Paris Friday 5 September

We climbed the four flights of stairs to the apartment, unlocked the door and as we walked inside were struck by how much we remembered of this place, how much it seemed as if we had just been there the week before instead of a year ago. (photo: pate de sate, the reason we were here in the first place.)

After that sentimental moment passed, we unloaded our bags and while Susie unpacked I went off to hunter-gather: this time across the street to Franprix where I picked up a few staple items.

We showered and rest for a couple of hours before heading off to explore.

Our primary, in fact our only guiding light for this trip is Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris by Clotilde Dusoulier. I first discovered her wonderful food blog, Chocolate and zucchini, some time back and decided to get her book on where to find good and great food in Paris.

So our first foray out in Paris, the rain notwithstanding, was to the incredible "Goumanyat" store. The Thiercelin family has been operating this shop for some two hundred years, selling spices and spice concoctions ("melange"), as well as oils and the like mostly to the professional trade. They are expecially known for their saffron and in fact are apparently owners of a small saffron "farm" in southern Iran. We were fortunate enough to have the chance to meet the latest Mr. Theircelin, the sixth generation in fact, who spent nearly an hour letting us smell and taste some of their fantastic spices and oils.

Located only a stones throw really from the Place de la Republique, at 3 rue Charles-Francois Dupuis, in the 3rd arrondissement, you can find Mr. Thiercelin and his wonderful shop online at www.goumanyat.com. They do have a distributor in the US as well.

Before we took our leave of this inviting shop, Mr. Theircelin was kind enough to give us a tip for eating that evening -- it seems there was a new "Greek" restaurant that opened up in the neighborhood, a young man who was taking classic Greek dishes and twisting and turning them into his own personal creations. This sounded like it was made just for us so we jotted the address down.

We made a mental note to return to this shop at least once more before we return to the US. Just the experience of being inside will make any food lover want to come back for more. It's not about "stuff" or "gadgets," it's all about the feeling of being connected to a most serious and yet strangely wonderful part of the food world.

We spent the better part of the next hour or so strolling around this corner of the 3rd before deciding to look for "L"Olivier," the restaurant suggested by Mr. Thiercelin. After walking past this very unassuming little place, tucked next to a Tibetan restaurant and very close to the chic Hotel Murano, at 15 Boulevard du Temple (75003).

It had seemed as if we hadn't eaten for days and we found ourselves really quite famished. For starters Susie had goat cheese on bread chunks and I had quennelles of chickpea puree -- the flavors were incredible, rich without being overly so and hints of smoke. (By the way we sat right in front on the right, if you must know.)


For our plats Susie had turkey meatballs (on skewers) with hand-cut, homemade frites and I had a gratin of minced meat with eggplant topped off with a custard all baked together in phylo dough (it was suggested later that this sounded very much like a variation of moussaka).


With a bottle of wine the meal came to less than 50 euros.

A big thumbs up from the both of us. The nearest Metro is Filles du Calvaire. You can find them online at www.olivier-restau.com.

We then strolled home -- a quick 15-minute walk across a Paris wet but inviting.

Wish you had been there.

Steve