You know when you keep on passing that always crowded neighborhood restaurant and you say one day I’m going to try it to see what all the fuss is about? After months of wondering, I finally had dinner at Little Italy Trattoria in the Marais.
I was alone and the only spot available was at the bar, so I plopped myself on a comfortable modern barstool with clear rubber tubes. The menu, which was as easy to read as a DMV eye test, had small red type on an espresso brown background. I managed to decipher meat lasagne and ordered it. It was pleasant perusing the young, Marais sporty crowd of
20 & 30- something-year-olds as I waited for my food.
You really can’t dress-up lasagne that much and mine arrived looking like a hundred others I’ve had before. But with one taste, it was like I’ve never had lasagne before. The creamy, smooth texture and the perfect consistency and balance of layers of pasta and meat, were a taste revelation. The delicate not too acidy/not too sweet tomato sauce made you want to lick the plate and then some.
Even though the restaurant was full and there were only 3 waiters for about 50 people, my waiter Fabrizzio was calm and took the time to talk to me in broken Italian, English and French. He said all the wines were Italian and poured me a glass of delicious, robust Sicilian wine. It was on the house, and that scored extra points. My experience in most small, crowded Paris restaurants is the service is frantic and almost non-existent, having to practically trip the waiter in order to get their attention. Not so, at Little Italy. The service couldn’t have been more gracious and attentive. Lingering long after my lasagne orgasm, I finally asked for the check and the bill with a bottle of water was less than 20 euros.
So with great food, good service, and decent prices, what’s there not to like?
Little Italy Trattoria
13 rue Rambuteau, 75004
Metro: Rambuteau (Line 11), Hotel de Ville (Line 1,11)
Lunch 12-3:30PM
Dinner 7-11:30PM
Open 7 days
No reservations, but tables turn fast
01 42 7432 46
www.rebuzzi.fr
Fabrizzio- Cool as a Cumcumber
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
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