Those who have been reading my blog for a while will know I love my food. When I travel, eating takes a high priority. I like trying local specialties, enjoying special meals and eating well. I usually book at least some restaurants in advance and have a little list of things I want to try. For Paris, I had a Google map with various restaurants and food shops marked so if I was in an area, I could pop in and pick up a treat if I felt the urge. Paris was no exception. In fact, the first thing we did once we’d checked in was stop at Odette for a pain au chocolate. I’m not entirely controlling, though, and for our first meal, I handed the reins to my friend, who was in Paris at the same time. She booked Brasserie Des Prés, in the Cour du Commerce Saint-André, opposite our hotel. This little laneway was pumping most nights, and there was a long line to get in for those without bookings when we arrived. This restaurant has a menu of traditional French favourites, with a great brasserie vibe and good, but not great, cooking. It was a classic French brasserie experience.
Paris by Mouth Food Tour
Sunday G had to fly out in the afternoon. In the morning, we did the Paris by Mouth South Marais Food Tour. Our guide, Isabelle, was excellent, and we spent a wonderful three hours learning and tasting various foods. We stopped at five shops, tasting some foods as we went along and collecting baguettes and cheese to have with our wine tasting at Vinosfera.
My Week long Pastry Crawl
Over the week, I also did a pastry crawl. Trying various pastries from well-known pastisseries. My absolute favourite was the Paris Brest by Jeffrey Cagnes. I found many of the fancy layered pastries were a little too creamy and rich, but my favourite of them was the Equinox by Cyril Lignac. I also had an eclair from Cyril Lignac, which was good.
And some More Meals …
On Monday, for dinner, I went to Breizh Cafe. I had a mushroom galette (which was a special), green salad, and apple cider, followed by a sweet apple crepe. We went here last time we were in Paris and enjoyed it. It’s a quick dinner that is not far from my hotel. Plus, they opened early, which was a win for me.
I had lunch on Tuesday at Les Enfants du Marche, a counter in the Marche des Enfants Rouge in the Marais. They serve excellent food at the counter and a couple of high tables. It’s gastronomic food with natural wines. I had tuna crudo, lamb rack and a glass of white wine. This lunch was excellent. Seating at the counter is tight, so you get a good view of everyone’s food. The most popular dish was mussels. I noticed they are a lot smaller than the mussels we get at Portarlington near my parents place on the Bellarine Peninsula.
On Wednesday, after a tour of Montmartre, I walked down to Bouillon Pigalle for lunch. I booked this just before I started the tour, and I was glad I did because there was a big queue of people without bookings waiting to get in. The Bouillon restaurants were working-class brasseries, and this new restaurant in Pigalle is “continuing the tradition.” It’s a big, bustling restaurant—it has 200 seats in the dining room. It serves up low-cost French classics. My main aim here was to finally try French onion soup. I enjoyed it and followed it up with beef bourguignon, washed down with red wine. The cost was EUR 19,80.
My favourite meal of the week was Friday night dinner with G at the small farm-to-table restaurant, Garance, in the 7th. We had the five-course, and I had the wine pairings. The food was lovely, with great cooking, fresh flavours and interesting but not weird combinations if you know what I mean. I don’t have any photos—we were too busy enjoying the food. Afterwards, we watched the lights of the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the night, then walked home through those quintessential Parisian streets. It was a perfect last night in Paris.
Other food I enjoyed: jamon and fromage baguettes. The ones I had were a fresh, convenient and inexpensive lunch. I also popped into Cosi a couple of nights when I’d had a restaurant lunch for their “Stans Folie,” a chicken and coleslaw sandwich on fresh focaccia. I usually only have one large meal a day, so this hit the spot and was just around the corner from my hotel. The best croissant was from Maison d’Isabelle straight out of the oven. So, so good.
Do you prefer savoury or sweet foods? Do you have a favourite type of French pastry?
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