A trip report from the road: Eating our way through Paris and Bruges
May 26th, 2009, 06:27 AM
#61
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Here's the final installment of my report:
Dinner at Josephine Chez Dumonet was marvelous! We were shown to a fabulous table and immediately brought 2 glasses of white wine “compliments of the chef.” Julot had made this reservation for us and was supposed to join us with his lovely wife but they had decided to get out of the city for the long weekend. I suspect he has a relationship with the chef here and thus the special treatment all evening long.
This is a very traditional French bistro,warm and welcoming and filled with mostly French speaking people. The carte was made of up of all the classics, many offered in half portions, which was a relief because we had heard the portions here were quite generous.
We started by sharing a half portion of pate campagne, a thick slab, rich and meaty and rimmed with nice layer of fat and gelee. Served with a small salad it was more than enough for both of us eaten with the excellent baguette. For entrees, I had confit de canard, the duck skin brown and caramelized to a perfect crisp, served with fried potatoes and frisse in vinaigrette. DH had cassoulet: an enormous pot filled with sausages, pork belly, and confit of duck, lots of white beans and rich sauce, with a nice crust over the top.
DH ordered a glass of red wine with his cassoulet and they came and refilled it when his glass was almost empty!
Although we were pretty stuffed by the end of the plats, I couldn’t resist ordering the millefeuille, a house special. Even though we only ordered one, telling them we planned to share it, they gave us each our own huge serving!
Last year, I was on a mission to find the best millefuille and ate one almost very day from numerous patisseries but nothing compared to this one from Chez Dumonet. The pastry was shatteringly crisp and really did seem to be made up of 1,000 layers. The pastry cream was fabulous and fresh as could be. Only a pastry constructed moments before serving could be this delicious and it was well worth the food OD I suffered from eating it after that rich meal.
I ordered coffee as DH worked on finishing his wine and they brought a lovely plate of petit fours with the coffee, 5 little treats that I just had to taste. Oh dear, my poor stomach was working over time but I loved every minute of that meal. We paid the bill (only 88E!) and as we finished up around midnight the waiter brought us to meet the chef who was enjoying a glass of wine himself after a long evening of cooking all that fabulous food. We thanked him and told him how much we enjoyed the meal and then left to walk home to enjoy the view from our terrace of the Eiffel tower sparkling one last time.
It was our last night in Paris and we were reluctant to close the shutters but we knew the next day would be a long one so we said goodnight to the city and dropped our overstuffed bellies into bed.
Saturday morning we got up early and made our last trip to Des Gateaux et du Pain and bought pastries and a baguette. I made our sandwiches for the plane and we cleaned up he apartment and enjoyed coffee on the terrace for the last time. Then it was time to go.
We took the Air France bus from Montparnasse to CDG, convenient, easy, and reasonably priced (16.50E each) and we were dropped right at our terminal. An uneventful flight home and here we are.
It’s been an adjustment to get home and we’ve been waking up before 6:00 AM the last couple of mornings. It’s been good to have the long holiday weekend to recover but I’m missing those fabulous pastries for breakfast! Oh well. Time to start thinking about planning our next trip!
Dinner at Josephine Chez Dumonet was marvelous! We were shown to a fabulous table and immediately brought 2 glasses of white wine “compliments of the chef.” Julot had made this reservation for us and was supposed to join us with his lovely wife but they had decided to get out of the city for the long weekend. I suspect he has a relationship with the chef here and thus the special treatment all evening long.
This is a very traditional French bistro,warm and welcoming and filled with mostly French speaking people. The carte was made of up of all the classics, many offered in half portions, which was a relief because we had heard the portions here were quite generous.
We started by sharing a half portion of pate campagne, a thick slab, rich and meaty and rimmed with nice layer of fat and gelee. Served with a small salad it was more than enough for both of us eaten with the excellent baguette. For entrees, I had confit de canard, the duck skin brown and caramelized to a perfect crisp, served with fried potatoes and frisse in vinaigrette. DH had cassoulet: an enormous pot filled with sausages, pork belly, and confit of duck, lots of white beans and rich sauce, with a nice crust over the top.
DH ordered a glass of red wine with his cassoulet and they came and refilled it when his glass was almost empty!
Although we were pretty stuffed by the end of the plats, I couldn’t resist ordering the millefeuille, a house special. Even though we only ordered one, telling them we planned to share it, they gave us each our own huge serving!
Last year, I was on a mission to find the best millefuille and ate one almost very day from numerous patisseries but nothing compared to this one from Chez Dumonet. The pastry was shatteringly crisp and really did seem to be made up of 1,000 layers. The pastry cream was fabulous and fresh as could be. Only a pastry constructed moments before serving could be this delicious and it was well worth the food OD I suffered from eating it after that rich meal.
I ordered coffee as DH worked on finishing his wine and they brought a lovely plate of petit fours with the coffee, 5 little treats that I just had to taste. Oh dear, my poor stomach was working over time but I loved every minute of that meal. We paid the bill (only 88E!) and as we finished up around midnight the waiter brought us to meet the chef who was enjoying a glass of wine himself after a long evening of cooking all that fabulous food. We thanked him and told him how much we enjoyed the meal and then left to walk home to enjoy the view from our terrace of the Eiffel tower sparkling one last time.
It was our last night in Paris and we were reluctant to close the shutters but we knew the next day would be a long one so we said goodnight to the city and dropped our overstuffed bellies into bed.
Saturday morning we got up early and made our last trip to Des Gateaux et du Pain and bought pastries and a baguette. I made our sandwiches for the plane and we cleaned up he apartment and enjoyed coffee on the terrace for the last time. Then it was time to go.
We took the Air France bus from Montparnasse to CDG, convenient, easy, and reasonably priced (16.50E each) and we were dropped right at our terminal. An uneventful flight home and here we are.
It’s been an adjustment to get home and we’ve been waking up before 6:00 AM the last couple of mornings. It’s been good to have the long holiday weekend to recover but I’m missing those fabulous pastries for breakfast! Oh well. Time to start thinking about planning our next trip!
May 26th, 2009, 10:26 AM
#62
Plafield, thanks for finishing your report. Sounds like a great trip! If you have the time, would you/could you send me an email: leelyagain AT gmail DOT com ? I am in Paris now and have a question that´s fairly specific...
May 29th, 2009, 02:42 PM
#64
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Here's a link to some food pics for those of you droolers:
assorted restos
http://picasaweb.google.com/plafield...eat=directlink
Le Cinq
http://picasaweb.google.com/plafield...eat=directlink
assorted restos
http://picasaweb.google.com/plafield...eat=directlink
Le Cinq
http://picasaweb.google.com/plafield...eat=directlink
May 29th, 2009, 07:01 PM
#66
Plafield, you must have major withdrawal symptoms. After looking at those desserts I decided to skip dinner. I'm happy with my virtual dinner. Thanks for your generosity in sharing your trip with the rest of us.
Jun 1st, 2009, 07:14 AM
#69
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Treesa, yes, I am having major withdrawal, particularly as I only eat sugar on vacation! But I'm having great fun sharing the stories and the pics with family and friends and already thinking about my next trip!
Jun 1st, 2009, 08:02 AM
#70
Love your photos. Lunch at Le Cinq was one of MANY highlights for me this past week; Julot also joined me and Chef Briffard came over to chat. When he did, I felt like I was meeting a movie star (yes, I am 100% dork). I will try to write up something this week but I lack your beautiful pictures!
