One of my favorite things to do in a new city is try to get a feel of individual neighborhoods and visit local establishments. I’ve had the chance to check out some different neighborhoods in the evening for dinner. My friend Lauren had told me that her favorite neighborhood is Montmarte, and I think I’m beginning to agree with her. Montmarte is up on a hill and is home to the Sacre Coeur. The Sacre Coeur is a beautiful church located on the highest point in the city. To get to it you either have to climb hundreds of stairs or take a cable car. While the Sacre Coeur is awe-inspiring, it’s the atmosphere of the neighborhood that I’m drawn to. It’s known to be where artists live and mingle and it reminds me a little of the east village or lower east side in New York.

Kim and I made three trips up to Montmarte this past week. On the first trip up, I guided us in the wrong direction and ended up in a not-so-nice area of town. We found our way, though, and made it to the Sacre Coeur. While we were taking pictures, we were approached by men that were trying to braid bracelets on our wrist. This is one of the scams that people try to run on tourists in Paris—they start tying on the bracelet without your consent and then demand payment for it. Kim and I firmly said “Non” and got some not-so-nice English four letter words in exchange. While other more timid tourists may have decided to go back home, Kim and I were determined to make it to the area that my coworker suggested on the other side of the Sacre Coeur.

There, we found a cute little French restaurant called the “Le Coq Rico”. When we went in, the waiter said he could try to squeeze us in without a reservation. We were seated at a table next to three gentlemen around our parents’ age. As the meal went on, we realized what a diamond in the rough we’d found. The food was definitely the best I’d had in a long time. The men next to us informed us that the restaurant has been open for two months and it’s not easy to get a reservation. They also told us about how they are friends with the chef, as well as soon other famous chefs like Michele Richard and Jean Georges. We learned that they work for a company called “Cuisine Solutions”, which makes airline meals for first class and provides food to companies like Panera. Bruno, the most talkative of the bunch, is a Scientist who teaches chefs different approaches to cooking (you can read a New York Times article on Paris here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/magazine/14CRYOVAC.html?pagewanted=all). Turns out that Cuisine Solutions is a customer of my company and uses our food equipment. By the end of the meal we were best buds with Bruno and company and had a list of their recommended restaurants in Paris.

For our second trip to Montmartre, Kim and I decided to check out a restaurant/wine bar called Le Vingt Heures Vin that was recommended to me by a lawyer who was sitting next to me at dinner last week (who, by the way, used to live in New York and knew some of my former coworkers at Debevoise). The food was delicious and the bartender we were chatting with, who looked like a thinner version of Counting Crows front-man Adam Duritz and turned out to be the owner, gave us great wine recommendations. Near the end of our meal a woman around my age came up and asked in an American accent, “excuse me, I heard your accent, where are you from?” Turns out she used to live in Kansas City (near where my Aunt and Uncle live) and moved here last year for her boyfriend. She was so excited to meet an American who was working in Paris for a bit, so we exchanged information and hopefully we’ll get together soon.

The third trip to Montmartre was not quite as great as the first two, but still an experience. It rained all day Sunday, and Kim and I were troopers and endured it for hours to find gifts to bring back home. We went to the more touristy part of Montmartre to look for souvenirs and street art. We struck out on the street art (the ones Kim liked were ridiculously priced), but did end up with some yummy macaroons.

I’m hoping to get to spend a little more time in Montmartre before the end of my trip and perhaps make it back to Le Vingt Heures Vin.