Champagne and foie gras (another mostly food Paris & Reims report)
Mar 26th, 2012, 06:23 AM
#24
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<b>Lunch at FL, paves at Michel Chaudun and tea at Un Dimanche a Paris</b>
Another restaurant with regional cuisine, this time Picardy instead of Basque. A weekday formule with 2 choices per course at €20 for 2 courses or €24 for 3 is offered plus another 3 course menu with a choice of main at €29 and a la carte options. We both went with the formule with Mark selecting the ficelle picarde (good but very rich, I could only eat a couple of bites) and pork belly (can there be enough pork belly?) while I chose the terrine de canard and tacaud. The pork belly came with a very nice macaroni topped with pied de cochon. We both thought Mark’s 2 dishes were better than mine but they were such big portions I could’ve never finished them. Stuffed again, we skipped dessert. The total came to €60 with a carafe of wine and 2 coffees.
We stopped at Michel Chaudun to buy some chocolate paves and all I have to say is OMG. We were told they only have a shelf life of 10 days like that was going to be a problem
We made our way to the 6th for tea and a pastry at Un Dimanche a Paris. We saw our translator from the chocolate truffle class that we took here in December and chatted with her a bit. It was not quite tea time in the restaurant but not a problem as most of the lunch diners had left. I had a rooibos and a choux pistache fruits rouges and Mark had a refreshing Coca Cola on another warm day. I like the pastries here.
Another restaurant with regional cuisine, this time Picardy instead of Basque. A weekday formule with 2 choices per course at €20 for 2 courses or €24 for 3 is offered plus another 3 course menu with a choice of main at €29 and a la carte options. We both went with the formule with Mark selecting the ficelle picarde (good but very rich, I could only eat a couple of bites) and pork belly (can there be enough pork belly?) while I chose the terrine de canard and tacaud. The pork belly came with a very nice macaroni topped with pied de cochon. We both thought Mark’s 2 dishes were better than mine but they were such big portions I could’ve never finished them. Stuffed again, we skipped dessert. The total came to €60 with a carafe of wine and 2 coffees.
We stopped at Michel Chaudun to buy some chocolate paves and all I have to say is OMG. We were told they only have a shelf life of 10 days like that was going to be a problem
We made our way to the 6th for tea and a pastry at Un Dimanche a Paris. We saw our translator from the chocolate truffle class that we took here in December and chatted with her a bit. It was not quite tea time in the restaurant but not a problem as most of the lunch diners had left. I had a rooibos and a choux pistache fruits rouges and Mark had a refreshing Coca Cola on another warm day. I like the pastries here.
Mar 26th, 2012, 06:38 AM
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<b>Frenchie wine bar and dinner at Albion</b>
We wanted to check out Frenchie wine bar before dinner so left our hotel precisely at 6:30pm to walk over because we knew we had to be there right when they opened. We actually got there just before 7:00pm and they were already open and we and another couple took the last 4 seats at a communal table for 4. So get there before 7:00pm. By 7:00pm it’s standing room only. We ordered the burrata with boudin noir which was really good. With 2 glasses of champagne and a glass of wine, it was €42. Almost everything on the bottle list is available by the glass. Our neighbors had a 7:30pm reservation at the restaurant and were told they had to be out by 9:30pm. I wouldn’t mind going back to the wine bar and trying more dishes as the one dish we tried seemed very promising but don’t know how I feel about the whole eating on their terms thing.
From Frenchie we walked to Albion for dinner. This is a good size restaurant/wine store by the former chef of Fish. Throughout the evening there were many walk-ins including a party of 6 and they were able to seat them (hey, another good place to hold a GTG). I didn’t have high expectations of Albion, I don’t know why, but it pleasantly surprised me. Everything is a la carte and there are enough but not too many choices, maybe 3 per course. Mark had the carpaccio and lamb chops and I had the squid risotto and rouget. I wished the risotto had a little more than a sprinkling of squid but everything was consistently well prepared without trying to be too elaborate. The date cake for dessert was yummy. With a bottle of wine and 2 coffees, it was €91. There are windows on the floor of the restaurant to the cellar below which I noticed everyone including me skirted around. I know you can’t fall through but it’s still freaky.
We wanted to check out Frenchie wine bar before dinner so left our hotel precisely at 6:30pm to walk over because we knew we had to be there right when they opened. We actually got there just before 7:00pm and they were already open and we and another couple took the last 4 seats at a communal table for 4. So get there before 7:00pm. By 7:00pm it’s standing room only. We ordered the burrata with boudin noir which was really good. With 2 glasses of champagne and a glass of wine, it was €42. Almost everything on the bottle list is available by the glass. Our neighbors had a 7:30pm reservation at the restaurant and were told they had to be out by 9:30pm. I wouldn’t mind going back to the wine bar and trying more dishes as the one dish we tried seemed very promising but don’t know how I feel about the whole eating on their terms thing.
From Frenchie we walked to Albion for dinner. This is a good size restaurant/wine store by the former chef of Fish. Throughout the evening there were many walk-ins including a party of 6 and they were able to seat them (hey, another good place to hold a GTG). I didn’t have high expectations of Albion, I don’t know why, but it pleasantly surprised me. Everything is a la carte and there are enough but not too many choices, maybe 3 per course. Mark had the carpaccio and lamb chops and I had the squid risotto and rouget. I wished the risotto had a little more than a sprinkling of squid but everything was consistently well prepared without trying to be too elaborate. The date cake for dessert was yummy. With a bottle of wine and 2 coffees, it was €91. There are windows on the floor of the restaurant to the cellar below which I noticed everyone including me skirted around. I know you can’t fall through but it’s still freaky.
Mar 26th, 2012, 07:28 AM
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<b>A Charlotka at Café Pouchkine, lunch at Willi’s and a Paris Walks tour</b>
Can’t believe it’s our last full day in Paris already. The time has flown by. I still hadn’t made it to Café Pouchkine located on the ground floor of Printemps so made a point to head there in the morning. There’s a small counter seating area where we shared a Charlotka with coffee. The pastries here are the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen and the flavor lived up to the visual appeal. I marveled at the tray of viennoiserie too but unfortunately didn’t have room for any. Lunch was unplanned today and since we’d decided at the last minute to try a Paris Walks tour that started at Etienne Marcel metro that afternoon, Willi’s wine bar seemed a good place to stop on the way. The lunch menu consisted of several choices per course with 2 courses at €21 and 3 at €26 but they were fine with me just having a plat. Mark started with the scallop tartare followed by the cabillaud and I had the pintade which I really liked. €76 with a pichet of wine (I feel their wines are somewhat overpriced). Again not something I’d go out of my way for but very convenient for what we wanted. The food is better than Juveniles but I like Juveniles better as a wine bar. Will’s feels like a restaurant to me.
We get to Etienne Marcel and see a big group ahead. As we get closer we realize they’re French speaking and the Paris Walks group is much smaller, about 14 people. One person commented how big our group was only to have our guide Oriel say it was very small. I’ve heard they can have over 50 people but the good thing is that you don’t have to commit in advance and can scope things out before deciding to join. This afternoon’s walk was the Old Les Halles Market District. Over the next 2 hours we explored several passages and Saint Eustache church among other things. We also got an interesting lesson in etymology. It was thoroughly worth the €12 per person. The tour ended at the cookware store E. Dehillerin where I bought some copper canele tins. I love caneles and the tins were so cute I couldn’t resist. Now I’m going to have to learn how to make them! I even remembered to bring my La Cuisine discount card from last time. Apparently it’s reusable over and over because they just handed it back to me.
Can’t believe it’s our last full day in Paris already. The time has flown by. I still hadn’t made it to Café Pouchkine located on the ground floor of Printemps so made a point to head there in the morning. There’s a small counter seating area where we shared a Charlotka with coffee. The pastries here are the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen and the flavor lived up to the visual appeal. I marveled at the tray of viennoiserie too but unfortunately didn’t have room for any. Lunch was unplanned today and since we’d decided at the last minute to try a Paris Walks tour that started at Etienne Marcel metro that afternoon, Willi’s wine bar seemed a good place to stop on the way. The lunch menu consisted of several choices per course with 2 courses at €21 and 3 at €26 but they were fine with me just having a plat. Mark started with the scallop tartare followed by the cabillaud and I had the pintade which I really liked. €76 with a pichet of wine (I feel their wines are somewhat overpriced). Again not something I’d go out of my way for but very convenient for what we wanted. The food is better than Juveniles but I like Juveniles better as a wine bar. Will’s feels like a restaurant to me.
We get to Etienne Marcel and see a big group ahead. As we get closer we realize they’re French speaking and the Paris Walks group is much smaller, about 14 people. One person commented how big our group was only to have our guide Oriel say it was very small. I’ve heard they can have over 50 people but the good thing is that you don’t have to commit in advance and can scope things out before deciding to join. This afternoon’s walk was the Old Les Halles Market District. Over the next 2 hours we explored several passages and Saint Eustache church among other things. We also got an interesting lesson in etymology. It was thoroughly worth the €12 per person. The tour ended at the cookware store E. Dehillerin where I bought some copper canele tins. I love caneles and the tins were so cute I couldn’t resist. Now I’m going to have to learn how to make them! I even remembered to bring my La Cuisine discount card from last time. Apparently it’s reusable over and over because they just handed it back to me.
Mar 26th, 2012, 09:25 AM
#28
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Patty, thanks for the trip report. We will have to add some of your places to our June trip. What is the La Cuisine discount card? I meant to get to Dehillerin for some silpat but forgot until I saw the one I have at home. Ah well.
Mar 26th, 2012, 09:35 AM
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<b>Dinner at La Table d’Aki</b>
This is a small 16 seat restaurant located in the 7th but more towards the 6th side recently opened by a chef who worked at L’Ambroisie for 20 years. I had heard about it just before we left so it was a last minute addition and I’m so glad we went there. Dinner is a choice of 3 or 4 courses for €45 or €58. The only difference is one less entrée for the 3 course and you get to choose which of the two entrees you want. Otherwise, it’s no choice. It’s also all seafood. Lunch is a different format with 3 courses I think and a choice between fish or meat for the main and you can choose to have as few as 1 or as many as 3 courses. I had read that chef Akihiro Horikoshi did everything himself including serving but tonight there’s someone helping out (his wife?) or maybe at lunch it’s only him. Service is a tiny bit slow and slightly confused but we had sort of expected that. We chose the 4 course which started with a fish rillette amuse followed by the ravioli langoustine. The ravioli was delicious and I could’ve eaten plate after plate of this. Seared scallops with an olive tapenade was next (also very nice) followed by turbot for the main and a dessert of vanilla millefeuille with pear (yum). The total with a bottle of Sancerre was €146. We chatted with the chef for a bit after dinner and between our tiny bit of French, his little bit of English and some gesturing, we were able to communicate where we were from, how we heard about his restaurant, how much we loved the ravioli, etc. They tried to call us a taxi but no taxi was coming on a rainy Saturday night so we walked a bit before seeing someone exit a taxi and we hopped right in.
This is a small 16 seat restaurant located in the 7th but more towards the 6th side recently opened by a chef who worked at L’Ambroisie for 20 years. I had heard about it just before we left so it was a last minute addition and I’m so glad we went there. Dinner is a choice of 3 or 4 courses for €45 or €58. The only difference is one less entrée for the 3 course and you get to choose which of the two entrees you want. Otherwise, it’s no choice. It’s also all seafood. Lunch is a different format with 3 courses I think and a choice between fish or meat for the main and you can choose to have as few as 1 or as many as 3 courses. I had read that chef Akihiro Horikoshi did everything himself including serving but tonight there’s someone helping out (his wife?) or maybe at lunch it’s only him. Service is a tiny bit slow and slightly confused but we had sort of expected that. We chose the 4 course which started with a fish rillette amuse followed by the ravioli langoustine. The ravioli was delicious and I could’ve eaten plate after plate of this. Seared scallops with an olive tapenade was next (also very nice) followed by turbot for the main and a dessert of vanilla millefeuille with pear (yum). The total with a bottle of Sancerre was €146. We chatted with the chef for a bit after dinner and between our tiny bit of French, his little bit of English and some gesturing, we were able to communicate where we were from, how we heard about his restaurant, how much we loved the ravioli, etc. They tried to call us a taxi but no taxi was coming on a rainy Saturday night so we walked a bit before seeing someone exit a taxi and we hopped right in.
Mar 26th, 2012, 10:00 AM
#32
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<b>Breakfast at the Park Hyatt, lunch at L’Ecluse and train to Reims</b>
I finally slept through the night and woke up at 8:00am this morning so decided to have breakfast at the hotel. I don’t usually eat breakfast because a) I don’t generally wake up in time and b) I don’t want to spoil lunch but today we had no specific plans since we were taking the train to Reims later. It was an extravagant affair in a beautiful room but the coffee wasn’t up to par and at €48 per person not something I’d be doing on my own dime. We walked around and did a little bit of shopping at the Carrousel du Louvre (a sign says “we are open even on Sunday”). Mark was hungry again so we stopped at the L’Ecluse at the Place du Marche Saint Honore where he had the tagiatelle with foie gras and I had a small salad. €40 with 3 glasses of wine. I wanted to stop at Hugo & Victor again but apparently this branch has changed their hours and is no longer open on Sunday. We went back to the hotel, packed, checked out and took at cab to Gare de l’Est. A quick 45 minute TGV ride and we were in Reims.
I finally slept through the night and woke up at 8:00am this morning so decided to have breakfast at the hotel. I don’t usually eat breakfast because a) I don’t generally wake up in time and b) I don’t want to spoil lunch
but today we had no specific plans since we were taking the train to Reims later. It was an extravagant affair in a beautiful room but the coffee wasn’t up to par and at €48 per person not something I’d be doing on my own dime. We walked around and did a little bit of shopping at the Carrousel du Louvre (a sign says “we are open even on Sunday”). Mark was hungry again so we stopped at the L’Ecluse at the Place du Marche Saint Honore where he had the tagiatelle with foie gras and I had a small salad. €40 with 3 glasses of wine. I wanted to stop at Hugo & Victor again but apparently this branch has changed their hours and is no longer open on Sunday. We went back to the hotel, packed, checked out and took at cab to Gare de l’Est. A quick 45 minute TGV ride and we were in Reims.
Mar 26th, 2012, 10:24 AM
#33
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<b>Maison d’hotes Les Telliers</b>
We walked the 500 meters or so from the train station to our B&B. What a lovely place run by a friendly couple, Renaud and Veronique. There are 2 guest rooms one on the first floor and another on the second. We chose Les Jumeaux on the first. The room is quite large and nicely decorated with a renovated bathroom. At €75 a night including breakfast we thought it was a bargain. The owners gave us helpful suggestions on what to see and do and also made few restaurant and tour bookings for us before our arrival and during our stay. There are 2 cats on the premises but they don’t go into the guest rooms and Mark had no problems even though he is allergic to cats. My only slight quibble is that I think the other guest room was directly above ours and the floors were very creaky so we could hear every footstep even though I’m sure they were trying to be as quiet as possible. Good coffee at breakfast with fresh squeezed juice, yogurt, fruit, croissant, baguette and nice jams. They also provided us with a champagne bucket, glasses, plates and cutlery whenever we needed. They’ve been open as a B&B since 2008. Formerly it was a private house.
We walked the 500 meters or so from the train station to our B&B. What a lovely place run by a friendly couple, Renaud and Veronique. There are 2 guest rooms one on the first floor and another on the second. We chose Les Jumeaux on the first. The room is quite large and nicely decorated with a renovated bathroom. At €75 a night including breakfast we thought it was a bargain. The owners gave us helpful suggestions on what to see and do and also made few restaurant and tour bookings for us before our arrival and during our stay. There are 2 cats on the premises but they don’t go into the guest rooms and Mark had no problems even though he is allergic to cats. My only slight quibble is that I think the other guest room was directly above ours and the floors were very creaky so we could hear every footstep even though I’m sure they were trying to be as quiet as possible. Good coffee at breakfast with fresh squeezed juice, yogurt, fruit, croissant, baguette and nice jams. They also provided us with a champagne bucket, glasses, plates and cutlery whenever we needed. They’ve been open as a B&B since 2008. Formerly it was a private house.
Mar 26th, 2012, 12:22 PM
#35
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Website for the B&B www.telliers.fr
Mar 26th, 2012, 12:25 PM
#36
Patty - I have no idea how you managed all of that - it is truly formidable!
and remembering what you ate everywhere as well - i thought that I was good at that but you are a past mistress at it.
it is a shame we took no pics of each other, just of the food. I liked Neva, but was a little disappointed with the quality of my beef which had a ligament or something similar running through it, and i noticed that AGM's DH had the same problem; had we not been with a group i think that we would both have mentioned it but didn't like to with everyone else there. but otherwise it was terrific and of course the company was even better!
and remembering what you ate everywhere as well - i thought that I was good at that but you are a past mistress at it.
it is a shame we took no pics of each other, just of the food. I liked Neva, but was a little disappointed with the quality of my beef which had a ligament or something similar running through it, and i noticed that AGM's DH had the same problem; had we not been with a group i think that we would both have mentioned it but didn't like to with everyone else there. but otherwise it was terrific and of course the company was even better!
Mar 26th, 2012, 02:15 PM
#37
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I document everything with photos and in my journal 
Bummer about your beef. You should've said something although I understand what you mean about being with a group.
I just opened my box of Jacques Genin chocolates and noticed it says to consume by March 31st. That's going to be a hardship!
Bummer about your beef. You should've said something although I understand what you mean about being with a group.
I just opened my box of Jacques Genin chocolates and noticed it says to consume by March 31st. That's going to be a hardship!
Mar 26th, 2012, 02:55 PM
#38
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<b>Mephisto saved my husband’s feet</b>
One of the first things we needed to do in Reims was find Mark some new shoes, his feet were killing him! There just so happens to be a Mephisto store here. It was the end of the season and he must have a popular foot size because we had to inquire about a dozen different models before they could find anything in his size. He ended up with a pair of loafers that he wore for the rest of the trip. He swears by them now. We didn’t realize how much more they cost in the US til we got home and he wishes he’d bought several pairs. I told him we can take an empty suitcase next time.
One of the first things we needed to do in Reims was find Mark some new shoes, his feet were killing him! There just so happens to be a Mephisto store here. It was the end of the season and he must have a popular foot size because we had to inquire about a dozen different models before they could find anything in his size. He ended up with a pair of loafers that he wore for the rest of the trip. He swears by them now. We didn’t realize how much more they cost in the US til we got home and he wishes he’d bought several pairs. I told him we can take an empty suitcase next time.
Mar 26th, 2012, 04:36 PM
#39
Patty, you've got the skills to pay the bills! Another great report with amazing detail, and, no, I am not shocked, though I am someone who cannot even remember what she had for lunch today. Love the photos too Thanks so much.
Looking forward to eating in Reims with you and Mark next.
Looking forward to eating in Reims with you and Mark next.
