My second under 20 euro food adventure with Lynn was at a Turkish restaurant that she has been raving about. She said they served an excellent 3 -course lunch for 13.50 euros, so I was already sold.
Most French restaurants get busy after 12:45, so we arrived at 12:15 to beat the crowds. Since Lynn frequented the restaurant the waiters all knew her and cheerfully welcomed us. La Voie Lactee has a warm atmosphere with red fabric lanterns that give off flattering light,simple wood chairs, and tables with white tablecloths and dark red paper napkins.
We choose the buffet for our starter and it was exceptional. I am always weary of buffets because usually after tasting 3 or 4 things, everything seems to meld together and you can't distinguish the various tastes. Not so with the La Voie Lactee buffet. The room temperature dishes all had their own distinct flavor and I experienced good salty, smoky, creamy, tart, chewy, crispy, and sweet & sour in dishes like taramasalata, haricot verts and red peppers in vinaigrette, hummus,beet salad, kidney beans in a red sauce, baba ghanoush, tomato & cucumber salad, and lentil salad.
Satisfied from the buffet, I ordered the boulettess de veau/veal meat balls for my main. What came out was more like flat veal discs, but the consistency was pure meatball with savory, mid-east spices A delicious Bulgar rice with tomatoes and salad greens accompanied the dish. Lynn had the chicken brochettes which were tender and practically fell off the skewer.
I just had enough room for dessert (I ALWAYS do) and a rice pudding with coconut milk and cinnamon was the correct end to the spicy meal. It was more like a creamy flan than rice pudding but I wasn't complaining as I polished it off in no time flat. Incredibly, the formule also includes wine, soda, or ayran, a strange concoction that I ordered.Ayran is yogurt mixed with a little water and spices. I'm not a yogurt lover, so it was wasted on me.
As we left, the restaurant was full and I can see why: solid ethnic food at a great price with good service and comfortable atmosphere.What's there not to like? Lynn once again came up with an under 20 euro winner, so next time I'm going to take Lynn to one of my finds.
Menu at lunch:
2 courses with wine 11.50 euros
3 courses with wine 13.50 euros
La Voie Lactee
34 rue de Cardinal Lemoine, 5th arr.
Metro: Cardinal Lemoine
Tel. 01 46 34 02 35
Buffet
Veal Meatballs
Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook. First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
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 such as 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
Yum..like the sound of most of it...NOT rice pudding ..also not the yoghurt drink..!
Posted by: Anne | October 01, 2009 at 03:41 PM