Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We've heard that you can't get a bad meal in Paris. Well, we've had a few, and we've found a few that were so good that they deserve special mention. Last night we found a small place, Bistrot de L'Oulette, right on the border of Bastille and Marais at 38 Rue des Tournelles. Renee had a very good cod dish, pictured with this blog post, and Steve had an excellent cassoulet (casserole with duck, sausage, ham & beans). For dessert we had a chocolate mousse/praline parfait and a light apple pastry in a flaky shell with a side of sweet armangac sorbet. You can see pics in "Photos".
We've also had noteworthy meals at Chez Paul (2 times) at 13 Rue de Charrone in the Bastille and a surprisingly great lunch at Le Bistrot des Halles at 15 Rue des Halles. Also, near our apartment, we had very good pizza and pasta at a lively spot, Amici Miei at 44 Rue Saint-Sabin.
Sidewalk cafes are great for people watching, a coffee, or a glass of wine, but not usually for good meals. If they have lots of seats outside, but few seats indoors, that's not a sign for good food. If they're on a busy street corner or a large or popular "place" (the French word for "plaza" or "traffic circle"), then they are probably overpriced tourist traps with poor food. Although the terms are used loosely, "Bistrot" or "Brasserie" usually means better food than "Cafe".
Another issue in looking for good food relates to how adventurous your tastes are. Some of the best places with high Zagat or Michelin ratings, tend to offer dishes made with rabbit, horse, cuddlefish, organ meats, octopus, snails, eel, jellied meats & organs called "terrine", etc. These foods are not so common in American restaurants, and we are uncomfortable with them. They often serve "table d'hote," where you don't order from a menu, but instead, they just bring out several course at the chef's discretion, often exotic by our standards, and they charge a fixed price.
These are some of the restaurant choice lessons we've learned on this trip.
R&S
- comments