Paris
We went here on our first, jet-lagged night. Tom started with cabbage soup and I had foie gras with onion confit. For main courses, Tom got the signature aligot (a cheese dish from the Auvergne) and sausage, very nicely presented. I had the lentil cassoulet for dinner – it was just wonderful – perfect dish for a chilly night, and we both had fromage for dessert. Lots of food, but all very good. The service was very friendly.
Gulshan
A very reasonable, very good Indian restaurant in the 9th (or thereabouts.) Walk up to the counter, choose your dish and find your seat – we had two really good chicken and lamb dishes.
Au Petite Riche
We were here after the opera so they serve late. I had oysters to start while Tom had smoked eel. Then onto duck for Tom and salmon for me – baba au rhum and fromage blanc for dessert. I love fromage blanc; a very good meal.
Brasserie Lipp
We had very good service at the famous Brasserie Lipp – I sure didn’t expect that. We had lunch here as part of a cafe crawl that Tom organized. He had a bass filet and I had blanquette de veau – pretty good meal.
Les Deux Magots
The last cafe on the crawl, we were here close to midnight, after a concert. They had a limited menu – Tom had a croque Provencale and I had an assiette du charcuterie – nothing special.
Nem 101
This Vietnamese restaurant was a stop after the Musee Marmottan. Tom had spring rolls and a pork dish and I had soup followed by a chicken dish with lemongrass. It was a good meal – a little pricey for what you got, but there appeared to be a lot of regulars there.
La Robe et Le Palais
This restauarant was just around the corner from our hotel. Tom had escargots, the singlier (wild bore) and a fig tart. I had foie gras (quelle surprise!), risotto with calamari (just wonderful) and cheese. This was one of the best meals of the trip. It was a local, pretty crowded little bistro, and the service was a tad slow, but just a tad. We’d go back in a heartbeat.
Restaurant Gigi
A little pizza joint in the Pigalle area. Tom had a pizza with artichokes, sausage, ham and egg, and I had a calzone with tomatoes, cheese, egg and ham along with 2 pichets of a very comforting vin de table rouge.
Paul Chene
A lovely restaurant in the 16th. In fact, we took the metro to the Trocadero stop – one of my favorite metro stops in Paris – and visited La Tour Eiffel before dinner. Tom started with a seafood soup with croutons, cheese & rouille. Yum. I had some fresh, grilled mackerel which equally deserved a Yum. Tom had rognons de veau a la moutarde for dinner (Excuse me, sir, (in broken English) but do you know those are veal *kidneys*). Of course he knows! I had hare in red wine sauce – another good dish. For dessert, we shared some profiteroles. Upon leaving, the owner gave me a lovely, peach rose.
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A cute litte crepe place close to the Places des Vosges. Tom had a Crepe Tropezienne and I had crepe with potatoes, cheese and egg; a pichet of rose. Good & satisfying for lunch.
La Truffiere
This is where we had our last dinner of the trip, near the Mouffetard market. It might have been our best meal. The space was lovely – fireplace when you walk in, and a vaulted cellar, where we sat. For amuse bouches, they brought out crème of celery soup and pigeon feuillete. Tom had a scallop dish with ham & flageolet beans to start and I had duck foie gras (oh horrors, foie gras again?! ;-)) on toast points with grapes and fresh fruit. For our main courses, Tom had pike perch with mashed potatoes and wild mushroom and I had a parmentier of duck with pommes purees and truffles. They’re known for their cheese cart here, and we both indulged for dessert – we tried some wonderful, new cheeses. We shared a roasted apple on gingerbread with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Before dessert, they brought out little pastries, and after, bonbons. We had a good bottle of Southwestern wine with dinner. This was a top-notch meal in every conceivable way and a fraction of what we would have paid at a 2 or 3 star.