Question for all my Paris "foodies" (Scarlett, Ira,Travelnut, etc.)
 

Hi Gang!

Was wondering if it is worth it to pick up foodstuff in Paris...I have a branch of Fauchon right here in NYC, but would I save any money buying jars of foie gras, caviar, etc. in Paris?
I'm guessing no due to the lousy exchange rate.
Cheers,
Betty

recent NYTimes article on imported euro-land foods say importers and exporters are trying to hold line on costs to protect markets. Truffles were pointed out as example and how one NY restaurant is losing money every time they sell their famous truffle plate. Also some food may not be imported to US because of agricultural concerns.

Depends on what you want--but I've had good luck with some things at Monoprix, the Epicerie at the Bon Marché, and at the many small grocery stores around the city. If you avoid the luxury shops you might do reasonably well; wouldn't hurt to have a look.

I always bring food home from France. There are lots of things you can buy there that aren't readily available in the USA. Every trip to Paris for me involves at least one stop at a Monoprix or supermarket, plus a host of small specialty stores. If you have an idea what similar items would cost you at home, you'll know it when you spot a bargain.
I don't think you'll get foie gras back, though. It's worth checking the USDA site before you leave so you don't waste money on things that might be confiscated.

SitCirq,

Hi! Just wondering what are some of the food items you have brought back in the past that were worth the trouble. Good idea about checking the FDA site...

--Betty

I bring things that I can't find here in FL..vinagre de nois, quatre epices, bouquet garnis, truffles in olive oil, some wonderful cremas of truffles and porcini, lentil and mustard seed, or mixed olive and various sea salts. My 3 regular stops are Oliver and co , the supermarket across from them, and Bon Marche. I don't know how the prices compare since I can't get those things at home. I've brought back foie gras de Canard entier in cans with no problems.

And of course I always include a stop at thepharmacy on the corner of Rue du Four and Rue Bonaparte.. I know their prices for cosmetics and scents are less than I pay at home. 18€ for a cologne I pay $40.00 for, hand cream that is $10.. is 3 € there

bettyo70:

I bring home chocolate-dusted walnuts, Flavigny pastilles flavored with violet, Knorr dried soups for my kids (they have amazing ones in France, like pumpkin cream and velouté of asparagus...), really good walnut and hazlenut oils, fig and other specialty vinegars, provençal nougat and calissons, chocolates, tapenades, basil oil from Olivier, Camargue sea salt....tins of deboned quail stuffed with foie gras, truffles when I can afford them (not in recent years), walnut confit, confiture de vin....yikes, I should run upstairs and scour the pantry! I bet half of what's in it came from France!

I was also going to mention pharmacies. I stock up there, too, but not only on beauty products but medicines and homeopathic stuff as well - duonormil (a mild sleeping pill that is the only thing that has ever helped me get sleep on an airplave), doliprane (a terrific French aspirin), salmon oil pills, etc. Once my son fell and cut his leg while I was out doing an errand and my friend who was watching him called me on the cell phone and said "what the heck do I put on it? I can't read the labels on anything in your medicine chest!"

Definitely worth it to bring things back even with the exchange. Foie gras is also back on the permitted list. I wouldn't buy my foie gras at Fauchon however. The markets at Richard Lenoir and Pl. Monge usually have a vendor--this is for tinned foie gras, of course. And Monoprix has good foie gras, cheeses, etc. Dried morels are available in groceries. Chocolate bars.

I'm not much of a cook, so I do not bring home any delicacies... I might bring a couple of boxes of cookies for the office... Don't know <i>how</i> you linked my name to &quot;foodies&quot;, LOL, I'm far from it...

I'm going to Paris in April for the first time and I can't wait to bring back some Mariage Freres tea. I got hooked on it a couple months ago. I like the Marco Polo Vert &amp; Wedding Imperial...but I hear there is hundreds to choose from. Anyone ever have tea time there?

You can't get Amora mustard in the States at the moment, so stock up on that. And bring me some! My supply is about exhausted!

First of all, let me say that I am honored to be thought of as a &quot;Foodie&quot; and to be included in this lovely company..thank you, Betty :)

I bring home as much Marriage Freres tea as I can, cherry is wonderful and candles from there also.
O &amp; Co. Truffle oil.
Chocolate from anywhere ... I don't care if they sell it here too, I have to bring it home from Paris!
Rose potpourrie from a shop on Rue Royal. The scent of roses lasts forever!
Nothing tinned...unless you count the candies from Fauchons, etc that come in lovely little tin boxes for collecting.
I am going back in March, I will be sure to bring back as much as possible ~

We were at Mariage Fr&egrave;res at tea time but had to pass on the treat, as my knee took one look at the steep staircase and said &quot;ouch!&quot;. However, we love their teas; my husband is nearly addicted to French Breakfast, which smells like chocolate but tastes more like a lapsang souchong. I'm quite fond of the Th&eacute; de No&euml;l myself. Just looking at the shelves stocked with teas of romantic names is enough to make me sign with happiness. BTW, the store now has an excellent web site.

At the bon March&eacute; I pick up Taylors of Harrogate assam tea, not easy to find in the stores here.

Scarlett
you struck a nerve.
Any idea where on rue Royale the rose potpourri shop is?

Mariage Fr&eacute;res, I can buy where I live but not the 400+ flavors in their shop in the 4th. I'm not a tea drinker but loved having a snack and tea there because I loved looking at all the old tea chests, scales and other things that make it the museum like place it is as the oldest tea importer.

Yumm...French breakfast tea sounds great! I recently tried the Lapsang Souchong...good with a dash of milk. The smell reminds me of camping when I was younger. Didn't know they had candles...yikes...I love candles. Looking forward to going there. I can't seem to work the english version of their website...and, alas...I haven't started my French class yet to understand that version. =)

Rose PotPourri can be found, ( I hope it is still there!) at a small shop across rue Royale on a little dead end street or alley. All the shops are wonderful, they have their things outside, very charming.
Also right in that area is Maille where you can get some pretty good mustard :)

Betty, your best bet is to know the prices of what you want <i>before</i> you leave home. For comparable items, of course. I found that there was only two euros price difference in Lillet, not enough to justify schlepping back a bottle of it. On the other hand, I was able to pick up a bottle of Creme de Cassis, that necessary ingredient for making kir and kir royale, at nearly half the price I pay at my neighborhood liquor store!

Sometimes it's not a matter of price at all. There are some food items you simply can't get here that you can in France so the lousy exchange rate doesn't figure into the equation.

We love Mariage Freres teas as well, but everytime we've tried to go into the Mariage Freres tea salon in the Marais, it has been MOBBED with Japanese visitors (I believe they have a branch in Japan, where it's considered very chic). So instead we go to Cafe l'Esplanade in the 7th, overlooking the Esplanade des Invalides. They serve a good selection of MF teas by the pot and it's nice and peaceful there. We stock up on the teas either in Paris or at a small shop just off the Ave. Louise in Brussels. We like the jasmine and darjeeling tea selections.
Another food item we like to pick up in Paris is onion confit. Sad to say, we had bad luck with the tea and coffee we bought at Fauchon's. Both were stale. At their prices, we've decided not to take another risk.

Mariage Freres on the Left Bank -
13, rue des Grands-Augustins (6th)

Not usually as crowded as the shop in the Marais.