First off the primary reason we went to Paris was to go to Paris. Period. But since we were there we thought we would try to focus on something special. And there's nothing more special in Paris than the food.
As many of you know by now we took only one guide book with us: Clotilde Dusoulier's Edible Adventures in Paris. There is, we think, no better guide to finding your way around the back streets of culinary Paris than Clotilde. She became a trusted friend indeed, giving us suggestions that each and every time proved worth the stop and the money. Toward that end I plan to take my blog notes and Susie's notes in our copy of her book and create a PDF that people can download.
Of course, one might want to just buy their own copy of the book and spend a week or 10 days finding their own way with Clotilde's help.
Anyway, just a few observations from our latest trip to the City of Light.
Food. It's everywhere and most of it is good and I mean really good. Some of it is great and some of it is creative, but believe me it is mostly good. Still one needs to know the places to avoid. Generally don't eat at the cafes/brasseries surrounding the large, the huge places. Sit, have a drink, watch people, but steer away from the food. Generally it seems that the best food tends to be in the more quiet, out of the way streets. We usually steer clear of any place with the words Tex-Mex or American in the title. We're probably being foolishly prejudicial but hey, it's just a rule for us.
Patisserie/Boulangerie. (Pastry shops and bakeries are usually (but not always) combined so we've lumped them together here.) The French are funny people -- they want their baguette and they want it very cheap. But they also, apparently, like artisan breads and these are starting to be found with greater frequency throughout the city. If you like bread, really good bread I mean, the kind that is virtually impossible to find any more in most of the United States, by all means spend some time tasting the different breads available in Parisian bakeries.
As for pastries, well this was the primary reason for our focused touring: for Susie to taste, experience and get inspired by the incredible variety and creativity of the pastry chefs in Paris.
And for that we were not disappointed.
But be aware that pastries, their quality of ingredients and their production do seem to vary widely. A croissant in one shop may not taste the same (read "as good as") one in a shop around the corner or in the next arrondissement. This was a phenomenon we first observed we we came to Paris to live in 2006.
Moreover, different pastry chefs produce similar, traditional items which often vary in quality as well. Take the Religieuse for example. Like eclairs, the Religieuse relies on two main ingredients: choux dough and chocolate or coffee pastry cream (I usually opt for the coffee). And boy, can those two vary widely in quality -- one will have a pastry cream with nice, rich flavor, while anther might be much more subdued, too subtle for my palate. They should be stuffed with cream, the choux dough should have a nice, smooth but firm texture to it and there should be a collar ring separating the "head" form the "body" made of vertical butter cream columns, not the more lazy approach of just piping a ring around the "neck."
Generally, we stay away from the big name patisserie: Gerard Mulot, Eric Kayser, Pierre Hermes and their ilk. Good products to be sure; you end up paying a premium for designer packaging and slick marketing. The most mediocre eclair I've ever had was when we first moved to Paris in the summer of 2006 we had tea one afternoon at Laduret on the Champs Elysees. Grossly overpriced,watery tea and not terribly good pastries.
Also, check out the items in the windows and in the cases: how do "look?" Some things like "rustic" tarts should be mess, but other things like eclairs or Religieuse for example, should have a clean look, as if they were prepared by a professional and not some 10-year-old with a piping bag.
Wine. Wine is everywhere in the city -- the big chain stores Nicolas seem to be in evry block and of coruse there are many smaller shops catering to local clientele. The grocery stores also sell wine and can often be a good value but in our opinion Nicolas often has the largest variety and many of the best deals.
And speaking of deals, wine is really quite inexpensive in Paris, at least French wine (pretty much all there is really). You can find very good quality wine from virtually all regions and in all colors for well under 10 euros.
Wine is also widely available by the glass in most restaurants in the city and many of the cafes bring the bottle to your table and pour the glass, rather than bringing you a glass already poured. In fact, we never ordered a bottle in anyplace we ate, it was always a glass. This allowed us that flexibility of ordering two or three different wines during the meal. And prices of wine by the glass can range from 3-12 euros, depending on quality and type of course.
Other notes. We liked going in September; the weather was starting to cool and we thought it nicer than July to be sure. Great for walking.
Also arriving before the first Sunday of the month was a bonus too, since that is the one day out of the month when the state-run museums are free.
Spending time strolling the back streets, looking up at the buildings, taking your time. Even if you don't have much time to spend, take time. If you're in Paris to rush from place to place then pardon me, but you're in the wrong place. Paris is a place to linger, to stroll, to enjoy and savor the moment and of course to find the unexpected twists and turns of the streets and of the city's soul. You can't rally get lost. when was the last time you read about Americans being lost in Paris?
"The top story of the day is that the Bonger family from Eugene, Oregon were found today huddling by the Metro station in Porte de Clichy after being lost for more than ten years. France's crack 'Tourist Rescue Team' found the five family members who had been subsisting on dirt and baguette chunks found in the trash bins."
Go ahead. Get lost for an hour. See where it takes you.
The US tour guide Rick Steves started out years ago appealing to Americans who "thought" they wanted to see Europe through the "back door," as Steves called it, who "thought" they wanted to wander down the side streets of places like Paris -- the same Americans who now religiously carry Steves' guide books like an earlier generation carried Arthur Frommer; who in fact go through the "front door" now.
Ultimately, you have to ask yourself "Why did I come to Paris?" Let your answer then be your guide. And hey, if running around trying to meet a schedule or a deadline is what floats your boat, then by all means do it.
But remember one thing. You're going to be missing something very important along the way: peace of mind.
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