I Prefer Paris

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: Au Bougnat

Lynn happily decided to write the Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats feature this month

Through a certain ironic piston, the American connection, we heard about a bistrot on the Ile de la Cité, a block from Notre Dame, 26 rue Chanoinesse, the Au Bougnat, a name which  means a coal-seller turned café-owner from the Aveyron, in south central France. 

Ironically, comparing then-and-now pictures of the Au Bougnat building in the 17th century and the way it looks today, one is struck by the fact that little has changed. What remains are the architectural facts: the building began as a late 18th century house whose hallways were paved with tombstones that no doubt came from the numerous churches that existed in the area.

And here’s the joyful news about our lunch. The formula was 14 euros for entrée + plat or plat + dessert. I had entrée and plat – a poireau soup that needed just a tiny bit more butter and a delicious filet of whiting served over and woven into a creamy mushroom risotto, with a drizzle of lemon white sauce over all. To drink, I had a perfectly respectable glass of Brouilly and was quite happy. 

Richard, who went for the 18 euro menu so we could try the dessert, wanted the soup but also wanted to try the stuffed brioche bread for an appetizer so he bowed to scientific investigation and, voila, chose very, very well. The muffin-like brioche was full of surprises (meat and walnuts and a dark red salé-sucré sauce) placed on a bed of lettuce with a dressing that seemed to have a bit of cumin in it. 

Richard’s duck shepherd’s pie was perfect, a generous round of shredded meat topped with a chantilly of mashed potatoes. We shared the dessert which we thought was going to be an apple crumble but because earlier eaters had already gobbled it up, we were given tiramisu -- just as light and yummy as it was supposed to be with a pastry bed that was perhaps a little too angel-food-cake-like for me, but otherwise no complaints about the chocolate and crème fraiche with cocoa dusting on top.   Thirty-seven euros was the bill, not exactly cheap, but that included the 5% tax on food and the 19% tax on my glass of wine (I’m thinking that buying a good bottle of wine to drink at home is the better way to live these days).

As for ambiance, the 18th century house proudly and charmingly showed off its open beams, its poutres apparents, running the length of the low ceilinged room, which was elbow to elbow with French people on their lunch hour. Our waitress was friendly and energetic, solicitous and efficient. We liked her.  And it was a lovely surprise to be surrounded by a 100 percent French clientele. Not a word of English anywhere, except our own (although the menu had English subtitles, no doubt for summer tourists). 

Au Bougnat
26 rue Chanoinesse, 4th arr., on the Ile de la Cité
Metro: Cité
Tel. 01 43 54 50 74
http://www.aubougnat.com

Lynn Jeffress is the author of a collection of short stories The Dali Code & Other Paris Stories.

Click here to read more about the book and to order.

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
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, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). 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: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats- Mon Viel Ami

Lynn has been tempting me the last few weeks with the Thursday lunch special of blanquette de veau at Mon Viel Ami and we finally had chance to test it out.

Mon Viel Ami has been a top favorite restaurant of critics and foodies since it opened about five years ago. The chef & owner Antoine Westerman serves modern Alsatian cuisine with emphasis on the freshest vegetables provided by Joel Thiebault who specializes in growing heirloom vegetables.

It was a bitter cold day and the short walk from my house across the windy Pont Marie bridge chilled me to the bone. Nothing could have made me more ready for a creamy veal stew. The dark, high ceilinged restaurant was empty and we took a table in the back as far away as possible from the front door. Lynn told the genial maitre d' Adrian that we were there to write about the restaurant. I believe it paid off because soon as we sat down, we were served a nice dry but a bit fruity Pinot Blanc from Alsace. It was a good warm-up for the stew.

On the menu it's described as a fricassee de legumes & blanquette de veau (vegetable fricassee with veal) and the steaming stew was presented family style in a terracotta ceramic terrine with white polka dots. Just from the smell I knew we were in for a special treat. I could see why the emphasis was on the vegetables, which  were so crisp and flavorful and each one- carrots, green beans, turnips, peas , mushrooms- stood out on their own. The veal was tender and moist and the slightly thinner than usual sauce had lemon and chervil which gave it another flavor dimension than the usual overly creamy and sometimes bland sauce that is served with traditional blanquette de veau. We couldn't stop eating this amazing dish and we went thorough more than one basket of the excellent crusty bread soaking up the sauce. Finally we called it quits after eating enough between the two of us for a family of six.

The extraordinary fricassee de legumes & blanquette de veau

Chocolate tart with tangerine sorbet

Stuffed, warmed up, and happy we were offered dessert and we chose the chocolate tart. It had a thin crust with an inch thickness of chocolate. The filling tasted like a rich but not decadent chocolate pudding and was topped with a tangerine sorbet, which oddly enough complemented the chocolate very well. Neither one of us wanted to leave our warm cocoon with our bellies stuffed but alas, our good time had to come to an end and we ventured out in the cold, cruel world again.

We asked Adrian if they had any celeb clients and he discreetly told us Mayor Bloomberg from New York, Sharon Stone, and french actress Marion Cotillard had been customers.

The price tag: an unbeatable 13 euros for the fricassee de legumes & blanquette de veau, which is only served on Thursdays. Other plats du jour for the same price include Pot a Feu, seafood risotto, and Parmentier with wild boar.

Mon Viel Ami
69 rue Saint Louis en I'lle, 4th arr. ( on the Ile St. Louis)
Metro: Pont Marie
Open Wed. to Sunday- 12-2PM for lunch, 6:30-11PM for dinner
Tel. 01 40 46 01 35
http://www.mon-vieil-ami.com


Community table

Smiling chefs Frederic & Ecuel

Lunch with Lynn/Paris Under 20 Eats

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

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
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

Le Reminet-Lunch with Lynn/Paris Under 20 Eats

My friend and wonderful writer Lynn Jeffress is always boasting about the best lunch bargains in Paris and inviting me to join her for her great culinary finds. I very rarely go out for lunch, as I spend the days I'm not touring toiling away at the computer. I finally decided to take Lynn up on one of her great finds, as I was getting cabin fever early one afternoon last week and called her on the spur of the moment to see if she was free. Indeed she was and we happily scurried to Le Reminet, which I have been told has an incomparable three-course lunch menu for 13.50 euros. Our mutual friend Meredith Mullins dines there every Monday for lunch and was actually the first person to tell us about this terrific bargain.

We arrived at about 12:30 and the small, intimate dining room with crystal chandeliers, deep plum walls and velvet banquettes, and gold gilt mirrors, was crowded with almost all French diners. The very,very, very, handsome (aka very,very,very hot) and genial waiter Gabriel read off the enticing menu. We of course went for the 13.50 menu. 

For the starter, I chose the smoked mackerel, endive salad with little bits of Granny Smith apple. It was a most refreshing summer dish and the tart apple was a nice offset to the bit heavy smoky fish. Lynn had a mozzarella tart with the cheese melted on top of puff pastry and wisp of salad greens underneath more for color. I took a bite and the pastry was light and the mozzarella gooey.

I like the fact that the chef was attentive to the season in his selection of dishes, as many French restaurants ignore it and serve heavy dishes like beef Bourguignon, lamb, and andouillette sausage in the summer. A simple sliced chicken breast was accompanied by two interesting sauces, a thin liquid curry with coconut milk, and a mango chutney.The hot and sweet flavors worked great together to give the tender but barely spiced chicken a kick.

Although I enjoyed my bananas topped with caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I think Lynn's cheese plate would have been a more satisfying end to the so far excellent meal. It consisted of just the right size slices of Pont l' Eveque, Camembert, and chevre over roquette, radicchio, and walnut salad dressed in a light vinaigrette.

Mozzarella tart

Chicken with curry sauce and mango chutney

Cheese plate

Lynn and I both agreed that the portions of the food were just right for lunch and we felt satisfied but not stuffed.We spoke to the owner Michel Pascal and his son the very, very, very handsome Gabriel at length about the restaurant and told us they had taken it over from the original owner three years ago. We could see the restaurant was their pride and joy and the warm, personal and efficient service was the cherry on the gateau of this perfect lunch.

After this wonderful experience, I decided that Lynn and I would make a regular date every month for lunch and discover the best lunch bargains for under 20 euros.  Our quest to find another restaurant that's comparable or will surpass Le Reminet will be difficult and I think we have a long, lunch-filled road ahead of us.

Le Reminet
3 rue des Grands Degres, 5th arr.
Metro: Cluny Sorbonne, Saint Michel, or Maubert Mutualite
Open everyday 12PM-3pm, 7:30PM-11PM Reservations recommended 01 44 07 04 24
http://www.lereminet.com/

Michel Pascal and his very,very,very handsome son Gabriel

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
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

Paris Under 20 Eats:Pho Banh-Cuon 14

Paris Under 20 Eats:Pho Banh-Cuon 14 by Jessica Arriola Marati
The air is brisk and the temperature continues to drop, seemingly by the minute. 'Tis the season for window-shopping at the Galeries Lafayette, writing lists for Père Noël and warming up with comfort food. For the latter, I personally prefer a steaming bowl of pho (pronounced "fuh"), a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup served steaming hot in large quantities. A favorite of Asian food aficionados for ages, pho just recently gained widespread popularity in the U.S. and abroad. Pho joints in Paris are centered around Chinatown and Belleville; my lunch partner and I selected Pho Banh Cuon 14, a popular Vietnamese establishment in the 13th arrondissement for our first Parisian pho meal.
 
We went on a cold, foggy November day. There was a line stretching out the door when we arrived – always a good sign. Although it was chilly, we selected an outdoor table to avoid the thirty-minute wait. We scanned the plastic menu, which was filled with a number of standard Vietnamese dishes, like dumplings, fried egg rolls and vermicelli with beef. The focus, however, was on the pho – pho with rare steak, pho with well-done steak, pho with beef balls, pho with chicken, – available in small and large sizes. Prices were low, topping off at €7.
 
I ordered the large Soupe Pho Speciale Complete (€7 large, €6.50 small), which came loaded with rare and well-done steak, beef balls and rice noodles, along with the customary bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, scallions, hot peppers, lemon and a sweet plum dipping sauce. With pho, you get to mix and match the ingredients to create your perfect soup; I dumped in everything and topped it off with copious amounts of hot sauce. To finish, I cooled down with the Boisson aux Trois Couleurs, a sweet rice-based dessert drink.
 
The meal was delicious – tasty and filling without causing the customary post-Asian meal food coma – and warmed me right down to my toes.

 I got so hungry while writing this review I decided to eat there again for my last meal in Paris!
 
Pho Banh-Cuon 14
129 avenue de Choisy 75013
01 45 83 61 15
Open every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Metro: Place d'Italie
Price range: 10 euro per person for pho and drink

Jessica Marati is an American freelance writer based in Paris. She loves old movies, new ideas, vintage scarves, modern art and French pastries. To read more about her adventures, culinary and otherwise, please see her blog at http://inwanderlust.wordpress.com.

Note: Unfortunately, this is Jessica's last review because she has since moved from Paris.

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

Paris Under 20 Eats

I am brimming with new regular blog post features and my latest addition is Paris Under 20 Eats, where every other month someone seeks out a great meal for under 20 euros. Enjoy and don’t let your tummy rumble too much before you get to the restaurant.

Living in Paris now for six weeks, I had my first real meal here last weekend.

Oh yes, I eat. I have become an expert on the art of the cheap meal. But until last weekend, I had not yet ventured into a real restaurant. The reality of living in Paris as a broke American twenty-something is that your weekly food budget often equals your age. So while those “bargain” €15 menus scrawled on chalkboards across the city are enticing, I hadn’t yet mustered up the will to forgo my 55 cent demi-baguette for a sit-down meal.

I recruited a similarly frugal friend and proposed a challenge – to eat the most authentic and fulfilling meal possible for under €20. We decided that lunch would be our best bet and started scouring the web for restaurants. We settled on Le Petit Vatel, a tiny family-owned bistro in the Quartier Latin that came highly recommended by the young wine connoisseurs at O Chateau.

The restaurant seats around 25 people and does not take reservations, so we arrived promptly at noon to avoid the crowds. We selected a two-person table by the window and got to work deciphering the menu, which was hand-written in French on the wall. For €13, we could get an appetizer and a main course or a main course and a dessert. We went with the appetizer-main combo and decided to split a €9 demi-carafe of white wine.

The food was hearty and simple, a mélange of French staples and foreign specialties. My sobreasada appetizer, a soft chorizo-style sausage spread onto toasted baguette, was flavorful and spicy, and paired perfectly with the dry white we were served. My partner’s pumpkin soup was smooth and sweet and tasted best soaked in pieces of the soft white table bread.

The restaurant was starting to fill up. The owner, a sprightly blond, deftly maneuvered her way around the crowded dining area, taking orders, making small talk with the regulars and delivering steaming plates in record time.

Our main dishes arrived separately. First came my diots de savoie, a sausage specialty from the department of Haute-Savoir, served with crozets au gratin. The sausage links were succulent and sweet, especially when smothered with the homemade mustard, but the crozets could have used a little more salt. My companion ordered the tagine au agneau, a savory Moroccan stew of lamb and spices. The meat was slow-cooked and tender, and it melted off the bone onto your tongue like butter.

Stomachs content, we capped off our meal with complimentary coffee. Our bill came to €17.50 each, and since we had decided to forgo the dessert option, we headed across the street to legendary patisserie Gérard Mulot and split a magnificent tart with pear mousse and almonds. We ate on the street, under an Indian summer sun. Sometimes, when you’re in your 20s and on a budget, nothing beats street food.

Le Petit Vatel
5 rue Lobineau 75006
01 43 54 28 49
Metro: Mabillon or Odeon
Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch from noon to 2:30 and dinner from 7-10:30
Closed Sunday and Monday
Price range: 13 euro per person for two courses and coffee

Jessica Marati is an American freelance writer based in Paris. She loves old movies, new ideas, vintage scarves, modern art and French pastries. To read more about her adventures, culinary and otherwise, please see her blog at http://inwanderlust.wordpress.com. 

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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