The sun was shining on a coolish Paris afternoon but still warm enough for a gelato. The friends living locally had heard of one to try and we walked past one little branch to find another one with the wall serving the streets.
Pistachio was a light brown colour but a bit too light on flavour for my liking. The dark chocolate-hazelnut that sandwiched it was a much stronger flavour with both elements coming through.
Not bad at all.
A well known galette/crepe place in Paris is Breizh. After the recent trip discovering the quality and earthy flavours of galettes from Bretagne, I don't think I could go back to the standard sweet crepes. The difference in flavour is such a welcome change for a savour-ite like myself. The best so far has been the similarly named Ty Breizh (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/ty-breizh-perros-guirec-06-2017) so it was interesting to see how this would compare.
We didn't have much luck here. The day before during lunch they said they only took bookings until 2pm. In the evening for dinner the night before they had stopped serving. This day they were also fully booked but directed us to their shop next door. Why didn't the same guy bother doing that the day before? Unclear.
In any case I preferred this little gourmet shop to the restaurant full of loudly spoken tourists. It was much quieter and gave an opportunity to peruse some local products which have a clear Japanese/French fusion. I picked up a yuzu mustard and a nori mustard for the trip home.
- Mushroom galette (scrambled egg, ham, raw milk comte cheese, Paris mushroom & shiitake) €12.5
- Artichoke galette (fried egg, raw milk comte cheese, white ham, artichoke of Brittany) €12.5
- Crepe with butter & sugar.
The galettes here are different to the typical ones in Brittany. The inhouse cookbook explains that here they are intentionally thicker and softer. I must admit I do prefer the more standard thinner and crisp if nothing else because the slightly charred areas add such a delicious texture and nutty taste. However these do have the advantage of a more varied selection of toppings including borrowed from other cuisines.
Some friends have been living in the more grimey/character 11th in Paris and recommended a local dinner at a true Parisian place in their suburbs. It's true to say very few tourists would venture out this far and the solely French menu reinforced that. They therefore also found it quite unexpected that the waitress spoke very good English. Only good English, because her smirky/smiley response to my ordering of a cocktail of "be careful, you're Asian" is perhaps lost in translation. Or maybe it's just French.
The 3-course menu is €34, a reasonable price for Paris considering mains are generally around €20-25.
- Oeuf bio mayonnaise addictive, gaspacho d'artichauts violets, pousses de pois - a lovely poached organic egg on a "gazpacho" of artichokes with tomato and parsley. A warm fresh entree;
- Veloute de lieu jaune au lait de coco-galanga-citron vert, legumes croquants - a fish based soup cooked with the Thai trinity of coconut milk, galangal and lime. It was a beautiful soup with a strong tart edge with a lighter nod to classic tom kha soups;
- Joues de lottes mijotees a la creme d'Isigny et au chardonnay, risotto de riz noir, carotte rotie - al dente black rice risotto with morsels of soft white fish in a savoury creamy chardonnay sauce;
- Canard des landes aux figues roties au miel de romarin, polenta, jus de cuisson - I was craving duck and this delivered the beautiful rare meat with some sweetness from roasted figs. Simply wonderful dish and meat;
- Biscuit a l'amaretto, mousse au chocolat noir, compote de framboises - biscuit, dark chocolate and raspberry. A good combination;
- Poire williams pochee dans un sirop aux agrumes et epices, yaourt au safran d'Iran, crumble cafe/avoine - an excellent poached pear with a saffron yoghurt and crumble.
The duck reminded me of my favourite parts of French cooking. My last trip to Paris had the wonderful deep warming duck cassoulet (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/chez-papa-paris-06-2016) and so I have myself a theme.
This well known sandwich-erie is located in the Marche des Enfants Rouges. It is lucky my Airbnb was a couple of minutes across the road. It seems like a nice market to buy things to eat then or take away for a picnic later. There's quite a few options but the most popular with both French and foreign-language speakers is Chez Alain Miam Miam.
The queue on this Saturday around 1pm went for 50minutes. There's a lot of queueing and really only one sandwich or one galette can be made at a time. So be prepared for the wait and bring a book.
The two main options are the galette and sandwich. The sandwich is the more famous one but as you see other people receiving their galettes it certainly tempts you that way. Luckily I tried both.
Galette Fraicheur €9.5 is a buckwheat base with loads of fresh salad, tomato, parsley, cured ham, loads of parmesan and even more loads of basil. It's a wonderful fresh and healthy flavour mix. The problem I have with it is that galettes are best eaten warm and crisp but the wet salads make it cold and soggy when you eat it.
The sandwich €9 is a hot pressed beast with salad, cooked onions (10kg per day), mushroom, tomato, avocado and your choice of cheese (I liked cantal better) and filling (I chose the warm chicken). It is reminiscent of that drunk 3am kebab in terms of warmth, size and satisfaction but also healthier, better quality ingredients and a more fresh (rather than meat salt) flavour. It is very satisfying.
I wouldn't go back there knowing what the queues are like, but I'd stop by in the area and take a peak to see how long a sandwich might be...
You'd think it would be easy to find places serving food in Paris on a Friday night. Yes it was around 2230pm but that isn't late for any decent sized city. But in the 3rd arrondissement the pickings were slim as the places closed their kitchens. Everywhere that was open until 12 or 2 or 4 weren't serving anymore food. I'll admit to being a little picky considering nearly everywhere served exclusively meat dishes that sounded appealing.
In the end a corner restaurant that had a French menu with a few token smokers sitting outside was the last option and luckily it was a welcome re-introduction to Paris.
- Escargots x12 €14 - beautiful little creatures covered in garlic parsley butter and perfect to be absorbed by the slices of bread;
- Pan-roasted tuna steak (with coriander sauce, sweet potato puree) €18 - a fully-cooked but at least not overcooked seasoned fish with a healthy mash;
- Beef tartare 180g (with homemade French fries) €15 - the waiter had to check I knew it wasn't cooked. It was an interesting version with diced beef pieces mixed with onion and pickles, rather than the finer mince I'm more used to. Nonetheless nice and served with excellent fries;
- Crepe with sugar & lemon €4 - a simple sweet offering to finish.
It wasn't a place I wanted to go nor a place I would normally have picked. But it was open, serving food, French and a fine bistro meal to start.
For some reason I seemed to have difficulty finding a good online leader for dinner. Other than Le Chateaubriand which still remains on my list, the Paris places I had were (breakfast) Holybelly, Frenchie To Gogo, (lunch) Chez Alain Miam Miam, Breizh Cafe and (drinks) Chez Jeanette, Lockwood, Candelaria. Maybe it was too much choice and not enough decision-making experience with French cuisine but in the end with no real direction I was wandering the streets.
Eventually I came across Chez Papa (153 Rue Montmartre). It ticked some good boxes - looked homely, French diners, the food looked and smelled good, and everyone seemed to be having similar dishes in large pots or a display on a plate. It seems to specialise in cuisine of South-West France.
After perusing the menu, the English-speaking French family next to me asked if I needed advice. Stick to the specials on the first page - you won't go wrong. I'm glad I did and in doing so managed to try two dishes:
- Special Papa Cassoulet gratinated with breadcrumbs - a superstar dish of deep heavy duck-flavoured stew, with a thick rich sauce that could be swept up with bread;
- Garbure Papa hotpot - a speciality of cabbage with carrots, large French beans and duck meat in the form of neck and wings. The soup is quite thin and mild but distinctly duck flavour. However as simple as this was, the flavour paled compared to the cassoulet.
I want to eat that cassoulet again. I will go next time in Paris. There seem to be a few branches around so it won't be too hard to find.
A late night barmy evening lent itself to a gelato dessert. By coincidence, luck and fortune, I can across an artisanal seller after dinner.
There's a good list of flavours, but unfortunately on my first visit, the pistachio was sold out, and the deep green I saw was green tea.
Nonetheless it didn't stop me over the next 24 hours from sampling the wonderfully brown coloured pistachio with its intense nutty flavour and minimal sweetness, a rich fruity cherry and a slightly less impressive raspberry.
On a scorching 32C, high-humidity day in Paris, gelato was necessary. After avoiding the soft serve and generally substandard tourist fare, I was lucky enough to spot the golden word Amorino at a stand near the Louvre. Of course this word resonated with me instantly like a mirage from the depth of the desert floor due to my exposure in Lisbon (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/amorino-gelato-lisbon-10-2013).
Due to heat, a lack of lunch and a desire of gelato, I ended up queuing twice for a double each time.
- Pistachio gelato - a sweet version with good flavour;
- Coconut gelato - really delicious flavour with pieces of coconut providing texture;
- Pistachio sorbet - a stronger nuttier flavour, less sweet and preferred over the other (contrary to what I wrote in Lisbon);
- Mango - a strong fruity version as though mango had been blended, thickened and served.
Thanks for saving me. I hope to see you elsewhere.
It must be nice to be awarded the 2016 San Pellegrino Best Pastry Chef in the World.
It must be nice to credited as having the best macarons in the world.
Although I'm not huge on macarons, it seemed difficult to pass up the opportunity to try them. This particular store in Galeries Lafayette Maison (35 boulevard Haussmann) serves macarons but not pastries so I'll have to leave the latter to another time.
The macarons eaten included the recommended, popular and award winning mogador (milk chocolate with passionfruit) and montebello (half strawberry, half pistachio). The flavours are nice and sweet but not sickeningly so. The flavour starts off very lightly and intensifies at the end. What is most impressive is that the shells are soft and delicate, unlike the firm crispy versions I've sampled elsewhere all over the world. This is refinement.