i heart paris

L'Ardoise

28 Mont Thabor
75001 Paris

1er Arrondissement - Louvre, St. Honre, Tuileries
Metro - Concord, Tuileries

After an early morning trip to Printemps to exchange a scarf I didn't like, I was walking towards La Madeleine and decided to sidetrack to the rue Mont Thabor to see if L'Ardoise or Cosy were open. I loved my lunch at Cosy earlier in the week and thought I might try it again.

When I arrived in this luxurious neighborhood, I found Cosy closed so it made my decision easy. I walked a few doors up and passed by L'Ardoise but it was empty. It was still a bit early for lunch. To kill time I headed over to the arcades along the rue de Rivoli to look for some interesting souvenirs. I saw a watercolor of the Eiffel Tower there are few days ago and I decided I wanted it. I found the painting (and it was cheaper today than two days ago) and I headed back to L'Ardoise. When I arrived I found only 2 people in the small restaurant. Surely more people will come in a little while to this popular place. Regardless it would be a good time to eat here since it wasn't busy.

[let's eat!]

Entree - I order the ravioli filled with chantrelle mushrooms, foie gras and sliced smoked duck. These homemade ravioli's are all served in a light cream sauce topped with tiny little crisp croutons. Very satisfying and delicious with a real home-style taste.

click photo to enlarge 

Plat -  I select the veal with onion and carrot. When this arrived it was a big piece of meat, on the bone, swimming in a broth of carrot and onion. This is a huge chunk of meat with a lot of fat but with tender veal in between. On the side there is a small mache salad.

The meal is also served with a basket of delicious crusty homemade country bread and some sort of a creamy herb spread to slather on it.

Dessert - I select some sort of chocolate dish, it is like a molded mouse layered with vanilla cream and a crisp cookie all covered with dark chocolate. I don't remember the name of this treat but it was yummy.

[overview]

Ambiance - The atmosphere at L'Ardoise is nicely lighted with tables that are not too close together. It looks like there are about 10-12 tables. The walls are tones of golden yellow with an unframed print here and there. Tables are light blond wood with metal bases. It was comfortable but not luxurious, of course it wasn't crowded while I was there either. Some review suggest that this place can be cramped when full.

Menu - The menu at L'Ardoise is a fixed price 3 course menu at €31 for lunch or dinner. There are at least 6-8 selections in each category and they are presented to you at your table on a chalkboard. Since these are not your everyday bistro classics, I had a little trouble understanding the menu but the waitress was able to help (in English).

Food - The dishes are unlike anything you will find anywhere else and tasty.

Service - Good English is spoken and they are very helpful.

Price/Value - The total bill today was €44 which included the menu at €31 and a half bottle of Chinon red wine at €13.

[rating]

This bistro is solidly on the higher side of a 3 rating but I wouldn't call it extraordinary or a value but it is a good choice in this pricey neighborhood.

[recommendations]

I was looking through some old notes and I found that this bistro has been rated a 19 by Zagat and was reviewed by Gourmet magazine, Fodors, Bon Appe tit, Patricia Wells and is listed in the book “Bistros of Paris”. I thought I heard of the place!

You could also try Cozy, two doors down!

This is a edited blog originally published via Blackberry from Paris.

Le Relais de Saint-Paul

It has been a long day.

The trip to Rouen really wore on my neves. I returned to Paris on a stuffy and congested train full of smokers, students and commuters. From there I hit the Metro and it was equally as crowded.

Do you know how I am feeling?

I popped by a few recommended places this evening but they all seemed to be “packing them in”. This place was recommended by a guy named OakGlen who has been following me on my journey and recommending place to try. Thanks!

After deciding that I didn't want to be crowded, walking by Le Relais de Saint-Paul was a welcoming sight. The atmosphere was nicely lit with sconces on the walls and candles at each table. The tables are properly set with starched white cloths, wine glasses and beautiful charger plates. The walls are  light colored and made of field stone with beamed ceilings. On the walls are mirrors and a variety of still life paintings.

Good music after a long day is so important. They are playing Natalie Cole in the background, you know that album she did where she sang everyone elses songs. Later the music switches to a soft bosa nova.

For my entree I order, what else, foie gras. Is this beginning to sound like a pattern? This foie gras is served with a side of homemade fig conserve and crusty homemade white toasted bread. Tasty indeed. I have yet to meet, or eat a foie gras I didn't like!

I dared to order fish for my main course. Why do I say dare? Because I am not a big seafood eater and like only the whitest and mild fish. On two of the fixed price menus they either offered turbot or doarade (sea bream). I selected the turbot which they recommended as the most mild.

It was prepared in a creamy chablis sauce. With a side of mashed potato. It was beautifully served, although this fish was a little strong for me, I think it tasted good and was prepared artfully. A fish lover (or cat)  would have enjoyed it.

I had a glimpse of other main courses (especially the beef) and they all looked amazing. I wish I had ordered the beef but I was just sick of meat.

The restaurant also has a good, but not cheap, wine list. I ordered a half bottle of a 2001 Cotes de Bordeaux which was $11 and a good choice. Most half bottles are €11 to €13 and full bottles in the €23-30 range.

Service was excellent and when I had problems understanding the menu, I was immediately helped in English.

For dessert I will select L'assiette de Fromage (mixed selection of cheese) since I have a tartelette almondine in my bag to eat later.

The cheese plate for dessert is truely amazing. This is the most genourous amount of cheese I have received in all of France. There are 5 ample wedges of cheese. They iclude a brie, goat bouchon, blue cheese, muenster and a roblechon. Amazing. Amazing. I order another glass of bordeaux with this. Such a treat! The goat bouchon and blue cheese were the best.

After the meal the owner informed me that he gave me both the turbot and the dorade on my main dish. That would explain why I had 2 pieces of fish and they both tasted different.

That was very nice.

I also learned that the owner is an American from Atlanta who was transferred to Paris and decided to leave the corporate world and  stay in France. He bought this restaurant and is now his own boss and still living in Paris.

Le Relais du Saint-Paul is a romantic restaurant and  relaxed evening at a good price. It's a greaty escape from a hectic day and my guess is that food and service is consistent.

There are 3 fixed price menus at €19, €23 and €38 for the “gourmet” menu.

I highly recommend this restaurant after a hectic day in Paris or for a romantic evening.

I will  rate this restaurant very well and a nice relaxing evening while in Paris. For food it is a solid 4, for service a 3+( because it was personable but not attentive), for atmosphere it gets a romantic 5.

I would add  this to your list if you want a nice unpretentious place to dine.

My total bill was €48 ($65) which included my meal at €32, a half bottle of wine at €11 and an additional glass of wine at €5.

Le Relais Saint Paul, 33 rue Francois Miron, 75004 Paris, tel 01 48 87 34 20

Worth it for the cheese course alone! Blogging from Europe via Blackberry and AT&T Wireless

Le Socrate (Rouen)

I depart the St Lazare station at about 12 for what I expect to be a 1 hour journey to Rouen. The trip take 1.5 hour and I arrive at Rouen at 1:30.

I check a map outside the terminal and with luck I find the street with the restaurant I want to visit. I rush to the retaurant only to find that it closes at 1:30. For god sake.

Now I dash around the area looking for a place to eat only to learn that most other bistros close at 2pm. My only hpe now is a cafe or brasserie.

In France if you don't have your butt in a bistro by 2pm, you might as well just have a baguette with fillings from a boulangerie.

I find a trendy looking place in the shopping district called Le Socrate which is modern and bright. It is also smokey but the menu looks classic and if I don't eat I will get a headache and turn into a big crab.

Le Socrate has a various fixed menus with a good selection of typical French dishes ranging from a salad with duck gizzard to steak with shallots or au poivre.

For my entree I get the oeuf mayonnaise which is nothing more that something similar to deviled eggs.

For my main dish, it is sirlion steak with roquefort cheese. It is a fatty thin piece of meat served with a side of roquefort cheese sauce and french fries (pomme frite). The French really love their French Fries. After all, who do you think invented them? McDonalds?

For dessert I get the tarte tartin. This is the best part of the meal. The apples are soft and sweet with a nice light crust. It is served with a side of creme fraiche.

I won't waste my time rating this place because its just a cafe with basic food and standard service. If you want to come in and smoke your brains out,  stop in this smoke factory!

As I sit here I wonder what percent of the French smoke and if anyone has told them they could suffer a long painful death on the profits of Phillip Morris.

Total uninspiring bill - €23.30 ($30)

Le Socrate, 46 rue Ganterie, 76000 Rouen, France

I should have stopped in a boulangerie and had a baguette with butter and brie.

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L'Endroit

24 rue des Tournelles
75004 Paris

4er Arrondissement - Bastille, Marais
Metro - Bastille

Tel 01 42 72 03 07

Do you have restaurant karma?

Did you ever get a good vibe by walking by a place then find yourself haunted to go back?

Have you ever eaten at a place you just can't forget?

click photo to enlarge

I walked by L'Endroit and stopped to read the menu a few times on my way to the Bastille Metro station. Each time I swore I'd come back and see if L'Endroit would be my "restaurant discovery" for this trip. It looked nice but I didn't put too much priority on visiting since L'Endroit was not on my "places to eat" list. Tonight, I didn't feel like wandering too far from my hotel and decided that this was the night to try this modern bistro. I wasn't disappointed.

Truthfully, It was a hard decision whether to risk this "unknown" small place or go to the ever popular and massive Alsatian brasserie "Bofinger" located around the corner. I'm glad I skipped Bofinger. When I arrived between 7:30 and 9pm it seemed like no one even knew this place was here. At 9 people started arriving and filled the bistro.

[ambiance]

"L'Endroit?" I can't find that in my French-English dictionary, "what does that mean?", I ask...  The waitress informs me L'Endroit means “the place I am in” or “you are here”. Yes, I am.

I would call L'Endroit a "wine bar bistro" since they seem to focus on the appreciation of wine with the meal. The atmosphere is casual and it's obvious you are in a wine bistro since the rust colored walls are decorated with chalkboards listing a large variety of wine choices. Wine surrounds you everywhere from the cork screws decorating the walls to the stacks of wine at the front of the bistro. I am also enjoying the music which is everything from classic jazz to the theme from the Godfather to soft classical music with a little Linda Ronstadt thrown in. I may come back just for the music!

Since I arrived early, the bistro didn't seem to smokey, but I am sure that is all in relation to how many people are here at the moment.

[the menu]

click photo to enlarge

The bistro offers two "prix fixe" menu's, a two course menu at €18 and a three course menu at €30. Both menus offer 4 or 5 different selections.

All the menu selections seem very original such as, “goat cheese wrapped in cabbage with honey” and “ marbleized beefsteak with foie gras”, “ provencal caramelized shank of lamb” and “finely sliced scallops with black truffle oil”. How did I translate that? I didn't. L'Endroit has menus written on blackboards in both French and English. When you arrive an English menu board is placed in front of you or you can try to read the French menu on the wall.

[time to eat!]

click photo to enlarge

Entree - I start with the Terrine de Foie Gras de Canard a la Vanille. Eating this is a dream come true and I have now oficially died and gone to duck heaven. The entree is a slice of foie gras that is flavoured with vanilla bean. It's like ice cream. The dish is served with 3 crispy toasts and a tiny bit of watercress. If I die now, I die happy.

The duck feast continues...

Plat - No duck is safe while I'm around. My "plat" or main course is the “magret de canard aux figues” (duck fillet with figs). This is an inspiring dish. There are about 5 slices of tender duck in a fig flavoured sauce. The duck breast is cooked perfectly pink. In the center of the dish is a rice pilaf almondine topped with a slice of roast fig. More heaven.

Wine - For wine there is a medium sized list which I bet was carefully selected. I let my server select my wine for me based on my meal. Her selection for me is a full bodied wine which was a Laurus Crozes Hermitage 2001. The way drinking wine works at L'Endroit is you can get a glass of wine for around €5.50 or they will give you a whole bottle and you pay for what you drink. If you plan to have ony 2 glasses the whole bottle is the way to go.

click photo to enlarge  

Dessert - I really want to order the cheese course for dessert but I am curious to see how they prepare dessert. I order the “Marquise Chocolat noir, sauce jasmin”, that's the black chocolate treat with jasmine scented sauce. Doesn't that sound original? Yes, it was original and a truely a delicious dessert. On the plate was 2 thin slices of creamy dark chocolate dressed in a jasmine flavoured sauce. The jasmine flavour was tender and light and perfectly complemented the thick dark rich chocolate. One to remember!

[in my opinion]

I am having trouble deciding if this is my favorite bistro of the trip. I would say it comes very close or is equal with my other 2 favorites. I give them high marks for creativity and originallity. The service was also excellent and English is spoken very well. They also get a big kudos for a very good translation on the english menu.

If you are out for a great meal in the €35 per person range, don't miss L'Endroit. My total bill was €45 ($58) with 2 glasses of wine and a €3 Foie Gras supplement (damn that Foie Gras supplement). It was worth every euro!

While in Paris I wanted to eat here a second time, but I wasn't feeling well on the night I was planning my second visit. When I return to Paris (and I will) you can be assured this is the first bistro I will head to!

I guess my restaurant karma was working this time!

This is a edited blog originally published live via Blackberry from Paris.

Tout au Beure

I just stopped for my missed breakfast at a little place in the Marais on rue Vielle du Temple. It's called Tout au Beurre, beurre means butter and I expect they don't skimp on this when making their pastry and croissants.

This place is not unlike any other patisserie in Paris except for they seem to be serving in the Vienese way which is coffee and pastry on a tray with a glass and a pitcher of water.

I ordered a cafe au lait, Viennoiseries aux Almandes which is a pastry filled with almond and bits of chocolate. Delicious.

Tout au Beurre, 29 rue Vielle du Temple, Paris 75004

Have I eaten all the pastry of Paris yet?

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Au Gourmet de L'Isle

I got a late start today even though I planned to be out at 10am. I shopped around the Marais this morning before heading to the Ile St-Louis for lunch. I found a great place in the Marais called Le Palais du The” which is an awesome tea shop selling all types of regular and scented tea. I heading back after lunch.

I sidetracked my shopping in Le Marais to hit lunch on the Ile St-Louis. I wanted to go to Au Gourmet de L'Isle because I missed it a few days ago when they were closed. Zagat gives this place a rating of 23 so it should be decent since Zagat ratings are dependable.

Today I decided to select the 2 course menu as the entrree's here didn't seem to exciting. Many were consisting of things like blood sausage, sweatbreads abd fish.

For my entree there were only 2 things on the menu that I would even consider eating, a halibit filet with pike mouse in a cheese sauce or a pork stew which is the specialty of the house. All the other items on the menu seemed to be thing I won't eat (such a liver, intestine and strange sausages).

The pork stew was tasty and had a nice flavour since it was cooked in wine. It was sort of like a beef bourgogne w but made with pork. There were about 3 tender pieces of pork served with 2 boiled potatoes. Tasty, but just stew!

For my dessert I get my all time favorite dessert profiteroles. Unfortunately I would not say that these were great (since I am an expert). There is a bistro called Le Bouledoug (sp?) that I went to last time I was here that servrd dreamy ones.

Profiteroles are like cream puffs except they are filled with ice cream and topped with warm chocolate sauce.

First of all they charge an additional €2 if you want profiteroles on the fixed price lunch menu. Second, they only serve 2, whereas most place serve 3. The flavor was nothing special and I found the puff pastry to be hard and dry, the ice cream was “icy” and the sauce nothing special.

This bistro is suppose to be a good value for the money and quality of food but I will say to skip it. I found no real value since they offer 2 courses where other offer 3 at €18 euro and have nothing too spectacular on the menu. The larger 3 course menu is €28.

Rating - Food 2, Service 3, Atmosphere 3.

Total bill - €21

Au Gourmet de L'Isle, 42 rue St-Louis en L'Ile, Paris 75004

Do youself a favor, walk down 2 doors to the non-Zagat rated Le Caveau de l'Isle' and have a nice 3 course lunch for around the same price.

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L'Alsaco

I make myself nuts. Tonight I planned to go Moroccan but when I got to the bistro “Chez Omar”, I chickened out and decided I wanted Alsatian. I am now on the train going the wrong way to a place in a neighborhood I don't know. It's near Gare de l'Est.

And this is not the first time I have gone the wrong way.

L'Alsaco was recommended in one of Patricia Well's books and in a few other books about Paris. I fear my choice because the review says it is too small, too smokey and Zagat only gives it a 16 for food.

I finally arrive at L'Alsaco which is in a grubby neighborhood (walk fast) and not near the Metro. The inside is very small (this isn't Bofinger) and intimate. The walls are all in wood with moulding  details painted on them. The ceilings are low and the lighting is horrible. The waitress doesn't speak English but the menu is in French and English. The atmosphere is true Alsatian “winstub”.

Alsatian food is a real treat. It is sort of like French meets German. A few years ago I visited the Alsace region and had the time of my life.

The set price meal here is €30 and includes an entree, house choucroute, dessert and a mug of beer.

For my entree I order the famous alsatian specialty “flammekuchen” which is like a pizza or a flatbread tart but topped with bacon, cream and caramelized onions. The crust here is wafer thin and the tart has a nice smokey flavour from the chunky bacon. It is served on an old cutting board from which I am sure I will get samonella poisoning from.

How the hell does everyone here stay so thin?

The choucroute maison was no disappointment. Choucroute is french for saurkraut. What you get is meaty chunks of por, pork knuckle, a frankfurter (not a hot dog) and a spicey sausage (like a bratwurst). This is all served atop a mound of saurkraut with yellow mustard and horseradish on the side. Sauerkraut, you ask? This isn't Libbys canned sauerkraut, from what I read it is fresh made in the Alsatian village of Krautergersheim. It's fresh fermented cabbage and not sour at all.

Oh, there was a boiled potato on the side.

After the main course I was served a plate of cheese. There were 4 very good size wedges and the best part was that they were all from the French Alsatian village of Muenster. This is not you grocery store muenster cheese. Each piece had a different flavour ranging fron soft and ripe to semi-hard. It was served with a “confiture” of unknown origin.  I think it was fig.

I didn't realize the set menu included cheese and dessert but after the cheese I was served a tart made with plums. It really wasn't that good and I didn't want to eat it. I got something in my room for later...

I actually think the cheese was a gift on the house.

I agree with Zagats rating of only 16 for this place. The food is good and has a home cooked quality. The atmosphere is casual and can be loud, as this is a winstub which is like a pub. If your husband is tired of eating foie gras and canard and fancy little pastries, this is a good place to take him for a manly meal.

You can also get similar meals at other Alsatian brasseries around the city (such as Bofinger and Brasserie L'Ile St-Louis. Both are in better neighborhoods).

This was not the friendliest restaurant I have been to but it also wasn't unfriendly either. I also find it difficult to believe that Patricia Wells recommended L'Alsaco.

Rating? 3 for atmosphere, 3 for food and 3 for service (Out of a max of 5 points).

L'Alsaco, 10 rue Condorcet, 75009 Paris

I am glad I have Gas X in my hotel room. Blogging from Europe via Blackberry and AT&T Wireless

Cafe des Deux Moulins

Could this be the place? IT IS A DUMP! But in the spirit of good journalism I decided to try it. How Hollywood certainly glamourizes things!

Or maybe they just cleaned the place for the film!

The interior is classic and old. The floors are tiled and the walls decorated with mirrors a mural painted here and there. The cafe is lighted with art tall deco lamps with golden colored shades. The ceilings are painted golden yellow with light blue insets. A worn poster from the film Amelie is taped to the back mirror. The ceiling are lined with neon. The table are classic formica topped with red paper sheets and yellow napkins.

The water bottle (carafe d'eau) is gritty as gritty as the environment.

For my entree I choose the Oeuf Mayonaise which is basically classic french appetizer. It's two eggs sliced in half with homemade mayo and a bit of potato salad in the middle. You eat the mayo on the egg then die of cholestoral poisoning. Dead, by satisfied. The dish is good but I have had better. €4.90

This place is popular with the Japanese, who you always see in the cafe, because the film was so popular in Japan. They are so cute with their giggles and watching them trying to translate they menu. They are also very polite as they bow when bidding “au revior”.

The balance of clientele is as gritty as the neighborhood (as is the staff).

There are a variety of specials listed on the chalkboard all priced around €10-12. From what I see people ordering around me, they are simple and basic and look decent. Remember this place is the equivalent to a New Jersey diner, which I never frequent.

For my main dish, today I just ordered the frisee aux lardons. Frisee aux lardon is a salad made with curly endive topped with warm thickl cut bacon and egg derssed with vinegrette. This is a warm salad from the hot bacon and sometimes they even use bacon fat with the oil. I am gonna die. $8.60

The salad is topped with diced hard cooked egg, although in the past I have always had it with a poached egg which is so delicious when the yoke runs onto the salad. I also miss that their are no croutons. Nonetheless, the salad is warm and tasty.

Of course no lunch at a sleezy French cafe would be complete without a creme brulee. I must say it was artful and delicious. The top was golden and nicely encrusted and the creme was light with a decent vanilla flavour specked with seed from the vanilla beans. €5.60

Service here is friendly and real. It's a neighborhood place with neighborhood people. There is no extra charge for inhaling cigarette smoke. Visiting cafe des Deux Moulins also gets you out of glamorous central Paris to see how the other half lives.

To close this out I would change comment in the first paragraph, this is a “dump with character”.

Total bill including one glass of cheap white wine (€5.60, a rip off) was €23.60 (about $26 and another ripoff). For a few more Euro, you could eat somewhere nice.

Cafe des Deux Moulin, 15 rue Lepic, 75018 Paris (a few blocks from the Moulin Rouge, but that's another film).

Don't even try to make a reservation.

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Chausson aux Pomme

I was going to skip my usual breakfast pastry today because of my indulgence last night but as I passed this pâtisserie called Pateau  in the neighborhood of my hotel I couldn't resist.

Todays poison of choice is a chausson au pomme. A chausson aux pomme is like an apple turnover, but much better. This one had a rich buttery and flakey crust which was browned just to the dark golden stage. It was filled with creamy apple which almost seemed puree'd. Only €1.10

Along with this I have a cafe au lait @ €1.30

I can't decide what better, the foie gras or pastries.

If you are in the neighborhood of the Place des Vosages, you must stop in for a treat. There are a few tables in the back where you can rest your tired feed and indulge.

The also have some fixed price lunch specials where you can geta drink, sandwich and pastry for €5.80.

Pateau, corner of rue des Tournelles and rue du Pas-La-Mule,  750054 Paris

One block off the Place des Vosages

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Food

I fully realize that this has become the food blog but since I have been to Paris many times I really don't go to the sights very much.

Oh yes, I have walked by the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Hotel de Ville but usually on my way to lunch or a shop. yesterday I actually tried to go to Sainte Chapelle but I got side tracked (by lunch!). I never made it before closing.

I also realized that when I wasn't eating I was shopping at a supermarket or gourmet store. I need professional help.

Funny but if you work with me (and you know who you are) you know that I eat either chicken or tuna everyday for lunch. Never anything extravagant or fancy, nor expensive! In fact a $10 lunch wouldd be an extravagant expense and here I am eating lunch for $35!

I eat simple lunches at work mostly because I sit on my a** at the computer for most of the day. Can't afford the calories. Here I walk all day so I hope I am burning them. I hope.

The weather today is so-so, it a bit chilly, overcast and damp. In fact the weather all week has been so great, but at least it's not freezing. I need a scarf.

Regardless, “I Heart Paris”

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