Paris, where beauty, history and heavenly food abound.
Paris is a city I couldn’t help but fall in love with in that sappy, gushing, overly-romantic kind of way, the kind that happens with one trip-over-yourself glace in every romantic comedy. It’s a city that has perfected all of my favorite things: chocolate, croissants, chocolate-filled croissants, cute cafes, flower-filled parks, fascinating history and specialized food markets.
On my first trip to Paris three years ago, I climbed the Eiffel Tower (yes, literally climbed the 669 stairs), biked the Tuileries Gardens and strolled Champs-Elysées. With the touristy must-sees already guarded in my memory, my second trip to Paris was all about staying off the beaten path. With the help of my good friend and lifelong Parisian, Claire, I delved into Parisian cuisine like a local, buying thick slices of scrumptious smelly cheese from a fromagerie, feasting on classic French dishes from hole-in-the-wall cafes and brasseries and devouring mouthwatering pastries from local boulangeries. While nearly every stop was scrumptious, when in Paris one must be choosey. Therefore, here are the top eight items I am already longing for from my four-day food excursion in Paris.
8. Macaroons from Gérard Mulot
With more than a dozen flavors to chose from, selecting these hazelnut and nougat macaroons was rough but deliciously rewarding.
The windows of Gérard Mulot are sparkling with the promise of happiness, showcasing bright red and white trees of macaroons, neatly-arranged piles of chocolate bonbons and baskets brimming with perfectly-floured baguettes. Upon entering, my attention was immediately captured by a long, glass counter covered in a rainbow of macaroons. After struggling to choose between the 15 flavor options (spice cake or orange-cinnamon anyone?) I settled on a classic nougat and a Nutella-esque hazelnut. GREAT decision.
Where to find this deliciousness: Gérard Mulot has three locations- 93, rue de la Glacière, near the Glaciére metro stop. 76, rue de Seine in the Saint-Germain des Prés region of the city and 6, rue du Pas de la Mule next to the Chemin Vert metro stop.
7. Bordeaux at La Fourmi Ailée
This nook of a cafe is nestled just across the river from Notre Dame and is the perfect place to warm up with a glass of wine, coffee or tea.
After a museum-filled morning and a long and chilly stroll around Notre Dame all I wanted in the world was a cozy café to curl up in with my newly-purchased book. Conveniently located two blocks from the Shakespeare & Co. book store (which I highly recommend perusing) I came across the ideal afternoon resting spot, La Fourmi Ailée, or “The Winged Ant” (whose menus for some reason say Les Zéles de la Fourmi, or ‘The Zealous Ant”).
Not in the mood for another 4-times-as-expensive-as-Spain espresso, I asked for a glass of their house Bordeaux Not only was my globe-shaped glass filled nearly to the brim, but the elixer inside was everything I want from a house red: smooth and smokey with hints of cherry and blackberry and a slight tannin-y finish. Not too fancy and not too pricey, but still tasty.
Where to find this deliciousness: Near the Saint-Michel metro stop at 8 Rue du Fouarre
6. Sunday Night Dinner supplies from the neighborhood markets
Three slices of heaven served with fresh baguettes, tomato tarts, lettuce hearts salad with homemade vinaigrette and cold prawn salad. Sunday Night Dinner of champions!!
Sprinkled throughout the residential streets of Paris are some of the city’s most prized possessions, or at least what I believe should be considered Parisian treasures: specialty markets. There is the fromagerie filled with more types of cheese than I’ve tasted in my lifetime, the boulangerie that is bursting with the day’s fresh-baked and unimaginably amazing baguettes and the marché which is brimming with counters of seafood salads, pickled artichoke hearts, vegetable tarts and cured meats.
Each shop carries only its specialty. For a diversified meal multiple stops are a must. But biting into that artisan baguette and precisely aged goat cheese and freshly crafted tart I vowed to avoid one-stop shop supermarkets and opt for the master crafts at local specialty shops as much as possible.
Where to find this deliciousness: all over Paris!
5. Crepes from Le Petit Jocelin
This spinach, tomato and cheese filled crepe was unlike any I’ve ever tasted. It was heaven in crepe form.
There are crepes and then there are crepes. This work of art from Le Petit Jocelin was the real deal: a lightly crispy wheat crepe robustly stuffed with melt-in-your-mouth cheese, tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes and bright green spinach. In typical French fashion we washed down our crepes with French cider, served here in painted clay pitchers and drank out of small matching bowls.
Where to find this deliciousness: 20, rue Odessa in the Montparnasse area.
4. Chocolate-Coffee cookie from Laura Todd
Warm, melty and miraculously coffee-flavored, this Laura Todd cookie was one for the record books.
It may look like your average chocolate-chip cookie, but this Laura Todd creation is a work of culinary genius. It somehow melts on your tongue without being warm, envelops you in flavor without being too sweet and is chock-full of dark chocolate chips without being overpoweringly chocolatey. It is, without question, one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. And considering my insatiable sweet tooth, that is saying something!
Where to find this deliciousness: Nestled along one wall of La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marche, a stunning and massive market filled with all the amazingness that French cuisine has to offer. Near the Sèvres Babylone metro stop at 38, rue de Sèvres.
3. Croque Monsieur at L’Escurial
All other croque monsieurs are impostors. This crispy, creamy all-around amazing sandwich is the real deal.
I have tasted an array of croque monsieur in Spain and America but after one bite of the sheer joy pictured above, I decided those foreign impostors should be outlawed or at least forced to call themselves by another name. This croque monsieur, a staple item on most Parisan lunch menus, from L’Escurial in the “gay” area of Paris was an entirely new firecracker of flavor. Hiding beneath the thick layer of toasted-on-top, creamy-inside cheese were two slices crisp bread, layers of ham and even more smokey cheese. Please import this most perfect lunch to Spain!
Where to find this deliciousness: In the Marais neighborhood – 29, rue de Turenne
2. Brunch at Bioboa
These thick, sweet and fantastically flavorful pancakes were a scrumptious French take on the American classic.
Spain’s one downfall: there is no brunch. I made up for months of brunchlessness at Bioboa, where their prix fixe brunch menu rocked my socks off. The extravaganza begins with a still-warm-from-the-oven basket of baked happiness which includes pain au chocolat, croissants, chocolate cake-bread and lemon coffee cake accompanied by your choice of fresh-squeezed juice and coffee or tea.
Next comes a French omelet (aka scrambled eggs) and smoked salmon which is followed by thick, sweet positively delightful pancakes (accompanied by British maple syrup!). A pistachio-almond yogurt parfait finishes off the meal. And then I died happy.
Where to find this deliciousness: 93 rue Montmartre, between the Bourse and Sentier metro stops.
1. Pain au Chocolat from Eric Kayser, aka the “Favorite Bakery,” (or any boulangerie for that matter!)
This almond-chocolate croissant from Eric Kayser may just be the best breakfast in existence.
Chocolate-filled croissants are, in my opinion, the elixer of the Gods. They are my Achilles heel of desserts and the one item that I can’t help but tasting from every bakery in which I encounter them. Paris, without question, is the magnificent queen of croissants. Here, the magicians that call themselves bakers somehow create croissants that have both a crisp exterior and a fluffy interior, they are both airy and dense, rich yet light. And the fine people at Eric Kayser are, in my opinion, the masters. This boulangerie was my daily dose of good morning (and often afternoon) joy, but just about any bakery in Paris will serve you up an amazing pain au chocolat. Prepare to have your life changed.
Where to find this deliciousness: Eric Kayser has spread his baked-good happiness across 11 locations in central Paris. My location of choice was 18 Rue du Bac, just across the river from the Louvre.
Which Parisian slice of joy is your favorite? Any typical French dishes I missed?
One Bite at a Time 