Bon Appetit: Paris

After a pretty crazy week, I finally had time to sit down and get this post organized. It's by no means meant to be an all encompassing guide to food in Paris - it's just what we enjoyed while we were there. We spent four days wandering around the city and had a really lovely time. Since we had both been there before, there wasn't any pressure to do the super touristy stuff so it ended up being just a relaxing city break which was exactly what I needed. Of course, that said, there was still tasty food to be had!

Caitie at the Louvre

Rue de Commerce

Thanks to my lovely flatmate here in London, Laure, we were able to stay at her adorable studio flat just off of rue de Commerce. This area is quietly perfect with lovely shops and restaurants and only a short walk away from the Eiffel Tour. And yet, it never felt touristy at all. Everyone you see in the shops or on the streets actually live there and are just going about their day to day activities. It was perfect and we really can't thank her enough! With the cold weather and the lovely bakeries, cheese shops and other tasty treats available, we decided to eat in most nights and the result was delicious! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get photos of many of the shops because they weren't open on our last day. A particular favorite was Eric Kayser, an artisan bakery, which has the most amazing walnut bread. I wish we had one in my neighborhood in London! Although, that said, I would probably get very, very fat. Sigh.

Tasty artisan bakery

Dinner most nights

Day One: Latin Quarter and St. Germain

These are the fifth and sixth districts or neighborhoods in Paris and are very close to Notre Dame. If you take the metro, you'll probably end up walking through these areas in order to get to the cathedral. On display was a lot of different types of seafood, including mussels, lobster and oysters.

Street corner seafood

Oysters on parade

After a wander around Notre Dame and checking out the Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop, we decided to stop for lunch in a restaurant on rue de la Huchette. I was craving cheese fondue because I had tasty memories of it from a trip to Paris during high school. And yes, I know it isn't really a French dish, but it's still delicious. I remembered that this area was where i had enjoyed it previously so we set about finding a restaurant that served fondue. This street had lots of fondue on offer so we popped into one of the many cafes. 

Rue de la Huchette

Pizza

Surprisingly watery fondue

Fondue accompaniments 

Potatoes for fondue

While it wasn't the best fondue I've ever had, it was still a great lunch. Sam really enjoyed his pizza and I found that all the accompaniments that came with my fondue were more than enough for me. This street also had a few Greek cafes and other lunch options. I know it might seem touristy because it's so close to Notre Dame but the prices were actually decent.

Day Two: Louvre, Palais Royale, and Champs-Elysees.

Neighborhoods one and eight on the map, these are arguably the most popular areas with tourists since they include not only the world famous museum but also one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. The cafes and brasseries in this area can be a bit obscenely priced so we really took our time to check out a few options before heading into Cafe Palais Royal. With the freezing temperatures, we were both looking for something warm and this restaurant had omlettes, pastas and of course French Onion soup so we left very happy. Laure also recommended Cafe Le Nemours nearby for lovely sandwiches and other lunchtime treats.

Omlette

French Onion soup

Day Three: Marais

Our third day in Paris happened to fall on a Sunday, so, acting on a recommendation from Laure, we headed over to the Marais neighborhood since it's shops and restaurants were open (unlike a lot of other areas in Paris). I can't stress how adorable this neighborhood is - it doesn't actually feel like it's part of a big city. Lots of lovely bakeries and cafes, plus some great shopping options. The museum of European photography is also located here and I was disappointed to find the line was just too long for us to visit (maybe I should actually say the weather was too cold for us to wait in a massive line!). This neighborhood also has a high concentration of Jewish delis and restaurants and we were lucky enough to wander into the Purim celebrations. These included music and dancing in the streets and general good cheer. Also on offer in this neighborhood is Victor Hugo's home and the place where the Bastille stood (now a roundabout...).

Want all the cakes!

Amazing challah breads just waiting to be eaten.

Macaron tower

Chez Marianne

For lunch, we had hoped to check out Chez Marianne, a Jewish deli/restaurant that had been highly recommended by both Laure and our guidebook but unfortunately they were pretty swamped. So, we wandered along rue de Rosiers until we found a sit down place that looked tasty. On offer along this street are copious amounts of falafel but most of the cafes are take away shops which would have been nice in the summer. We popped into Mi-Va-Mi, the "authentique falafel" and "best of the street" because it had indoor seating. Despite our less than gourmet reasons for selecting it, Mi-Va-Mi didn't let us down with fantastic falafel and shwarma. I really don't think you could go wrong with any of the falafel options on this street though, given the long lines at every window.

Mi-Va-Mi

My falafel platter

Shwarma pitta

Purim party

As a treat, we decided to pop into an artisan eclair and truffle shop on our way back to the metro. L'eclair de Genie had more options to choose from than I had ever seen before. I went for strawberry while Sam made the (slightly) better choice with his lemon meringue version. I highly recommend a stop in if you're wandering around this neighborhood and looking for a treat!

Eclairs 

More eclairs!

Day Four: Montmartre

Our final day was spent in Montmartre, home of the Sacred Heart Basilica and far, far too many stairs. After hopping off the metro at Abbesses, we found we were a little peckish and so popped into Le Saint Jean, which was close to the tube. Although I was worried since it had a bit of a chain restaurant/pub feel, we were definitely not disappointed. Sam even declared his "toast burger" as the best he'd ever had while my steak was perfectly cooked and served with a delicious blue cheese sauce. There are also loads of restaurants up near the church so if you're not hungry right away they might be a better option.

Le Saint Jean

Tasty steak and frites

Perfection

"Toast Burger"

Final Food Thoughts: 

There was one element of our food experience in Paris that really stuck with me because I found it so surprising: the wealth of foreign foods on offer. I know, this is probably not a shocking thought when we live in a world that is so globally connected that Goldfish crackers were on sale in Chennai, India. However, when I visit Rome to see my parents, I'm always amused at how little outside influence can be seen in the restaurants or grocery stores. For example, our local shop has ONLY Italian foods on offer despite being a reasonably sized place. The restaurants in our neighborhood follow a similar trend: the vast majority serve only Italian dishes. We do have one sad little Chinese restaurant but it's pretty terrible. In Paris, it was the complete opposite. Supermarket shelves had a ton of Italian items (and my precious Goldfish of course!) and the restaurants in Laure's neighborhood ranged from French brasseries to Chinese, Japanese and even Korean.