HallieA

I had the pleasure of drinking cafe au lait out of bowls in a residence in Paris.

When I go back, do any of the bistors or cafes serve coffee this way? I like drinking my morning coffee out of a bowl.

Underhill

I haven't come across a café in Paris that uses bowls, but it's a common practice in Provence.

But wait! If you want your coffee or tea in a bowl, go to Le Pain Quotidien. Our favorite location is the one on the Place du Marché St-Honoré, but there are one or two on the Left Bank as well.

klondike

I've never seen it in cafes during my Paris stays. However, if you go deep into Brittany (specifically Plougastel-Daoulas for me) you can be served une bolee de cafe ou de chocolat in the cafe.

That being said, you should be able to find a creperie in Paris who serves drinks in bowls, although most might be the cider bol rather than coffee bol. There is an authentic Breton creperie on r. Gregoires de Tours in (cross streets r. Buci and blvd St. Germain) in Paris which has tons of Breton pottery, including bowls, all over shelves, the walls etc. but I can't remember if they used them, too, or if they were strictly for viewing. The people were most friendly when we chatted with them after hours while they cleaned their equipment. (They are so busy at meal time, however, they don't have time to visit about their pottery at that time of day).

You aren't alone. We have our cafe au lait in our bols too!

JJDave

While not France....I do remember drinking cafe au lait out of a bowl in Quebec City.

cigalechanta

i have not had it served in bowls at most hotels but at some very inexpensive ones years ago in Paris my café au lait was served in bowls and today in some of the B&Bs we go to or at my house.The bowls are curved in a shape so that your hands really hold them nicely.

Mathieu

As JJDave has said, it is common to drink cafe au lait and cafe chocolat like this in Quebec. Cup the bowl in your hands (rather than with the thumb and index fingers only) and lift to drink. Nice way to warm your hands too. Some bowls are slightly more conical than round and some have a very low resting "stem" which make lifting a steaming cup easier. It is also common to dunk bread or brioche.

cmt

I don't know anything about drinking out of bowls in Paris. The only place I saw this practice was in an agriturismo on the outskirts of San Salvatore di Fitalia in the Nebrodi Mountains in Sicily. It was a rustic place, run by a family that farmed for its own use (i.e. not to grow products for sale) and had occasional, infrequent overnight guests in its two guest rooms and occasional local patrons for meals. My tea was served in a bowl at breakfast when I was there in 2000. I didn't know what to make of it. I thought it must be some local rural custom. Then when I stayed there again in 2002 I noticed that there were cups for coffee at dinner, so I wondered why they weren't used at breakfast. I became friendly with the owners and spent some time in the kitchen chatting with the woman while she had her own breakfast and then made bread and while her husband made cheese. I noticed that she drank her own tea from a bowl. When I asked her why, she said it was because she liked to drink a large amount of tea and it was too hot in a cup. However, when she had coffee, she had a smaller quantity and drank it out of a cup.

cigalechanta

http://www.auntviolet.com/pillivuyt.html

her's what they look like but usually have decoration on them in the homes. Old ones are getting hefty prices, depending on the design. I have several but not very old. I saw one at $75 on line yesterday and Anthropologie shops somwtimes has old ones starting at $45 and carry replicas even in their catalog.

Underhill

You can get quite nice café bowls at the various La Vessaillerie shops in Paris. In the U.S. they're available via the Joie de Vivre catalogue, both on-line and printed.

I find that tea tastes especially good in a bowl, but maybe that's just because the blend used at Le Pain Quotidien is so wonderful.

Scarlett

My friend in France drinks coffee out of a bowl at home, but I have never seen it done in cafes or restaurants.
I would love to get some of those bowls, I drink enough coffee anyway, a bowl would be fine with me ~

Margie

Underhill, I love Le Pain Quotidien too. I'm not sure where you are from, but there are now several of these wonderful cafes in the US and Europe, take a look at the website: http://www.painquotidien.com/Pages/Home.html in addition to the ones listed I think there may be 'new' one in NYC.

cigalechanta

You can buy thenm at Anthropologie, scarltt, they're in the catalog usually. I bought mine in Provence and one in a Provencal shop in NYC near Bloomies. I drinmy au lait every morn in one of my bowls, where J. prefers those large breakfast cups.

Francie

Hi Hallie,
Each morning I drink my cafe' out of a large bowl. Can't remember the name of the catalog from which I ordered it from, but it was a set (of 3) that came along with a dish (for toast?) and egg holder with name imprinted "Le Petit DeJeuner," made in France. My first introduction to drinking cafe' out of a bowl was on a trip to Tahiti many years ago. Ever since then (and from trips to Provence)have been doing so.
Francie

kdm

La Note in Berkeley serves Mochas (not sure about regular coffee) in bowls which I enjoy along with their Brioche Pain Perdu if you are ever in the area. http://www.lanote.citysearch.com

Just added Le Pain Quotidien to my list for as a lunch stop when I go down to LA after reading their menu....Food is not a good topic for me to read at night

hanl

Practically all the French families I know serve coffee in bowls at breakfast time, although any other time of day it'll probably be in a cup. When I first visited France, nobody seemed to drink out of mugs, although that has changed now and you see mugs everywhere.

However this is a family tradition, not something you will see in cafés, where your café au lait will be served in a wide cup.

I didn't know that they served coffee in bowls at Le Pain Quotidien. It would certainly be worth popping in there for breakfast or a bite - it's a nice chain, and they do great salads and sandwiches and things. Although my French friends here in Lyon (there's a branch near the rue de la République) think it's terribly English!!!

Underhill

I'm from California but consider Provence a second home because of friends with who we stay, thus picking up a lot of local customs...and eating far too much bread.

One of the many nice things about breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien is the possibility of ordering a perfectly soft-cooked egg in addition to the several composed breakfasts available.

_jinx_

I have fond memories of sitting around the breakfast table with our friends, the Durand's, in Anould (Alsace Lorraine). Large steaming bowls of coffee were consumed during much discussion of what we were going to do for the day. Great times!

Regards,

Jinx Hoover

Underhill

One thing we learned from our French family is the custom of dunking croissants in the coffee bowls, which may explain the custom: it would be hard to do with just a coffee cup.

brafit

I've never seen this done in France but my first time was in Martinique about 12 years ago. I had never tried dipping anything in my morning drink before either but I loved it and now I dip whatever I'm having with my cafe au lait, be it bread, croissant, boiled egg....

Scarlett

Thanks Mimi, I never thought of Anthropologie~
I will toast you while I dunk my toast