For the first time in almost a decade I recently returned to
Europe. This time was different. I wasn’t with students, not doing research.
This time I returned for a family vacation, and not for a grand tour but for
hardly anything more than to sink into Paris. Somehow Paris has become the city
I have returned to almost more than any other, anywhere, for visits. York,
Maine might edge it out, but barely. There’s a big world out there so why
return to the same places, right? But Paris seems to pop up for me all the
time. This time it was to show the kids, two teens, a little about art, food,
travel, and culture and for my wife and I to run around one of our favorite
places. As usual, food took center stage. Here’s a few of the highlights:
1.
Arrival dinner, we exhaustedly stumbled over to
Rue Montorgueil. So many choices, but we headed to the landmark L'Escargot Montorgueil with its
giant, gold snails. With no reservation we got scrambled up to a table with its
own staircase above the foyer. Totally private, it turned out to be a great
place for us to relax and just have a family dinner at the end of a big travel
day. Service was stellar as was the food – escargot, mussels, veal chops, beef
bourguignon, foie gras, steak tartare – we went all in on a real French bienevenue! It was a spectacular start.
The highlight was likely the foie gras, somehow seared on the outside just
enough to yield a crust, but not enough to melt it. That’s no easy feat.
2.
A hot dog under the Eiffel Tower. What? But what
if they hollow out a nice, crusty baguette and fill it with the hot dog?
Something to be said for blending cultures.
3.
We snuck away for a night in Luxembourg for
(very) old times’ sake and had some wonderful food experiences. Brasserie de Cercle had a
wonderful Kniddelen mat Speck,
essentially large, simple dumplings in a cream sauce with nice chunks of fried
speck. Delicious! We also returned to Giorgio’s, now Onesto, but essentially the same. The
Bolognese remains delicious but the pizza is special. We had a lunch at a
sausage stand next to the road in Bereldange and it reminded me of being 14!
4.
After a long walk and a few hours in the Louvre
we dragged ourselves to my favorite place to eat in Paris – Chez Denise, not
far off of Rue Rivoli. This is a classic bistro, no frills of any kind, simple
service, crowded space, one menu scrawled on a large chalkboard. This place was
made somewhat famous in Anthony Bourdain’s No
Reservations, season one, episode one. I’ve read that fame has ruined it,
but I disagree. It was not filled with tourists, the menu has not been
simplified (or translated), and it remains delicious. We started with the house
terrine. Two massive slices, rich, meaty and carnivorously delicious. Our
entrees were stuffed cabbage, a braised fish, lamb chops and lamb brains. Every
dish was spot on. Each of us swooned with happiness with each of our choices.
We ate everything. We finished with mousse au chocolat that had the kids saying
it was the most amazing thing they’d ever eaten. It was a flawless French
ending to a perfect French day.
6.
Each day we walked past a Chinese noodle shop.
Each night there was a line outside. Each walk past we had to stop and watch
the noodle stretchers do their work by hand in the front window. After a few
days of this we had to eat there. Les
Pates Vivantes proved to be wonderful. We each got different dishes –
soups, fried noodles and noodles of different sizes. Each dish tasted like
sunshine. Fresh, crisp, bright and flavorful. There’s a reason this place is
full all the time. Great, no nonsense service and perfect, filling, delicious
food.
