AU CHIEN QUI FUME
33 rue du Pont Neuf
SEAFOOD, TRADITIONAL
01 42 92 00 24 www.auchienquifume.com
Au Chien Qui Fume has been a staple of the Parisian dining scene since 1740. Chefs arrange mouth-watering seafood platters at the oyster bar (tantalizingly visible from the street). The seafood is fresh from the market the same day. A traditionally decorated dining room and terrace portray the unmistakable class of this establishment, which is arguably Paris’s number one for oysters and seafood. The crowd here tends to be pretty old or touristy; the former just trying to revisit the “good old days” and escape the dreadfully multicultural modern Paris, the latter falling into a particularly delicious tourist trap.
Les Halles. Menus €25, €33, €38. Plats €17.50-29.60. Open daily noon-2am.
about those snails...
If you’re traveling to France, you’re sure to get plenty of opinions on eating escargot, or snails. Lord knows why, but the snails have been eaten in this area since Ancient Roman times; today, the French are the leading consumers of snails in the world, and devour 40,000 tons of them per year. A newly-developed (and slightly disturbing) industry, snail-breeding, became necessary when experts discovered that the diet of snails is not always agreeable to the human stomach. Since they eat mainly decayed matter and wild leaves, snails’ stomach contents can occasionally be toxic. That’s right; eating slimy creepy crawlers can be bad for you. The risks that come with consuming snails can be counterbalanced by removing their stomachs, keeping the snails in isolation for 2 weeks before consumption, feeding them only human-safe materials, or simply buying the snails from a trusted breeder. If you’re thinking about a little snail snack, look for escargot prepared “à la Bourguignone,” with garlic, butter, and spices, or perhaps a Feuilleté aux escargots—snails in flaky pastry!
The Marais
Though at times it can feel like eating in the 4ème is less about food and more about how you look eating it, there are a number of quality restaurants here, specializing in everything from regional French cuisine to new-age fusion. This is not the cheapest place to lunch, but if you’re ready for a bit of a splurge your appetite will be more than sated here, even if your bank account is not. Satisfy them both with the unbeatable lunchtime menus, or by grabbing a sandwich from Le Gay Choc or a falafel on rue des Rosiers for €5. If you decide on dinner, make sure you make a reservation at the hotter venues. Dozens of charming bistros line rue St-Martin, and kosher food stands and restaurants are located around rue du Vertbois and rue Volta.
CHEZ JANOU
2 rue Roger Verlomme
BISTRO
01 42 72 28 41 www.chezjanou.com
The food is so good here it inspires desert-island hypotheticals: if you were stranded on a desert island, would you bring an endless supply of Chez Janou’s magret de canard or the best lover you’ve ever had? It’s a tough one. Tucked into a quiet corner of the 3ème, this Provençale bistro serves affordable ambrosia to a mixed crowd of enthusiasts. The chocolate mousse (€6.60) is brought in an enormous self-serve bowl, though Parisians count on self-control. Over 80 kinds of pastis.
Chemin-Vert. Reservations always recommended, as this local favorite is packed every night of the week. Entrées start at €8.50. Plats from €14. Open daily noon-midnight. Kitchen open M-F noon-3pm and 7:45pm-midnight, Sa-Su noon-4pm and 7:45pm-midnight.
ROBERT AND LOUISE
64 rue Vieille du Temple
TRADITIONAL
01 42 78 55 89 www.robertetlouise.com
Defined by a firm belief that chicken is for pansies (let’s not even talk about vegetarians), Robert and Louise offers a menu that’s wholeheartedly carnivorous—we’re talking veal kidneys, steak, prime rib, lamb chops. The only concession to white meat is their confit de canard. Juicy slabs are grilled in the open wood-fire oven and then served up on cutting boards. There’s a definite homey vibe here; you’ll feel like you’ve been given shelter by a generous French family who found you abandoned and shivering when they were coming back from a hunt.
St-Paul or Files du Calvaire. Reservations recommended. Entrées €5-16. Plats €8-18. Desserts €5-6. Open Tu-Su noon-2:30pm and 7-11pm.
MARCHÉ DES ENFANTS ROUGES
39 rue de Bretagne
MARKET
The oldest covered market in Paris, the Marché des Enfants Rouges originally earned its seemingly politically incorrect name (“market of the red children”?) by providing shelter for orphans. The market is now a famous foodie paradise of hidden restaurants and chaotic stands. Comb through an eclectic selection of produce, cheese, bread, and wine, not to mention Japanese, Middle Eastern, Afro-Caribbean, and every other variety of ethnic cuisine. Parisians often duck in for lunch at one of the wooden tables, which are heated in the winter. The wine bar in the upper right-hand corner, L’Estaminet, is airy, relaxed, and offers some cheap glasses (€3-3.50) and bottles (€5-25).
Filles du Calvaire or Arts et Métiers. Open Tu-Th 9am-2pm and 4-8pm, F-Sa 9am-8pm, Su 9am-2pm.
Latin Quarter and St-Germain
The rule with food in these neighborhoods is not to eat on rue de la Huchette or at a cafe with English menus on one of the main boulevards. You’ll leave with higher cholesterol and a lighter wallet. Venture inland a bit to find a host of terrific selections. The Comptoir Méditerranée is a great cheap lunch option and Le Foyer Vietnam provides a nice change from heavy traditional French cuisine.
LE FOYER DE VIETNAM
80 rue Monge
VIETNAMESE
01 45 35 32 54
It’s easy to miss this restaurant, whose meager decor foreshadows this local favorite’s meager prices. We suggest that you look for the crowds—Le Foyer de Vietnam is always packed, though it manages to keep hungry patrons waiting for only a few minutes tops. Portions are large but not unmanageable; try one of this hole in the wall’s delicious meat- and spice-laced soups, followed by the duck with bananas (€8.50). Wash it all down with the delicious and ambiguously titled Saigon Beer (€2.60). Unconventional desserts prevail; ever heard of lychees in syrup (€2.50)...for dessert? The restaurant appeals to everybody except tourists, offering student discounts on certain menu choices.
Monge. Menus €9.20, students €7.50. Entrees €3.80-7.50. Plats €6.50-9.20 Open M-Sa noon-2pm and 7-10pm.
CAFE DELMAS
2-4 pl. de la Contre Escarpe
CRÊPERIE, CAFE
01 43 26 51 26
Two venues in one, Delmas is the place to while away the hours (stylishly) in a happening part of town. A modern crêperie and cafe on the stylish pl. Contre Escarpe, Delmas’s menu boasts a wide variety of choices, from swanky cocktails to traditional cuisines to crêpes. Don’t sit inside; the painted library in the back corner is a rather tragic decorative decision.
Cardinal Lemoine. Sweet crêpes €3.50-8.50. Salads €13.50-18. Plats €16-24.50. Open M-Th 7:30am-2am, F-Sa 7:30am-5am, Su 7:30am-2am. Happy hour 7-9pm.
GUEN-MAÏ
6 rue Cardinale
VEGAN, EPICERIE
01 43 26 03 24
This healthy-living oasis might have more appeal for vegetarians and vegans than for carnivores (though they do have fish); anyone who craves seitan and soy will find a little slice of macrobiotic heaven here. Also a lunch restaurant, this is a great alternative to yet another heavy traditional French meal; flush out the butter, oil, and richness with one of Guen’s homemade vegetarian options. The all-natural food products are made completely in-house. The lunch counter quadruples as a salon de thé, food market, bookstore, and vitamin boutique.
Mabillon. Lunch menu entrees €3-5. Plats €7-12.50. Desserts €5. Open M-Sa 9:30am-8:30pm.
Invalides
The chic 7ème is low on budget options, but there are a number of quality restaurants that are worth shelling out the extra euros. Rue Saint-Dominique, rue Cler, and rue de Grenelle feature some of the best gourmet bakeries in Paris, and the steaming baguettes and pastries make
for an ideal picnic by the nearby Eiffel Tower.
LE SAC À DOS
47 rue de Bourgogne
TRADITIONAL
01 45 55 15 35 www.le-sac-a-dos.fr
A neighborhood favorite, this intimate restaurant does French dining right—excellent food, good wine and fresh bread cut to order. The standing red lamps and old books on mahogany shelves make Le Sac à Dos feel more like a living room than a restaurant, and the chummy proprieter’s hearty jokes and attentive service really makes the experience; don’t be surprised if he (jokingly) asks for some of your wine. The midi and soir formule (€16) will give you most bang for your buck.
Varenne. Gamas grille €25. Burger and frites €14. Desserts €5. Open M-Sa noon-2: 30pm and 7-10:30pm.
LES COCOTTES
135 rue St.-Dominique
TRADITIONAL
01 45 50 10 31
Christian Constant, a famed Parisian chef, realized that not everyone wants to pay their left arm and right leg for a good meal. Thus he opened Les Cocottes. The fourth of his restaurants on the street, the food is just as delicious and half the price. Unsurprisingly, the house speciality is the cocottes (€12-17), cast-iron skillets filled with pig’s feet and pigeon or fresh vegetables. The decor is a sophisticated take on an American diner, with high upholstered stools at the tall tables, where you can get in and out pretty fast. The best quickie you’ll ever have.
École Militaire or La Tour-Maubourg. Mousseline d’artichaut €16. Salads €10-12. Mousse au chocolat €7. Open M-Sa noon-4pm and 7-11pm, Su with reservation only.
LA GRANDE ÉPICERIE DE PARIS
38 rue de Sèvres
SUPERMARKET, SPECIALITY SHOP
If a skinny, chic, Chanel-toting Frenchwoman took on supermarket form, she would become La Grande Épicerie. In addition to its near-obscene bottled water and wine display (€30—for water? Seriously?), this celebrated gourmet food store features all things dried, canned, smoked, and freshly baked in itsy-bitsy packets. The butcher actually has a thin twirled mustache. We thought only cartoon French people looked like that. Most items here are overpriced, so it’s better to treat La Grande Épicerie de Paris as a fascinating anthropological sample than a supermarket. You might want to avoid the American food section, which showcases such treasured “traditional” cuisine as marshmallows, brownie mix, and Hershey’s syrup. The market’s refined local patrons cluck their tongues disapprovingly as they walk down the aisle; it’s kind of embarrassing.
Vaneau. No pets allowed. This place is way too expensive for you. Open M-Sa 8:30am-9pm.
Champs-Élysées
Once the center of Paris’s most glamorous dining and world-class cuisine, the 8ème’s culinary importance is on the decline, but its prices are not. The best affordable restaurants are on side streets around rue la Boétie, rue des Colisées, and place de Dublin.
TY YANN
10 rue de Constantinople
CRÊPERIE
01 40 08 00 17
The ever-smiling Breton chef and owner, M. Yann, cheerfully prepares outstanding and relatively inexpensive galettes (€7.50-10.50) and crêpes in a tiny, unassuming restaurant; the walls are decorated with his mother’s pastoral paintings. Creative concoctions include La Vannetaise (sausage sauteed in cognac, Emmental cheese, and onions; €10). Create your own crêpe (€6.40-7.20) for lunch.
Europe. Credit card min. €12. Crêpes €7.50-10.50. Open M-F noon-2:30pm and 7:30-10:30pm, Sa 7:30-10:30pm.
LADURÉE
16 rue Royale
TEA HOUSE
01 42 60 21 79 www.laduree.com
Opened in 1862, Ladurée started off as a modest bakery; it has since become so famous that a Gossip Girl employee was flown over to buy macaroons here so that Chuck could offer his heart to Blair properly. On a more typical day though, the Rococo decor of this tea salon attracts a jarring mix of well-groomed shoppers and tourists in sneakers. One of the first Parisian salons de thé, Ladurée shows its age but remains a must-see (and -taste). Along with the infamous mini macaroons arranged in high pyramids in the window (16 different varieties; €1.50), this spot offers little that hasn’t been soaked in vanilla or caramel. Dine in the salon or queue up an orgasm to go.
Concorde. Also at 75 av. des Champs-Elysées, 01 40 75 08 75. Macaroons €1.50 each. Open M-Th 8:30am-7:30pm, F-Sa 8:30am-8pm, Su 10am-7pm.
FAFOUQUET’S
99 av. des Champs-Élysées
CAFE
01 47 23 50 00
Restaurants can only dream of this kind of fame. The sumptous, red velvet-covered cafe once welcomed the likes of Chaplin, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Jackie Onassis. But as its gilded interior suggests, all that glitters is not gold. Today, Fouquet’s owned by a hotel and dining conglomerate, and the only celebrity spottings you’ll see are the framed pictures on the wall. Still, it’s an experience of quintessential old-time Parisian glamour, easy on the eyes and devastating for the bank account (appetizers run upwards of €30). Best to buy a coffee (€8) and see and be seen.
George V. Plates €20-55. Open daily 8-2am. Restaurant open daily 7:30-10am, noon-3pm, and 7pm-midnight.
Opéra
The Opéra district has a few classic food spots, but the area definitely suffered from the loss of one-of-a-kind restaurant Chez Haynes in 2009. Most of the high-quality, affordable options in the district are located in the St-Georges area.
SAVEURS ET COINCIDENCES
6 rue de Trévise
FINE DINING
01 42 46 62 23 www.saveursetcoincidences.com
Saveurs et Coincidences maintains a small, charming dining room; in the summertime, a few tables are set up outdoors and the front windows are flung open, letting the air waft in. Recently purchased by expert chef Jean-Pierre Coroyer—a former semi-finalist in a national gastronomical competition—the new Saveurs et Coincidences combines traditional French cuisine with Japanese, Italian, and other global favors for a succulent and entirely unique collection of entrees. Ingredients are ridiculously fresh. According to the chef, the restaurant doesn’t even have a fridge; ingredients are ordered and received from suppliers in the mornings, then sliced, diced and stewed the same day. This process costs Coroyer a good deal of returns, but he proudly declares that he isn’t interested in ripping off his customers. It certainly shows in his prices which are incredibly lower than those at most cafes. The lunch formules are such a deal, it should be illegal.
Grands Boulevards. Entrées €8.60. Plats €14.20. Desserts €7.50. Formules midi €10.40, €12.50, €17.
CHARTRIER
7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre
TRADITIONAL
47 70 86 29 www.restaurant-chartrier.com
Chartrier has served French traditional cuisine, since 1896, and remains a unique experience that is not to be missed. Think Cheesecake Factory meets Friendly’s family vibe, without the obscene portions (portions are a good size here, just not disgustingly huge). We recommend the tête de veau (that’s sheep’s head; €11.80), and then some classic profiteroles au chocolat chaud for dessert (€4). If you go alone, you’ll be seated with somebody you don’t know, which can either be a fantastic experience or a boring, very awkward one. Waiters provide rapid service and are patient with Americans, but only to a point; know what you want to order, because they’ve got their hands full. If you want to be guaranteed a table, we recommend getting here early—the line stretches about 200m around the block by 7:30pm.
Grands Boulevards. Entrées €2-10.30. Plats €8.50-12.20. Desserts €2.20-4.50. Wine €6.50-34. Open daily 11:30am-10pm.
KASTOORI
4 pl. Gustave Toudouze
INDIAN
47 70 86 29
Kastoori offers tasty, hearty Indian fare at a collection of tables on the lovely pl. Toudouze; the indoor seating area is cozier, with plush chairs and couches in a small dining room that doubles as the kitchen. Pricewise, the place is a steal during the lunch hour, with a thali du jour tasting plate for just €10. There are also plenty o
f veggie plates for the granola types among you. Waiters are quick to put their cigarettes down to replenish your carafe. Unfortunately, no alcohol is served here; we consider this to be a human right’s violation.
Saint-Georges. At lunch (entrée, plat, naan) €10. Menu (entrée, plat, naan, cafe) €17. Desserts €5. Plats €7-13. Open Tu-Sa 11am-2:30pm and 7-11pm
Canal St-Martin and Surrounds
The 10ème has a few all-star food spots, and both just happen to be located on the Canal St-Martin. Stay away from the brasseries on the main boulevards, and make the trip down to the Canal (specifically its side streets); great deals on great grub.
LE CAMBODGE
10 av. Richerand
CAMBODIAN
01 44 84 37 70 www.lecambodge.fr
Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide Page 57