missdaisy

my traveling companion (tc) and i are headed to paris march 1...it's our fifth trip to paris in as many years. we're flying in and out of brussels, and taking the tgv to paris.

we happened upon this apartment last year and liked it so much we're renting it again! it's small, terribly inexpensive, and directly across the street from the bonne nouvelle metro stop.

http://centreparis.com/location-pari.../fiche-41.html

we have no daytime plans...we're just going to let our moods and the weather dictate what we do and see. we're both suckers for window licking and spending afternoon hours doing nothing. there are, of course, sentimental things we do each year...the vanves flea market, gazing teary-eyed at the twinkling lights of the eiffel tower, and riding the metro to unknown locations just to explore.

i research restaurants to the point of ridiculousness...i probably own every guide book on paris, and am constantly looking at egullet, chowhound, le fooding, and many restaurant blogging sites. each year i am overwhelmed by the dining choices, but we have always had good fortune with our picks. we're casual people and love comfort food. our favorite thing in the world is to settle into a restaurant for the night and really enjoy the dining experience. i might add that we're lovers of the aperitif, the wine, and the calvados! i can't tell you how many times we're the last to leave in the wee hours, after spending the last hours with the proprietors after their restaurant has closed. tc is beyond charming and fun, and has a restaurant of his own.

this trip is all about pudlo's guide. all but one of my picks is from his new guide...i believe published in english for the first time recently. here are my picks. i'm open to feedback!

les papilles (5th) 30 rue gay-lussac
la ferrandaise (6th) 8 rue de vaugirard
le casier a vin (15th) 51-53 rue olivier-de-serres
chez geraud (16th) 31 rue vital
le baratin (20th) 3 rue jouye-rouve

and another, based on some good french press recently
quai-quai (1st) 74 quai des orfevres

we arrive on a sunday, so that first night will probably be spent at one of the l'ecluses.

our last night will be spent in brussels...and i should mention this super-cool hotel i've found!

http://www.hotelcafepacific.com

it's going to be a very, very good trip!

missdaisy

ttt...anyone?

AGM_Cape_Cod

Oh, missdaisy, I envy you! This is the first year in 5 that we aren't going to Paris. We were there twice last year so maybe no one is going to sympathize with us. We tried some new places for us in June and Le Baratin and Les Papilles were two of the places we tried. We really liked Le Baratin. Since the menu changes frequently I can't tell you what to get but I can advise you to take the metro to Pyrénées stop and walk down the hill to dinner and then after dinner walk the rest of the way down the hill to the Belleville stop.
The place we weren't thrilled with was Les Papilles. Maybe it was because it was our last night in Paris. The food was ok-first and entree course better than cheese and dessert. Just our opinion.
A place you might look into is Spring. I was hesitant to take a chance with a fixed menu and an American chef but it was a fabulous meal. The place seats 16 and the kitchen is open so you can watch the chef, Daniel Rose. It was also nice to talk to the chef especially since we had once owned a restaurant.
Another place we really like was l'Os a moelle in the 15th. You will find lots of great reviews.
Have a great time and please write a trip report for those of us who are living vicariously through you.

Judi

I relied on Pudlo Paris for our trip to Paris in October/November. We stayed and ate in the 7th and I thought Pudlo was right on.

I recommend that book to all who are going to Paris and looking for good restaurant reviews.

I hope you and your TC have a wonderful time!

shellio

Les Papilles is one of my favorites, we go back each visit. Tried La Ferrandaise last time and was underwhelmed. I agree that Spring is wonderful, but reservations for this tiny place are hard to come by and I think he may be closing for some time in March or April for a break. Afaria in the 15th is getting a lot of press lately and has been called the "new Spring".

My favorite for the last 2 years has been Le Temps au Temps on rue Paul Bert in the 11th, also very small and needs reservations ahead of time.