Paris… it’s the third time I’m here and again only for just for a moment. Therefore I won’t be clever-clever (as in the case of Spain ;)), nor advise you on various things (as in Mexico), because I am not a Paris specialist in the slightest 🙂 This time I will share a few opinions in what and where to eat.
For me, the city itself is, above all, about long walks and diversity: elegant Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, lively Opera neighbourhood, colourful Montmartre and Place Pigalle, peaceful left bank of the river Seine, impressive La Defense… and of course, the symbol: the Eiffel Tower.
no tale about Paris is complete without the Eiffel Tower
As all the guide books will tell you in details what to see, I, with the total of 10 days spent in Paris (in 2008, 2010 and 2012) will not be able to reveal any hidden gems to you in this respect. However, if we’re talking food, as especially desserts, I do consider myself a bit of an expert. Well, who else would order two desserts? 🙂 A culinary critic and… me. Ok, but first thing’s first.
Let’s begin with breakfast. No other option but a fresh, crispy baguette and a croissant. The sandwich may be DIY version or bought in a nearby patisserie. I prefer the latter, when I can eat it watching people on the streets of Paris at the same time.
And then? Whatever you fancy:
— raclette, a special type of cheese heated up on the table directly on small pans, with a piece of potato or ham. Super soft and Warming you up. Wikipedia says that “originally, this dish was prepared by Swiss shepherds on hot stones put up around the bonfire”.
raclette set
— fondue – cheese again and, let’s be honest, quite a heavy one this time 🙂 melted cheese, with a hint of white wine, and pieces of baguette or potatoes drowned in it — something not to be eaten in summer as it warms you up and makes you feel full. It’s not surprising that the dish originated in the mountains. You prefer a lighter version? Chocolate foundue with fruit. Easy and quick to prepare: just melt dark chocolate and cream, and put fruits cut into cubes next to the dish.
fondue
— for oyster lovers (Łukasz is one of them): Paris is the place. You will find oysters in many places, served as starters before a main course.
oyster plater at Bar d’ Huitres
We also had mussels and chips and baked fish but what attracted my attention were, first and foremost, the desserts. Among them, above all:
— chocolate soufflé— crispy on the outside and with melted chocolate lava inside (at least that’s how it should be but is not always the case ;)). Served with ice-cream, vanilla, raspberry or almond sauce. Always delicious.
mmmmm…..
or creme brulée, a flagship French dessert, which literally means „burnt cream”. On the top, the cream has a layer of caramelised, browned, melted sugar and inside you’ll taste a hint of vanilla. Divine!
As you can imagine, Paris has hundreds of restaurants to choose from. Below. you’ll find my personal opinions on those we manager to visit.
On a Friday evening, looking for a place for a nice and not so big dinner we came across Leon de Bruxelles (http://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/), located in Champs Elysées. The name of the place sounded familiar and after a while we realised that we had visited Leon before, exactly in Brussels. Here, same as in Belgium, you can also get mussels served in many various ways: in white wine, in cream, Provençal, in Dijon sauce, with Roquefort cheese, baked or in curry. Portions are always quite big and mussels come with thick, crispy Belgian fries. We, feeling quite hungry after the whole day of sightseeing, this time decided to go also for a starter: deep fried calamari, small, fried fish and breaded mussels.
a seafood starter
Feeling a bit “over-musseled” after Friday, the next day we went for French cheeses and dishes such as fondue and raclette. There are a lot of restaurants serving them in Quartier Latin. We chose Le Saint Severin (5 Rue Saint-Severin). And another French cheese-classic for the start — salad de chevre chaud (salad with warm goat’s cheese). I love it!
salad de chevre chaud
Followed by obligatory raclette and fondue (in the picture above). Everything was tasty but the waiting staff was far from even being nice: there was a crowd and our waiter moved our table (while we were eating!) to put up more and more guests in the room. Well — the French don’t lead in the rankings for the most polite nations :/
To wipe out memories of this unpleasant experience, on the last day we decided to indulge ourselves and so we went to one of the top end restaurants. That’s how we came across Le Bar a Huitres (www.lebarahuitres.com), situated also in Quartier Latin. Elegant interior, nice grey colours, a huge stand with seafood outside and menu on iPads… I have to say I like this modern touch, which made even choosing items from the menu good fun. Especially that you could actually see all the dishes on the device. Cool! On the other hand, my mum wasn’t that happy with this system, as she is not used to using tablets.
an original way of serving olive and spices
I chose something already tested in France, mainly the set menu, comprising a starter, a main course and a dessert. The mains were fish and seafood (e.g. salmon tartar and fried calamari), and desserts rather traditional — chocolate soufflé and creme brulée (which, by the way, was one of the best we’ve ever had.)
Everything was so excellent that I actually ordered two desserts here. And I recommend both to you 🙂
for the start — salmon tartar
Being a seafood fan, Łukasz decided to go for oysters and a lobster. Before landing on our plates, Mr Lobster came to say ‘hello’ and ‘bye bye’:
bye bye!
So am I saying “bye” to you, while sipping my favourite coffee in Coffee Heaven! 🙂
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