tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63363182993350934202024-02-08T08:34:08.463-08:00Discover all the worldkefalohoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00232570821939351607noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6336318299335093420.post-23633607705636780402011-03-25T06:58:00.000-07:002011-03-25T06:58:32.745-07:00One day out of Paris<h1 style="text-align: center;">A Foodie’s Day Out in Paris</h1>The City of Light! The City of Love! Paris has many names, and one of them should be the City of Gastronomy. If any town or destination could be described as <em>delicious</em>, it would be Paris.<br />
I’ve been many times, and next time I might just do a foodie trip. That is, if every other previous trip didn’t kind of turn out that way. It was by accident, considering how much tasty places exist in the city. Here are a few things you can do on your next day out in Paris.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Caffeine & Sugar at the World’s Best Cafe</h2>If you know me, then you know about Angelina’s (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/Angelina+642096.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___Ang%E9lina___desc___In the high-rent area near the InterContinental, this salon de thé (tea salon) combines fashion-industry glitter and bourgeois respectability. The carpets are plush, the ceilings are high, and the accessories have the right amount of patina. This place has no equal when it comes to viewing the lionesses of haute couture over tea and sandwiches. The waitresses bear silver trays with pastries, drinks, and tea or coffee to marble-topped tables. Lunch usually offers a salad and a plat du jour like salade gourmande with foie gras and smoked breast of duck on a bed of fresh salad greens. Despite the powerful appeal of tea and coffee as a midday pick-me-up, an enduring specialty here is hot chocolate, priced at 6.20€ ($8.05) for a pot suitable for one person. Another specialty, designed to go well with tea, is the Mont Blanc, a combination of chestnut cream and meringue.___lat___48.865047454834___lng___2.32802295684814___address___226 rue de Rivoli, 1er, Paris, France">map</a>), which I say is the world’s best cafe, bar none. I just love it. It sits on Rue do Rivoli, just a few blocks from the Louvre, and it is no big secret – many guides recommend it for the hot chocolate. I’m not a fan, but that’s because it’s that syrupy sweet drinking chocolate, so if that sounds like heaven for you try it.<br />
Instead, I prefer a strong coffee as well as a piece of <em>mont blanc</em>. Without a doubt, delicious! It’s a hazelnut creme paste with whipped cream and meringue. Super delicious. Angelina’s also has your regular array of cookies, baguettes, biscuits and other tasty ways to start your day. <br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Incredible Food Shopping</h2>Once you’ve got your buzz on, it’s time to head for where Parisian shoppers all go for their foodie goods: <a href="http://www.fauchon.com/en/en/#/buy-online">Fauchon</a> (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/FAUCHON+1108934.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___FAUCHON___desc______lat___48.8703___lng___2.325477___address___01 70 39 38 00, 24-26, place de la Madeleine, Paris, , France">map</a>). Pronounced more like “<em>fash-on”</em>, this store feels like you are stepping into a food version of Sex and the City. It’s awash in pink from head to toe, and every single product is packaged and prepped like every day of the year is Christmas. They’ve got great wines, fresh roasted coffee beans, pre-made foods, and specialized ingredients of all kinds.<br />
If you buy something and run out, Fauchon also sells some items on their website. But, to be honest, the real experience is going to the store in Paris and just wandering the aisles. It is truly magic.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Picnic and The Perfect Afternoon Snack</h2>One really popular thing to do in Paris, even if you live here, is to picnic. Even on an overcast day I’ve noticed the grassy knolls full of people with bottles of wine, towering baguettes, cheese, and cakes. It’s just that dreamy Paris you imagine.<br />
Champs de Mars (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/Parc-du-Champs-de-Mars+1514426.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___Parc%20du%20Champs%20de%20Mars___desc______lat___48.855256___lng___2.298737___address___">map</a>), which runs out from the Eiffel Tower, seems to be a popular choice. Personally I also like Luxembourg Gardens (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/Jardin-du-Luxembourg+1514427.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___Jardin%20du%20Luxembourg___desc______lat___48.847573___lng___2.336721___address___">map</a>) as a place to sit, hangout, and let the world go by. If you didn’t find what you need at Fauchon, then just step into the next bakery or food shop you see – they seem to pop up every other block or so. This is time for serendipity.<br />
If you are blessed with nice weather during your visit, I do have a tip for the city’s best ice cream: <a href="http://www.berthillon.fr/">Maison Berthillon</a> (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/Glacier-Berthillon+690643.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___Glacier%20Berthillon___desc___Recently mentioned in An Afternoon of Art on the Seine___lat___48.85173___lng___2.35683___address___31, Rue St Louis en l'ile, Paris, France">map</a>). It’s on one of the small islands on the Seine in the middle of Paris, right behind some of the iconic tourist stops such as the Notre Dame cathedral, Pompidou Centre, and the river itself. It is easy to find because you just look for the queue line up of folks that you’ll see as more and more people walk by you licking their cones in silence. Their flavors rotate each day, and I’ve never had a bad scoop here. Ever.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Great Restaurants</h2>It is next to impossible to make an exact recommendation for where to have dinner.<br />
<ul><li><u><a href="http://www.rotondemontparnasse.com/">La Rotonde</a> (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/La-Rotonde+653827.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___La%20Rotonde___desc___Once patronized by Hemingway, the original Rotonde faded into history but is immortalized in the pages of The Sun Also Rises, in which Papa wrote, "No matter what cafe in Montparnasse you ask a taxi driver to bring you to from the right bank of the river, they always take you to the Rotonde." Lavishly upgraded, its reincarnation has a paneled Art Deco elegance and shares the site with a cinema. The menu includes such hearty fare as pepper steak with pommes frites (french fries), shellfish in season, a superb and genuinely succulent version of sole meunière, and sea-bass filets with herb-flavored lemon sauce.___lat___48.8422012329102___lng___2.32887697219849___address___105 bd. du Montparnasse, 6e, Paris, France">map</a>)</u> is celebrating its hundredth year as one of the most loved brasseries in Paris. It’s a super sexy venue and I just love the vibe and atmosphere here. It can get crowded and is more popular with tourists than locals at times, but regardless, I still love it.</li>
<li>Creperie Brettone (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/Cr-perie-Bretonne-Fleurie+1514428.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___Cr%uFFFDperie%20Bretonne%20Fleurie___desc______lat___48.853502___lng___2.38009___address___">map</a>) has a couple of venues in Paris and is the perfect place to snack on one of Paris’ quintessential snacks. You can get them sweet (nutella, jam, or cinnamon/sugar anyone?) or savory (cheese and ham is always a hit). Crepes have been around Paris for hundreds of years as they were a popular snack for immigrants, and many ethnic communities have crepe stands with their own set of unique fillings, so keep an eye out.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.latourdargent.com/">La Tour d’Argent</a> (<a href="http://www.planeteye.com/Place/La-Tour-d-Argent+635483.aspx?refcon=wp&refid=0" target="_blank" title="___name___La%20Tour%20d%27Argent___desc___This penthouse restaurant, a national institution, enjoys a panoramic view over the Seine and Notre-Dame. Although its reputation as the best in Paris has long been eclipsed, dining here remains an unsurpassed event, not because of the diminishing culinary reputation of this place, but because of the view of those flying buttresses of Notre-Dame. A restaurant of some sort has stood on this site since 1582: Mme de Sévigné refers to a cafe here in her letters, and Dumas used it in one of his novels. The fame of La Tour d'Argent spread during its ownership by Frédéric Delair, who in the 1890s started the practice of issuing certificates to diners who ordered caneton (pressed duckling). The birds are numbered: The first was served to Edward VII in 1890, and now the number is over 1.2 million! For decades, the restaurant was owned by Claude Terrail, who became the most famous restaurateur in Europe. He died in 2006, and today management is handled by his son, André. A good part of the menu is devoted to duck, but the kitchen, of course, knows how to prepare other dishes. There are plenty of other places nearby where you can order food even better than that served here -- and at only half the price.___lat___48.8498407930114___lng___2.35498327180622___address___15 quai de la Tournelle, Paris, 75005, FRANCE">map</a>) is one of the world’s most famous restaurants. The name means the <em>silver tower</em> in French, and it is said that Henry the IV founded the restaurant in 1582. Pressed duck is the most famous item on the menu, but perhaps the most difficult choice is choosing something from the 400+ page wine list, which will be fetched from one of the most well guarded and most valuable wine cellars in Paris. Perhaps it goes without saying, this is a once in a lifetime experience and thus it is priced as such, e.g. expensive.</li>
</ul>Bon Appetit!kefalohoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00232570821939351607noreply@blogger.com0