Day Four in Paris

Posted 05/21/2008 at 07:32 PM by Carolyn

Today, my good friend Lil Viv arrived to join me on my fabulous journey. Lil Viv and I went to culinary school together. She’s a pretty big pastry nerd like me, she’s an adventurous eater, a novice wine lover, and she doesn’t speak a word of French. A perfect traveling companion.  When Lil Viv arrived, she was hungry and ready to hit the town.  We grabbed a sandwich from a bakery on our street.  Only in France would I even consider eating a meal of nothing but ham and butter on a baguette, but it sure is satisfying to walk around Paris with a stomach full of all that salty, fatty, bready goodness.  But there was so much more heart-clogging deliciousness to come!

This being Lil Viv’s first day in France, she wanted to eat as many crazy good pastries as possible; she certainly had some catching up to do.  We headed straight for La Place Madeleine, which apparently is the epicenter of premium chocolateries in Paris.  We  chocolate and a millefeuille (just layer upon layer of super flakey puff pastry with some cream to hold it together; classical pastry heaven).  Then, it was on to La Maison du Chocolat for an espresso éclair.  Oh my, yes.  We window shopped at the other gourmet shops, including a caviar store, a Japanese pastry shop, and Hediard, which offers a little bit of everything awesome.

We were pretty pastried out by then, so we took the leisurely way home, through the Jardin des Tuileries and past the Louvre.  It was a very beautiful day, and everybody in Paris was out have a good time.  We stopped at a café for a couple of glasses of Sauvignon Blanc.  When the weather was nice (which it was for about half of my trip), there was nothing finer than sitting outside with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and watching the people go by.  Something about those crisp, clean flavors (Citrus! Grass! Tropical fruit!) is just so lovely at a sidewalk café.  Anyway, we wiled the way the hours nursing our wine, watching the French folk, and chatting about the good old days of culinary school.  And, before we knew it, it was time to get ready for our dinner date!

I had made a reservation at a little bistro briefly mentioned in that great Food and Wine magazine I had picked up.  After my wonderful experience at Le Beratin on day two, I was ready to put my faith in the magazine; and, an internet search had found even more recommendations for this spot.  It was called Le Perraudin, and I was really looking forward to what many diners had called the best beef burgundy in Paris.  My favorite!

We grabbed a taxi to the Latin Quarter and arrived right on time for our reservation.  There were plenty of other people in there, which I took as a good sign.  We were seated in between two other tables of diners and settled in to peruse the menu.  As we absorbed our surroundings, though, we began to be filled with despair: every voice around us was speaking English.  The couple to my right was American, complete with fashionable fanny-packs and tennis shoes.  To my left, an English couple was looking the menu over.  A large table not far from us was ordering loudly in French, but as soon the waiter left they began speaking English to one another.  I had inadvertently reserved us a table at tourist central.  How disappointing.

I tried not to be disheartened, and ordered my highly anticipated beef burgundy with escargots to start.  A classical French meal with a glass of burgundy: how divine.  When my escargots arrived, they were delicious.  Big, tender morsels of snaily goodness, swimming in butter and parsley.  Not too shabby.  Then, my beloved beef burgundy came out.  It was nicely cooked, with the meat practically falling apart.  But, it lacked salt, and there were several big chunks of fat swimming around with the beef.  Not the beef burgundy of my dreams.  Finally, for dessert, Lil Viv and I split profiteroles and crème brulée.  The sugar on our brulée was either completely blackened or totally raw, and the custard beneath was warm from the heat of the torch.  Don’t try to get sub-par crème brulée past two pastry chefs!

So, our dinner wasn’t exactly the perfect, authentic French feast I had hoped for.  But, it was pleasant enough, and a pretty good deal for 29€ for three courses.  It definitely wasn’t a restaurant I would seek out again, but apparently they have enough US cash getting funneled in that they won’t miss me much.  Still, a day of eating pastries in France easily beats a day of making pastries in the States.

 

Yes, I know I’m doing a terrible job of recounting my trip in a timely fashion. Lucky for you summertime is not exactly high season for chocolate shops, so I will soon have lots of time for writing about my wine and food experiences. Fun for everyone!

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