted for Persian food, which none of us had ever had.

If, for some reason, you are lacking in geographical education, Iran (formerly Persia) is in fact in Asia, although I admit Persian food was not what I first thought of when I saw Sarah's Dine & Dish theme.

No matter. Darvish Restaurant, in Claremont, CA fit all our requirements and was where we went.

Because Miss Julie had dragged herself out of bed to come to dinner, we didn't want to order appetizers and make her stay longer than necessary. While looking over the menu we all stuck with ice water, since the beer selection comprised Bud and Heineken and the ones were all normal, unexciting California ones. After we had ordered, though, Miss Julie and I each got a glass of tea which was quite nice.

The menu consists of several pages and has long explanations and pictures of each dish. Many are variations on a theme (all different kinds of kebabs), but the menu is nicely laid out and accessible, especially if you have never had Persian food before.

Miss Julie finally decided not to order soup and instead chose the Kabob Barg, Filet Mignon skewered and charbroiled, served on a bed of fluffy Basmati Rice with Saffron and grilled Tomatoes. The meat was well-cooked and tender. It had been marinated in a delicious, slightly musky, slightly spicy dry rub which really separated it from any other Filet Mignon.

Miss Jess was most intrigued by a stew, Fesenjoon. This was by far the most exotic dish we'd ordered, a "delicious cooked mixture of Walnuts in Pomegranate Sauce and Chicken breast served with Basmati Rice," according to the menu. It was a lot of very strong flavors and could not be really enjoyed without the rice. The Walnuts proved the most prominent flavor, which was unexpected but rather a nice change.

Finally, I opted for the Adas Polo with Koobideh, Rice made with Raisins, Lentils and Dates and seasoned with Saffron, served with one skewer of Koobideh, either Chicken or Beef. Being such a meat-eater, I went for the beef Koobideh. The meat was treated with a similar dry rub to Miss Julie's filet mignon and was tender and equally tasty. The rice, too, was delicious. The Basmati rice was quite fluffy and the addition of Lentils and Raisins made it much more flavorful, especially since I'm not the biggest fan of rice. The dates were a little too sweet in general, since they were cut in such big chunks. Nevertheless, it really was a good dish.

All in all, this was a very good meal. The dishes were huge, so none of us finished our food (of course, Miss Julie also didn't touch her rice), though that was no reflection on its preparation. Will we go back? Very possibly, at least next time we want something a little "different."

Darvish Restaurant
946 W. Foothill Blvd.
Claremont, CA

Update: Sarah's given us a beautiful write-up of all our Asian meals! Go check it out.

Le Madeleine

Taking advantage of being back in NYC, a few nights ago, the Boy and I went out to dinner and the theatre. (Or, rather, the theatre and dinner so we could enjoy our meal at a more leisurely pace rather than wolfing it down so as to get to the show on-time.) We saw Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof, a revival that I cannot recommend enough. Fiddler has always been one of my favorite musicals and seeing it on Broadway, with such a talented actor was a delight. Fierstein carries the whole show and makes you laugh and cry, playing, singing and dancing the whole way through. The sets are beautiful, making Anatevka look like a town any of us would want to visit. There are stars twinkling in the background and Fierstein completely fills the Minskoff theatre's grand stage. He's only in it until mid-August, however, so if you have a chance, run and get tickets. They're selling fast.

After such an exciting night at the theatre, I was worried dinner wouldn't live up! Luckily, though, it did. We ate at Le Madeleine, a restaurant in the Theater District that's been around forever but that we've never gone to. It calls itself a "modern French Bistro," and it was, for New York standards. By that I mean we never forgot ourselves and thought we were in Paris, but it was good, creative French food and we enjoyed ourselves greatly.

The restaurant is quite dark and, at 10.15 at night, there was easily room for us even though I had made reservations. There's an outdoor garden, but we sat inside, in a small room. Surprisingly, however, even though there are a lot of tables, it doesn't feel crowded and we sat in a small private corner. The service was friendly and attentive (our water glasses were never left empty for long), but not overbearing.

Since it was so late, we didn't want to go for the full three-course prix-fixe. In fact, we were going to only get main dishes, but I had read about their mussels, one of their specialties, so we split an order as an appetizer. These Prince Edward Isle Mussels "Basquaise" were perhaps the best mussels we had ever had. They are cooked in a meaty tomato sauce, similar to a bolognaise, with chunks of spicy merguez sausage and saffron. It was really delicious; I would never have thought of adding meat to mussels. The mussels themselves were plump and sweet.

For main dishes, we were boring and both ordered the same thing, but we weren't disappointed. A Spice Crusted Duck Breast, it was meltingly tender, perfectly cooked to medium-rare so it was bright pink inside the dark spiced outside. I'm not sure what the spices were, but there was a significant bite to it. It was served with a little pile of spinach, and exquisite endive marmalade that I ate plain, only putting it on one piece of duck, and a savory dried fruit bread pudding. I was curious how a fruit bread pudding could be savory, but it was spicy and the dried fruit blended right in, adding a chewiness to the soft bread pudding.

We also had a half-bottle of an unmemorable Shiraz--the only bad part of the meal.

All in all, this was a delicious restaurant, one to which we will certainly return. My only problem? It seems a little gender-confused...

(Madeleine is a feminine word, meaning La, not Le.) And that's the French lesson for the day!

Le Madeleine
403 West 43rd Street
New York, NY

Chez les Ploucs: Bordeaux, Part 2

The only truly bad thing about Bordeaux was Hotel Alton, the hotel we had booked ourselves into and where we stayed the first night. It was rather far out of center city, accessible only by a bus a bit of a hike from the hotel. It was also down a small side street and took us hours to find it, schlepping all our luggage, when we first arrived from the train station. And there was no air-conditioning. After we checked in, we learned we could cancel the reservation and only stay the first night, so we promptly took a bus into the city, found a charming hotel only a few blocks from the Palais de Justice and then explored until dinnertime.

When it was time for dinner, not only were we hungry, but feeling grungy and a little cranky, if I may say so. We checked out the menus of a few Michelin-recommended restaurants, all of which sounded tasty, but not quite the comfort food we were craving. As we were beginning to get frustrated, we stumbled upon Chez les Ploucs, a noisy, affordable restaurant where the waiters wear blue overalls and the tables have red-and-white checkered tablecloths. There was a noisy party going on in the back room, but a table for two was waiting unoccupied under a giant boar's head in the front, so we sat down and ordered aperitifs.

For an aperitif, I usually order a kir (white wine and creme de cassis), but I'm usually willing to try new drinks if they don't sound too sweet, so I was intrigued by the house specialty, a Plouc. Rather similar to a kir, it was red wine, creme de cassis and armagnac--perfect, especially after such a long day. The Boy ordered a glass of Porto Rouge, but he wished he had ordered a Plouc. We're still trying to work out the proportions to make our own!

Famished, we both opted for a three-course prix fixe. Meat-heavy and only 15 Euros, it was a perfect choice. We both started with a Salade Landaise, a salad with thick pieces of smoked magret de canard, a small pile of frisee and small toast points smeared with foie gras. As neither of us are really salad-eaters, this was an ideal salad for us--twice as much meat as lettuce and the meat was deliciously warm and juicy so it served as dressing for the leaves that clung to it.

Next I ordered the Tranche de gigot d'agneau a la creme d'ail, a thick slice of roasted leg of lamb with a garlic cream. It was served with home-fried potatoes and a non-descript green vegetable. The lamb was tasty and well-cooked, the meat sweet, and the garlic cream a perfect dose of spice. The potatoes were tasty and the vegetable forgettable, but they were the standard sides so we weren't too disapointed.

The Boy had the Cassoulet de grand-mere, a white cannelinni bean stew with sausages and a duck leg. It had been cooked for hours and all the tastes now combined together to form what really did taste like something my French grand-mother would make, if I had one.

For dessert I chose the Pain perdu--toujours pas trouve!, the French version of French toast which is always served as dessert. Pain perdu literally means "Lost Bread" and the joke was that it had "still not been found." I have to admit--it was because of this play on words that I ordered the Pain and I wasn't disappointed. It was served warm, thickly sliced, with raisins.

The Boy's dessert was Tarte aux pommes, an unspectacular but still good apple pie.

Our wine was a bottle of Bordeaux (surprised?) for only 12 Euros, though they also served even cheaper carafes of house wine.

Chez les Ploucs
10, Rue des Faussets
Bordeaux.

La Rochelle

We just left La Rochelle and we miss it already. It was definitely our favorite place so far. It was also absolutely filled with wonderful culinary experiences.

Our first night, we arrived at 9 PM on a Sunday so by the time we trecked to our hotel with all our bags, we were exhausted, hungry and worried about missing dinner. We tried two restaurants I'd read about and both suggested we go to Food and Bar, just down the street, which serves until 11 PM. We followed their suggestions (could two delicious-smelling restaurants be wrong?) and were certainly glad we did!

The Boy was worried it was "too trendy" for him, and it did seem that way, with the waitstaff dressed entirely in black. But we soon overcame our trepidation when we tasted the food and admired the menu. Unfortuately, I neither took good notes nor asked for a menu, so I can only offer what I remember (meaning what we ordered).

I began with a Sticker de Tourteau de Plein Mer, a deep-sea turtle pot-sticker. This came as a long egg-roll filled with turtle meat and drizzled with a slightly-sweet soy-type sauce. It was truly wonderful, though I wonder if perhaps it was crab and not turtle? I know the word Tourteau in French is used to describe both.

The Boy had a Pate au Lapin et Truffes, a rabbit and truffle pastry. The rabbit was ground and wrapped with truffle pieces in filo dough. It was accompanied by two extremely long chives, most likely onion, that added a hint of spiciness to the rich dish.

For my plat, I had Veau au Caramel, thick slices of veal with a sauce of rich caramel on the side to be drizzled all over. It also came with a side of lentils with thick slices of what tasted like Parmesan cheese. While caramel and veal sounds like an odd combination it was really great. The caramel was definitely sweet but, applied with a gentle hand, it perfectly complemented the delicate Veal.

The Boy enjoyed Cochon Noir, black pig. While not actually black, it was accompanied by mashed potatoes and had an Asian taste.

We also enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Noir, Tres Noir, suggested to us by the sommelier.

Other highlights of La Rochelle:
Marche open every day.
Le Comptoir des Voyages, a restaurant on the same street as Food and Bar.

Food and Bar
Rue St-Jean-du-Perot
La Rochelle.

Next: Bordeaux.

Mont Saint-Michel: La Mere Poulard

Our first stop in our travels was Trouville-Deauville, which was truly wonderful. Charming towns (we preferred Trouville), beautiful beaches (Deauville won)--what could be bad? We ate well (La Regence in Trouville was so delicious I forgot to take notes), drank well, and managed to not lose all our money at the Casino. Actually, we didn’t even gamble; they charged an 11€ entry fee--a bit too steep for our budgets, especially since that didn’t even include any chips!

Then we were off to Mont Saint-Michel for one night. The abbey and quaint town are even more amazing then they appear in photos. We stayed on the island, which was the best way to do it. That way, we were able to wander the streets after most of the tourists had left and the cheap souvenir shops had closed. Unfortunately we were eating dinner during sunset, but we did sit near the window, so we saw a few wisps of pink here and there in the sky.

Because we were only in Mont Saint-Michel for one night, we decided to splurge. We were staying in the Hotel La Mere Poulard, which houses the most famous restaurant on the island--La Mere Poulard. I came here five years ago with my parents and then-boyfriend, but I didn’t remember the food very well.

La Mere Poulard is famous for two dishes--omelets and pre-sale lamb. The omelets are cooked in a giant chimney and the eggs beaten by waiters at the entrance to the restaurant—a great way to attract diners. Pre-sale lamb (literally pre-salted) are lambs that feed on salt marshes. They end up quite tender and very lightly salted.

On our visit to La Mere Poulard, we both opted for the Menu Normand, a 55€ three-course prix fixe. But before commencing our meal, they brought over an amuse-bouche of tomato-ginger soup with herb cream on top. It was served in a shot glass with no spoon and was truly fantastic--perhaps my favorite part of the meal!

For my appetizer, I ordered L'omelette Mere Poulard au foie gras de Normandie. Rather than stuff the omelet with foie gras, they make a plain omelet and lay it on a bed of foie gras and mushrooms. It was good but quite rich and certainly not the best omelet I've ever had. Also, the egg and mushrooms were warm and the foie gras cold, which just made it rather jolting.

The Boy's starter, Soupe terre-mer en marmite lutee aux herbes fraiches, was much better. Though not exceptional, it came in a soup terrine with a flaky crust on top that you had to break with a spoon. The terre (earth) was made up of turnips and other root vegetables, shaped with a melon-baller. The mer (sea) were non-descript chunks of fish. In hindsight, he wished he'd gotten one of the omelets.

Being meat-eaters, for our main course we both ordered the Duo d'agneau de pre-sale du Mont Saint Michel. This lamb may have been the best I’ve ever had--and lamb's my favorite kind of meat! The first part of the duo was a potato gratin with a piece of lamb reminiscent of a confit. The potatoes were bland and the lamb strongly flavored. It could have balanced each other out quite nicely, but instead the lamb over-powered the potatoes. The second lamb was my favorite: strips of rare meat covered with herbs and very lightly grilled--divine.

For dessert, I opted for the Pom'Pom'Pom d'hier et d'aujourd'hui. This was an assortment of apple desserts: the best green apple sorbet I've ever had, with specks of green apple in the sorbet and an apple chip stuck into the top; a miniature tarte tatin, full of chunks of caramelized apples (my favorite); a Calvados-flavored cream (too rich); and a few raspberries and currants.

The Boy ordered the mammoth Assortiment de gourmandises d'Annette. It comprised apple and chocolate sweets: the same tarte tatin as me; cassis sorbet, also with an apple chip on top; chocolate pudding with two white-chocolate covered espresso beans on top; some kind of sponge cake soaked in calvados (like a baba rhum); two miniature chocolate muffins; and the same raspberries and currants. While I didn’t taste all of his, I was happy with my choice.

We also received a free dish of madeleines (plain and with raspberry filling) and miniature chocolate chip cookies. Nothing spectacular, we had already eaten too much to finish them.

All in all, this was a great dining experience but the food didn’t quite meet our (admittedly high) expectations.

La Mere Poulard
Grande Rue
Mont Saint Michel

Queen of Cuisine: Chez la Vieille-Adrienne

Chez la Vieille. Is the stop sign referring to the restaurant?

Mom's last full day with me, we decided to treat ourselves to a special lunch. Thinking ahead to this week, I remembered Dine and Dish #2: Queen of Cuisine, hosted by Sarah at The Delicious Life. Mom and I had both read a lot about Chez la Vieille-Adrienne in Patricia Wells' tome on food in Paris. It also got a great review in Time Out Paris (which I've decided hates virtually everything), so we decided it would be great. It was run by Adrienne, but she has since retired and been replaced by the Corsican Marie-José Cervoni. Both Mom and I are quite fond of Corsican food, so we were really looking forward to the new influence.

I don't know if it was an off-day or what, but Chez la Vieille did not live up to any of our expectations. First, we walked into a deliciously smelling room downstairs and were quickly herded upstairs to what Mom referred to as "La Salle Americaine" as the only other diners there were an American couple. This room felt colder and more formal, though maybe that was just my imagination.


Chariot d'entrees et un farci

Of the three starters offered, the only one that appealed to us was the chariot, a general selection. Mom doesn't eat mammals, so we asked what was on the chariot. "Fish and pate," the waitress quickly responded. She brought us each a plate, mine with two kinds of fish and two pates, Mom's with just the fish--not more fish than I had, mind you.

The Pates were both pork-based and smoky tasting. The First was good, if a little salty, and large sprigs of thyme were placed on it. The Second was also smoky tasting, but placed in gelatin--not my favorite ingredient. In fact, I wasn't able to finish it.

The first of the fish was a Squid and Calamari salad with red peppers. It was a little oily for Mom's tastes, but I liked it. Rather plain tasting, but not bad. The second was Herring with Red Onions. This was also swimming in oil and so salty I couldn't finish it either.

Normally in France when someone doesn't clean their plate, the server is concerned and asks if everything was OK. Our server didn't even appear to notice. In fact, she came over several times while we were still eating to take our plates away!

Cannelloni au brocciu

Main dishes were better. Mom ordered the celebrated Cannelloni au Brocciu. Brocciu is a delicious Corsican cheese. The cannelloni also contained spinach and mint. They were very reminiscent of manicotti and were in a spicy tomato sauce with parmesan grated on top. The sauce wasn't so spicy it over-powered the cannelloni but rather enhanced the fresh taste of the mint and spinach. Mom find it slightly salty, but I liked it.


Poisson suivant le marche--Cod

For my main dish, I ordered the Fish of the Day, which was cod. It was lightly breaded and sprinkled with a healthy amount of parsley. It tasted fresh and simple and I liked it a lot. It was adorned with a light Butter and Black Pepper sauce. Nothing spectacular, but good, fresh food.


Puree de Pommes de terre, the best part of the meal

My fish came with a dish of Potato puree that was delicious though a little salty (notice a trend?). There was so much butter in the potatoes, though, that how could they not be good?


Flan a la chataigne--take as much (or as little) as you want

For dessert, we decided to split the Chestnut Flan. We both love chestnuts and something custardy seemed like a good end. We were presented with a giant dish of flan. I assume we could have had as much as we wanted, but we were content with two small slices each. It was heavy, quite sweet and a little too alcoholic tasting. One piece was certainly enough.

I don't know what happened when we went to La Vieille, but it was nothing like the reviews we had read. We tried our best to like it, but just couldn't. I must say we were quite disappointed and will most likely not return.

Chez la Vieille-Adrienne
1, rue de Bailleul
Metro: Louvre-Palais Royal.

Le Bistrot d'Henri

Piece de Boucher aux echalottes with the famous Gratin Dauphinois

Before moving out to Paris, I already had a favorite restaurant: Le Bistrot d'Henri. Whenever I would come here with my parents, we always made sure we left one night to come here, as much for the charming service as for the massive portions and the best potatoes gratin ever.

Before he moved out here, while I was still living in a chambre de bonne on the outskirts of Paris, the Boy visited me and I took him to Le Bistrot d'Henri. He enjoyed his steak so much that, only a few days later when we were back in the St-Germain area, we returned for dinner on a Saturday night. We didn't really expect to get in, but Julian, who's the main waiter as well as the one who seems to run everything, told us to return in a half-hour. We did...and waited. But he brought us free glasses of wine and a plate of sausages and olives and we were eventually seated and had a wonderful meal. After that time, Julian knows us and whenever we returns he greets us enthusiastically, even beriding me for being late, which I often am.

This past year we even celebrated New Year's Eve at Le Bistrot d'Henri and had a fantastic time, toasting Julian at midnight. It is the epitome of a French bistro in our mind. When we leave Paris, we know we will always return here.

Last week, Mom was out here visiting again and overlapped with Davey her first night, so we all went out to Le Bistrot d'Henri, where I had the Piece de Boucher with a Shallot sauce and, of course, the Potatoes. This was actually off the regular menu although there's a big blackboard menu of specials that is bigger than the menu of most restaurants. Normally I only order off the blackboard, but I had never had the Piece de Boucher and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

Asperges Blancs, my entree

Entrecote aux herbes de provence...and potatoes, bien sur--Davey's main


The food may not be the most inventive, but it's always reliable and the service is excellent. Oh, and the Potatoes alone are worth the trip...

Le Bistrot d'Henri
8, rue Princesse
Metro: Mabillon.


Update:


I returned to Le Bistrot d'Henri and it's still as good as I remembered!

Les dessous de la robe

After having cooked the past several nights, we decided to go out for dinner Thursday night and last night. Unfortunately, last night was not terribly memorable. However, Thursday's dinner, at our favorite neighborhood bistro/wine bar, was, as per usual, divine. We first read about Les dessous de la robe in a Michelin guide and have since returned there four times. What first attracted our attention was that the menu changes according to what's available at market, though there always seems to be a special fish, a pasta, a tuna, soup, foie gras and steak.

Thursday night, we both started with Soupe du moment, which was cauliflower, actually more of a creamy puree than a soup, generously sprinkled with Piment d'Espellette, our current favorite hot pepper. It was warming and delicious. Our only complaint was that it was a healthy portion and surprisingly filling, so we had no room for dessert!

I followed the soup with the Entrecote de Salers. Salers beef is said to be the best in the world, coming from a breed of cow native to the Auvergne region in the south of France. This was possibly the best piece of plain beef I've ever had, accompanied by crispy oven-cooked potato chips. The boy had Axoa de veau au piment d'espellette, a veal stew with sesame seeds, hot pepper and a wonderful mystery vegetable which I think was a kumquat (I know, not a vegetable) and which the boy thinks might be something related to a potato.

This was all accompanied by a fantastic bottle of wine, Causse Marines--a spicy, rich, slightly fruity red wine perfectly recommended by our waitress.

As usual, the service was marvelous, the food delightful and the wine worth a trip in itself.

Les dessous de la robe
4, rue Bertin Poiree
75001
M: Chatelet

Couscous gratuit!

I was in the midst of deciding what to make for dinner, which proved more difficult than normal as my biggest pot is in the fridge with my left-over Jarret de veau. I decided I wanted something spicy, perhaps Middle-Eastern or Indian, so I was all prepared to head down to an awesome spice shop near home when I got a Texto on my phone from Kym, a Canadian friend from my acting classes (which start again on Monday!). "Couscous gratuit ce soir," it read. Free couscous? On a Friday night? With friends? That satisfied all my requirements and more (except that I couldn't go to the spice store, but ah, well).

After many more Texto's, we agreed to meet two other girls and Kym's sister at a Metro Station where Marie (who actually told us about the couscous in the first place) would lead us all to Free Food. Kym, her sister and I were late, then Marie, the only Parisienne, got us lost (it was in the 11e, which is a quite confusing area). Finally we saw a bar with a small blackboard outside reading "Couscous gratuit, vendredi et samedi soirs." We went in, waited for a half hour and then finally, after much shuffling around, settled down at two small tables pushed together. We ordered drinks (necessary for free couscous, apparently) and waited for a food.

While not the best couscous I've ever had, and without serving the superfluous amounts of grain the Boy and I are used to, it was surprisingly good. It came with a big ceramic bowl of vegetable stew and a plate of stewed mutton--a little stringy, but I liked it. Needless to say, we cleaned our plates. I actually wouldn't have minded a little more food, but, for couscous gratuit, it was perfect.

There was live music behind us and a not-bad bottle of wine. Also, The Mummy (the new one) was being projected onto a wall, mute with French subtitles. In general drinks at this bar are cheap (2,50 for a kir although by 22h00 last night they had run out of white wine) and there are fun faintly Middle Eastern lamps hanging from the ceiling (which Kym kept banging her head against). All in all, a very enjoyable evening.