Bars

Paris 2011: Wrap up...

9/18/2011 12:20:00 PM

To round up my posts about Paris, I'd like to share with you some of the Parisian yumminess we enjoyed that weren't quite big enough for a whole blog post, but were too good not to write about.  If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been home now for 2 weeks, and feeling totally nostalgic for my holiday already!

Crêperie De Port Manech
52 rue Montparnasse
75014 Paris
Ph: 01 43 21 96 98

On our first night, Clarice took us to a lovely little crêperie on the rue Montparnasse, an area full of Breton restaurants.  We enjoyed a bottle of Breton cidre in cute little mugs, and delicious savoury buckwheat crêpes.



Above we have the Super-Complète: with egg, cheese, ham and potatoes for 8.90 €.  I had the decadent Pont-l'Abbé, which had soft potato gratin, reblochon cheese and bacon (8.90 €), and Clarice had the Kernilis: roquefort cheese and walnuts for 7.50 €.  Yum yum.  We were too full for dessert.


Le Diamant
56 Rue des Cinq Diamants
75013 Paris
Ph: 01 53 80 19 02

Le Diamant was a small bar in the 13th arrondissement, which was full of locals and had a relaxed atmosphere.  We stopped in here before our dinner at L'Ourcine.


Mojito, Kir Cassis, sweeeet cocktail

Le Saint Jean
16 Rue des Abbesses 
75018 Paris
Ph: 01 46 06 13 78 ‎

After a hard day of walking, shopping and sightseeing, Clarice and I needed liquid refreshment, and Sandra needed a burger!  Le Saint Jean was nearby, and Clarice suggested it, having previously visited with a friend who lives in the area.  

Service was slow but friendly: it took ages to get a waiter's attention, but we weren't in any hurry, and it was nice to sit on the pavement and just relax.

Cider at the back, citron pressé at the front.  Just like my beloved soda zitrone from Vienna, this sharp mixture of lemon juice, sugar and water is just the ticket for a hot day.


I've heard that it's difficult to get a good burger in Paris, but this one was awesome!  A crusty, grainy bun, a juicy herbed patty and crisp fries.  Really impressed.


Lafayette Organic
48 Boulevard Hausman
75009 Paris
Ph: 01 42 82 34 56

On the ground floor of Galeries Lafayette is Lafayette Organic, a pleasant and stylish cafe serving only organic food.  You can buy cakes, yoghurt, drinks, sandwiches and savoury pastries, and enjoy them either inside, or on the open-air terrace.  (Word of warning: loads of smokers also enjoy the terrace - I don't know if nicotine is the best accompaniment for your fresh organic lunch!)


I'd never seen choux pastry used as a sandwich; I just had to try it.  Cool idea, non?
Gougère poulet caesar - 8.50 €

Quiche legumes - 7.00 €

Ladurée Bonaparte
21 rue Bonaparte 
75006 Paris
Ph: 01 44 07 64 87

I guess I don't need to say too much about Ladurée, that most famous of Parisian tea houses.  I must admit I wasn't quite as psyched about Ladurée as I was about Sadaharu Aoki or Pierre Hermé, but I still definitely wanted to visit!  We stopped off at the St Germain branch in the afternoon of my fifth day in Paris for a little break.  

So pretty...

Apart from their celebrated pastries and macarons, Ladurée also have a range of beauty products, all in stunning packaging. I've heard that their beauty products were only a recent addition, to capitalize on their involvement with the film Marie Antoinette.  Ladurée was chief pastry consultant to the film!


I loved the Oriental decor of the tea-room and all the natural light.

Seeing as we'd just come from inhaling pastries at Pierre Hermé, we just had some tea.  I had the house blend, a light and fruity, refreshing drink.

La Caféothèque
52 rue de l'Hotel de Ville
75004 Paris
Ph: 01 53 01 83 84

After being away from Melbourne for three weeks, I was totally craving good coffee.  La Caféothèque came recommended by David Lebovitz, and being only a short distance from the Île Saint-Louis, we had to pop in. 

There didn't seem to be many other cafes or shops on the same street, so we weren't sure we were in the right spot... and then we smelled the coffee roasting.

The interior of the cafe felt very 'Melbourne' to me, its low key decor and intense focus on the provenance of the coffee beans.

Check out the big yellow roaster!  I also loved the little toy of the Brazilian dude carrying sacks of coffee. Cute!

It was too hot for normal coffee, so I had an iced coffee.  It was intense - a double shot of unsweetened espresso, shaken up until frothy.  I loved it.  The perfect afternoon pick-me-up!
Includes a free Michel Cluizel choccy!

Berthillon
Île Saint-Louis

Berthillon is easily the best ice-cream I've ever had.  The salted caramel flavour is sensational!  While we were there, the Berthillon shop itself was closed for their annual summer holiday (although why Paris' most famous ice-cream shop would close for summer is beyond me), but luckily many shops on the Île Saint-Louis sell their amazing creations.  Berthillon ice-cream is only permitted to be sold on the Île itself, so you'll have to make the trip there if you want to try it.

So many flavours!  I took the opportunity to try unusual flavours, ones I couldn't get back home.

Left: framboise (raspberry), right: caramel au buerre salé (salted caramel) and praliné aux pignons (pine nut praline).


The second time we came to the island, there was no salted caramel to be found (boooo), so we tried other flavours.  In the picture below, my mandarin ice-cream is on the left, and on the right is Clarice's nougat miel (honey nougat).

The mandarin flavour was incredible! Such a pure, clean mandarin flavour.  I don't even like mandarins that much, but I loved this ice-cream.  Underneath the mandarin was another flavour which I, ashamedly, no longer remember.  I know it was a nutty one though, and I know it was beautiful.


I also wanted to show the stash of goodies I brought back to Germany with me, all carefully packed in a Jean-Paul Hévin insulated bag.


Pierre Hermé - Tarte Infinement Vanille (in the white box), giant Mogador macaron, sablés infinement chocolat avec eclats de chocolat et fleur de sel, a block of Mogador chocolate (the white/pink box at the bottom)

Sadaharu Aoki - Maquillage chocolats (skinny white box at the top), 2 chocolate covered macarons (framboise and cassis), sesame sablés

Jean-Paul Hévin - salted caramel chocolate coins (in the brown paper bag)

The Bakery of Clarice & Sarah - Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies (wrapped up in foil).


And you know I couldn't finish my series on Paris without another bizarre sexy Orangina animal!  Clarice e-mailed me this picture after I left Paris. Argh! It's a scary sexy frog!!!

And with that, I bid au revoir to Paris!

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2 comments

  1. wow you featured all my favorite places, including Berthillon and Laduree - and that's a pretty ingenious way to pack and ship those pastry goodies back with you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're making me want to go to Paris so badly now! If you weren't already :)

    I love the look of that sandwich using choux pastry, I might have to try that one sometime.

    ReplyDelete

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