19 for 19 = No Bad Meal in Paris

I may have lost all four of my readers due to my neglecting this blog.  Aside from sheer procrastination and a million other distractions, it seems my trip to Paris is what really disrupted my flow.  Of course I did write the previous entry about our trip, but I wanted to write more about Paris and somehow couldn't get my thoughts organized.  Paris is just too overwhelming.  To complicate matters, I've been reading "French or Foe?"  It's a fascinating book about the French and their culture and my "processor" couldn't handle all the new data. My memory was already full of  Paris-bytes so my blog-writing abilities froze up. Strangely, both my laptop and desktop computers seemed to mimic my own "onboard computer": the former got a trojan and went kooky, while the latter lost its voice (soundcard driver is messed---help!)...as I said, a million distractions.

  

Who is this Parisienne eating a Lebanese dinner?

There's so much I want to share about what I've learned over the past two months, but at the same time, I don't want to bore readers with "vacation talk".  You know, like when the Smiths invite the Jones over to see vacation slides.  [Personally, I don't mind looking at photos of people's trips...as long as it's a place I'm interested in and it includes food photos.]  Not that I didn't make organizing my photos  my #1 priority after returning to my trip, and I am guilty of forcing a few friends/relatives to either look at Jordan's thick 200-photo album or viewing the Smilebox slideshow I made, but I will leave blogging about the Paris city tour to those who are good at both recalling and writing about the details. I came across one such blogger, Noelle Clark from Australia, and if you'd like to read about her week in Paris, it's a wonderful read. (Link will appear below).  My own Paris blog will be less disciplined, for sure. 

Food blogs seem to be the most popular genre for both writing and reading, so who am I to buck the system?  The way to a blog audience's heart may be through his/her stomach, so read on... Reminder: photos can be clicked on to see a larger version.



Endive and salmon salad at Le Boui Boui on
Rue Marie Stuart off Rue Montorguiel

Anthony Bourdain claims there's no bad meal in Paris (click for video), and although I'm sure there must be a few somewhere, my 19 meals were all good to excellent, from the simple baguette sandwiches of sidewalk carts to the decadent confections of Stohrer's;  from the most French of fares--crepes,escargot, and Confit du Canard---to the least French fare--kebabs, shawarma, and stuffed grape leaves. All good!

Why is the food so good there? First and foremost, the French take their food seriously. I believe they consider food more important than money, and consequently their food tastes better than money does. But seriously, my understanding is that the EU is quick to ban additives they consider unhealthy, unlike in the U.S.  In fact, new food additives must be first proved to be safe before they are allowed to be used commercially, whereas it's the opposite in the U.S. where anything "reasonably safe" may be added then only banned if it's proven harmful.  Isn't that special?  Money talks, American health walks. Look below for links to some interesting articles.



Seafood vendor in the Latin Quarter

Paris is full of small, specialized markets with fewer supermarkets and big box stores, which may indicate that people there shop more often and use fresher ingredients.  I was surprised to see a huge selection of yogurt in all of the grocery stores we visited, even in small convenience markets.  It was a pleasant surprise to find that most of the yogurt was free of corn syrup, which Jordan is allergic to.  For instance, they had a plain yogurt that was lightly sweetened with sugar that we enjoyed daily.  No such flavor here in the U.S., at least not in Hawaii anyway.  C'est dommage.

Confit de Canard at Au Compas D'Or on Rue Montorguiel

Like that yogurt, all of the food that I ate in Paris was not too salty nor too sweet.  Even when you'd expect something to be salty, such as their baguette sandwiches with cheese and ham or sausage, it surprised me that it was not.  Looking at the array of fancy pastries in the windows of countless patisseries all over Paris, you could almost feel a toothache coming on, and yet I was surprised that the majority were delicious without being overly sweet.  Even the canned "pate" that I brought home (duck and rabbit meat) did not contain any additives except salt and pepper, and again, not salty. 

I never doubted Jamie Oliver and now I've seen for myself: despite the thousands of cafes, patisseries (pastry shops), fromageries (cheese shops), charcuteries (sausage shops), and boulangeries (bread shops) in Paris, I rarely saw an obese person, and probably they were American tourists.  I ate anything I wanted to and assumed I'd gain a few pounds like I usually do when visiting Honolulu or Las Vegas, but shockingly I didn't gain even a pound.  Of course we weren't sitting around much either, but considering all the french fries, profiteroles, and pastries I ate, it was quite a shock when I got on the scale at home.  I've gotta go back there!! I was in heaven without even knowing it.

Although modest looking, these stuffed peppers were
absolutely scrumptious.

I can't decide which was my favorite meal so I'll say I had two. The first was Confit de Canard (pictured above: duck leg cooked in duck fat then sauteed until crispy) with sliced garlic potatoes (the yummiest potatoes I've ever had) at Compas d'Or on Rue Montorgueil. Rue (Street) Montorguiel is a foodie's paradise of over a solid quarter mile of food shops and cafes.  Our second apartment was located just a short block from there and for me, it was like being in Disneyland and staying at the Disneyland Hotel. 



Adana Kebab at Cafe Istanbul in the Latin Quarter

 The other favorite meal was our Turkish lunch in the Latin Quarter at Cafe Istanbul.  Jordan and I shared the adana kebab, which the menu calls "ground beef" but it was nothing like hamburger--more like slivers of beef pressed together, deliciously seasoned and grilled; and rice-stuffed bell peppers which were so tasty I had to refrain from hogging it all. 



One of the restaurants we dined at is famous for its longevity and being open 24/7. Its name, "Au Pied de Cochon" means "at the foot of the pig" and guess what its specialty is.  I can't vouch for the taste of the very impressive-looking pigsfoot because I opted for the trout instead (Again, the French know what they're doing, it was very good.)

Creepy, but crispy looking Pied de Cochon

Speaking of the knowing what they're doing, I found the French waithelp to be very professional, efficient, and polite. Most were extremely patient and every cafe and restaurant we went to had English-speaking help.  The only problem we encountered was when Susan wanted a doggy bag for her dessert and was told that they had no takeout containers.  Susan was quite persistent until finally we got to witness the classic Gallic shrug from the waiter--it was quite funny.  He was clearly disgusted with us, but when he saw her wrapping it up in a paper napkin, he came back with more napkins.



I couldn't HANDLE the trout!  At least not the whole trout,
although it was quite good and Jordan ate all of hers!



Tips at restaurants are included in the bill, so there's really no incentive for the waithelp to impress, but nevertheless, we got good service.  Be advised, however, that food is not cheap in Paris.  Even a modest baguette sandwich at a sidewalk cart will cost about 4 Euros (close to $6) and it's not even close to a footlong.

Speaking of sidewalk carts, we had some very filling and tasty crepes on the street near our St. Honore apartment and also next to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

  

Here are more photos of some of our meals:

We chose our first cafe because they had Jordan's favorite French Onion Soup on their menu.  I chose quiche (below), keeping with the "stereotypical French food" theme.

The escargot we ate in Paris seemed to be less butter-drenched than what's usually served in the U.S.  Yet another example of how we tend to overdo things, perhaps. 





Osso Buco with teeny, cheesy macaroni--Jordan had this at Compas d'Or on Rue Montorguiel









I don't remember what this was, but I ate it at an Italian restaurant on Rue des Pyramides and it was delicioso!  Oh, and dogs are allowed in restaurants there... 



Our last meal in Paris was Lebanese on Rue Montorguiel.  Shwarma in pita bread, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, moussaka, and rice.  We don't have Middle Eastern food on Kauai so I had to get my fill!

Check out Jordan's video taken at Le Croissanterie at the Forum des Halles, which is an underground shopping mall. I laughed in surprise when I first viewed this because I never noticed her boywatching before!  ("Sandwiches, sandwiches....ohhhhh cute boy...ok, sandwiches, sandwiches....")  *LOL*

The menu at Au Pied de Cochon.  One Euro is roughly $1.40

Lastly, if you're wondering where the desserts are, stay tuned for the next post!

Links:

Noelle Clark's Paris blog---this is just one entry of 6 (one for each day of her trip).

Fooducate---Interesting article on European food safety vs. U.S. unsafety

 

PlanetGreen---Corporate interests are trumping American food safety

DivineCaroline--7 Food Products Banned in Europe Still Available in the U.S.

"Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" (No Regrets): Just Do It!

"How could anyone choose Paris over ME!?"

I haven't posted for over a month because I was in Paris, France.  So ok, I was only there 9 days and 10 nights, but you could say I've been there mentally for two months...and it's so hard to come back despite the fact that I live in paradise!

In early January, my friend Susan asked if I was free in early March to dogsit her lovable dog, Lola, while she and her husband Charlie went to Paris.  As much as I love Lola, I replied in essence, "What are you crazy?!  I'd much rather go to Paris than dogsit!"  Through their kindness and ignorance, they agreed to let me and Jordan tag along with them.



"Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" travelling 8000 miles to see a grave.



I've been wanting to travel beyond Las Vegas and use my passport for many years, but the mere thought of making the arrangements was too daunting.  I'd turn on the Travel Channel instead.  Instant gratification! The only problem was that I wanted to give Jordan that "foreign experience" that I'd been lucky enough to have had when I was around her age.  Paris wasn't at the top of my wish list, but Charlie and Susan weren't going to Turkey or China, and besides, Jordan wanted to visit Edith Piaf's grave. 

If you read my last blogpost, you'll see that I did go to France before--just 35 years ago.  We spent 2 or 3 days in Paris as part of one of those "7 countries in 21 days" escorted tours, and all I really remember of Paris was looking at the Eiffel Tower from the bus, riding past the Yves St. Laurent boutique (I had just graduated from the UH majoring in Fashion Design), a topless mermaid swimming in a plexiglass tank at Moulin Rouge, and delicious rolls for breakfast each morning. We'd had no time for visiting Mona Lisa at the Louvre, walking up the Champs Elysee, or exploring the Latin Quarter.

This time I went up, under, in front of, and
behind La Tour Eiffel

This time it would be different, I vowed: we're going up the Eiffel Tower, into the Louvre, and no naked girls!  The only thing that I assumed would be the same would be eating delicious rolls for breakfast.  (More on this next time!)

I'm not going to blog about everything we saw and did in Paris, but I do want to inspire those of you who have even the smallest urge to travel to Europe.  I myself became more motivated when my sister-in-law Cynthia and her husband Jack went to Italy and Greece this past October.  If you're like me and feeling timid about making your own travel arrangements versus going with a tour group, I assure you that the wonderful internet has revolutionized traveling for the do-it-yourselfer. 

Cynthia recommended Booking.com and oh my goodness, I quickly became obssessed with finding the perfect hotel.  That's almost simple to do on Booking.com because you can see the user review ratings and read what visitors had to say, view photos of the rooms, see the hotel's distance from major attractions, available services, etc.  The trick is to look not only for a high rating score, but it should also have a high number of reviews--so consider a hotel with a 8.0 rating with 100 reviews instead of one with a 8.2 rating but only 20 reviews.  Most hotels also offer special rates and you can reserve rooms and cancel up to a day or two before the reservation date.  Be considerate, however, and don't book too many hotels and cancel the "extras" as soon as you've decided on one. 

By the way, did you notice that I said "almost simple"?  Well in theory it should be simple with all these tools online, but it actually results in too many great options--enough to make your head spin in indecision!  It helped to have friends who'd been to Paris and offered suggestions...except when we couldn't decided which advice to take.  They were all good because Paris is filled with good hotels.  Ultimately after weeks of agonizing and emailing across two oceans, we decided to abandon our original intention of staying 5 nights at a hotel then 5 nights at an apartment, and instead booked 5 nights at one apartment and 5 nights at another--both owned by Marie and Diran Loris--which I found on TripAdvisor.  Because there were four of us, the 2-bedroom apartments were perfect and the rate was less than renting two three-star hotelrooms, not to mention we had more space, a fully-equipped kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. 

Livingroom and dining area of our Montorguiel apartment

We had earlier figured that because we'd never been to Paris unescorted, we would benefit from staying at a hotel and getting advice from the hotel desk regarding transportation and sightseeing.  I didn't regret giving that up to stay in an apartment the whole time, especially since we were fortunate to find the Loris' exceptional apartments, and they were extremely helpful over the phone.  We had very few problems getting around, especially after learning how to use the Metro. [Both Jordan and I suffer from flat feet and our feet lasted 4 days of walking before being forced to use the Metro.]  Many more people speak English now as compared to 30 years ago, so we rarely had to reference our travel dictionaries (my high school French did help, though!).  I'd recommend buying Rick Steve's book on Paris.  It helped a lot and would've helped even more if I had read it more thoroughly before the trip!  Two months to plan a trip to a place as rich in history and culture as Paris is way too short for procrastinators like me.  

Livingroom of St. Honore apartment, just a block
 from the Louvre!



Now that I've read the book almost completely, I'm even more determined to return to Paris, something I never thought I'd want to do when planning this trip.  I now realize that we missed seeing so many sights, even though 9 days is considered a long stay.  Paris is tourist-friendly, easy to explore, and offers so much to see--and eat--in a relatively safe, clean (more on that later) and concentrated area.

I would urge anyone who's never been out of the U.S. to make the commitment to visit another country.  Despite the illusion that the world is becoming homogenized by western (read "U.S.") culture--yes, there are McDonald's and Starbucks cafes in Paris--you'll find you're "not in Kansas anymore" and the experience will surely have a profound effect on your consciousness.  Vive la difference!

Stay tuned for more!