Venezuela

My husband and I will be in Paris for a few days in November. Although I have researched various ethnic and vegan restaurants in the city, I would love to sit down to a fabulous French meal in a brasserie,a cafe, or a bistro without it being animal derived. Is this possible? Does anyone have any suggestions for French vegan dishes that I can look for on menus? Is this wishful thinking?
Thanks!

travelgourmet

It might be possible, but it won't be easy. I don't recall too many vegan-friendly dishes in my travels to Paris.

It depends how hard-core you are about it. If you can live with the possibility that a dish might use butter, then you might get lucky and be able to avoid cheeses, meats, etc rather easily. The fact that most bistros and brasseries post their menu outside makes the process easier, but you won't know exactly how every dish is prepared without asking. If this is a deal-breaker, then things may get tough.

AnselmAdorne

There was a post on this a couple of months ago. Here you go:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35148843

Anselm

StCirq

Although you certainly won't starve, as Paris is a huge city where you can get good food of any description, I think "fabulous French food" and "vegan" are oxymoronic.

flanneruk

Anselm's confusion (the posting he refers to is entirely about <b> vegetarian </b> restaurants) summarises the problem

It's relatively easy to eat vegetarian food in mainstream French restaurants, but close to impossible to eat vegan without seeking out vegan restaurants, or using ethnic restaurants (including Jewish ones) from cultures with a strong vegan tradition. There's scarcely such a tradition in France, outside its Jewish and Russian Orthodox communities, but there's a very strong tradition of culinary authenticity which is simply incompatible with veganism.

It's almost impossible to think of any dish in a proper mainstream French restaurant, except plain vegetables in oil and vinegar dressing, that are acceptable to a vegan. French chefs won't use non-animal substitutes for things like butter or eggs, and while waiters are used to helping vegetarians, they'll simply fail to understand that honey or milk aren't OK either.

It's really essenial to understand this. Flicking through my copy of &quot;Mastering the Art of French Cooking&quot; reveals scarcely a single dish a vegan can eat. &quot;Le Repertoire de la Cuisine&quot; reveals not one. NO self-respecting restaurant in France will adulterate (which is how it would see it) its food to suit vegans

Plough through the references at http://www.vegetarianguides.co.uk/sa...einparis.shtml, if you haven't already. Or rent a flat and do your own cooking. Paris has fabulous vegetables.

Guenmai

Almost annually, since the 80s, I've eaten at Guenmai Restaurant in the 6th and the food is very good. It's always been very consistent. They are only open for lunch. You walk out rue Buci from Blvd. St. Germain and when you get to the first street, turn left (the only way that you can turn) and then it'll be right ahead of you ( a green and white building).
And no I have no connection with the restaurant. I took this name decades ago and for other reasons. Happy Travels!

socialworker

I did not read the answers, but I have to share my vegetarian son's take on Parisian entrees (paraphrasing a Homer Simpson line) &quot;Meat stuffed with meat.&quot;

Paris is not a vegan-friendly place. It is possible for an ovo-lacto vegetarian to get by but even they are limited to somewhat repetetive choices. I do not mean to be cruel but yes, you may be engaging in wishful thinking. Their food is based largely on meat, cheeses and liberal use of butter. It is a longstanding way of cooking.

I am not being flippant, but what would your ideal &quot;fabulous French meal in a brasserie&quot; consist of? Perhaps if the ingredients are available, they would accommodate you. They were helpful to my son, but he is not a vegan and so cheese and egg dishes were always an option.

nwtraveler

Hi Venezula

I'm not vegan, but one restaurant that might work for you is La Litote (24 rue Bosquet) in the 7th. It's not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but the emphasis is on the cooking of southern France with a heavy use of vegetables. When I was there in 2007 I had this great vegetable starter that was a meal in itself with an arugula sorbet. You can google the name and check out their website.

nwtraveler

I forgot to mention. There is a website www.happycow.net that lists vegan and vegetarian restaurants with reviews in various countries.

Venezuela

Hello all,

Thanks for your prompt replies.
Sounds like I will have to bend a little if i want to experience Parisian cuisine. Probably ovo-lacto...
FlannerUK--I think I'll spend some time in the 19th Arr. I heard the falafel is great!
Interesting that you mention Jewish culture as having a strong vegan emphasis...I wish...maybe Sephardic?
To the rest of you, thanks again!
To Guenmai, I'll probably eat there as well. Read quite a bit about the place.
To socialworker--perhaps a meal of side dishes?
To StCirq-- I doubled over laughing...That was pretty much my take...I can just see those waiters' eyes rolling...
And thanks travelgourmet, anselm, and nwtraveler--I'll look into your advice!

Lexma90

I also agree that you're going to have a difficult time in Paris finding restaurants with vegan dishes. So yes, it's probably wishful thinking.

Do investigate restaurants with southern or Provencal cuisine, as on the whole, they tend to be based more on use of olive oil, rather than butter. Ratatouille, for example, is a vegan dish (though it's not a main course, though I guess it could be).

As a huge stretch, I recall that Mon Viei Ami did a great job with the vegetables served with their meat- and seafood-based main courses, and their website lauds vegetables greatly. Seems like the dishes had olive oil, rather than butter. If you contact them, they may be able to tell you if they have, or can prepare, any vegan dishes.

StCirq

You're a good sport, Venezuela!

As it happens I just got an email from a Parisian friend who's a tour guide and knows everything there is to know about Paris. So I asked her about vegan restaurants and she recommended The Green Garden (in the 13&egrave;me) and Tien Hang (in the 11&egrave;me). They might be hard to find, but maybe a Google search will unearth directions.

I don't think either will qualify as &quot;fabulous French food,&quot; though

Guenmai

Paris once was quite vegan/vegetarian/macrobiotic friendly as I used to go to lots of different restaurants. However, this was basically in the 80s and early 90s. Some of the restaurants that I used to go to had been around for years...like Grand Appetit..I think it was called...and Le Bol en Bois.

I know that Le Bol en Bois closed some years ago, so I was told. And it had been around quite a long time. I'm not sure about Grand Appetit. There were many others that I can't remember the names of and would have to search through files to find. Since I stay in the 6th, near Guenmai restaurant, I just go there. And they've been there for so long until the youngest child is now a teenager and I knew her mom, the owner, way before that child was even born. Happy Travels!

basingstoke2

We had an excellent vegan dinner at Les 5 Saveurs d'Anada. It is a simple restaurant but very nice and has an extensive vegetarian/vegan menu. Price for two was about 35 euro.

socialworker

If you are willing to go ovo-lacto, your options are much greater! Non -meat quiches, crepes that are filled with vegetable/cheese fillings, assiette du fromage, (plates of wonderful cheeses served with dried fruits, nuts and heavenly baguettes...A croque madame (I think, but it might be the monsieur) is not made with meat...I always forget--one has ham and the other is ovo-lacto.

You could have a salad (vegan) for a first course followed by one of the above mentioned dishes....I fear that the soups all will have a meat stock, but they also can make vegetarian pasta dishes....

As I said, they were accomodating to my son. Hope you have a good trip!

Guenmai

Try to google Grand Appetit to see if they still exist as they were really good. They were near Bastille right on rue de la Cerisaie which is right off of Boulevard Henry IV. I used to take the bus directly there from the 6th on Bus 86 which ran out Blvd. St. Germain until the bridge and turned and went across the bridge and then a short distance to rue de la Cerisaie. They were a lunch restaurant.

I forgot to try to drop by there on this last trip to Paris in the spring. If you do go by there, could you please post. Or if there are some other new vegan/vegetarian/macro places then I hope you post them. I haven't eaten meat/poultry since the mid 70s, so I'm used to looking for new places.

Since I was macro for so many years, in the 80s, and that worked out well for me, when I shifted off of a strong macro balance , I did leave the fish in as it's allowed in macrobiotics. So, I have more options.

But, since I'm deadly allergic to dairy products (except butter), I can't eat on a vegetarian balance. Therefore since around 1976, I've tried many combos of eating and for the past 25-something years, the balance that I ended up sticking with has worked fine for me. Happy Travels!

travelgourmet

Since when is there a strong vegan tradition in Jewish cuisine?

Flanner is right that it will be tough to get vegan food, but eating in a Jewish restaurant sure ain't going to help you much. I do know a fair number of Jews that frequent vegetarian restaurants because they can't trust the meat at most restaurants to be kosher. But that isn't the same as saying there is a strong vegan tradition.

basingstoke2

I wouldn't say that there is a Jewish vegan tradition but what Flanner might be referring to is that Kosher restaurants will either be meat based and not serve any dairy products at all, or dairy based not serving any meat products. That is because the laws of Kashruth do not permit them to be intermingled, even down to utensils and cookery. Both will serve veggies.

Venezuela

We always check out the kosher restaurants when we travel for a sense of camraderie--
I can attest that veggies are not strong in the Jewish tradition unless you count potato kugel or tzimmes...heavy starchy side dishes. Or maybe the mushy celery and carrots in Matzah ball soup And I won't eat that anyway because they cook in chicken broth.
On the other hand, Sephardic cuisine is quite a bit more vegetable centered, with grains (cous cous, chickpeas, lentils) and a variety of salads--taboule, hummus, beet salad, Israeli salad, etc.--think of all the stuff you can put into a pita!
One lunch will definitely be a falafel place in the 19th--other than that, I will follow your suggestions. Thanks!

Venezuela

Dear all-
We leave for Madrid and Paris tomorrow with all your suggestions for veggie-friendly places. Thanks to you for your helpful comments and suggestions.
DIL live in Madrid so we'll be able to cook if we want to. As for Paris, I have a nice list now!
I will be sure to return with a vegan-friendly trip report to share with you.
Again, many thanks!