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Head over to the up-and-coming Canal St-Martin to watch Parisian bobos, or bourgeois-bohemian, in action. The area is home to fashion designers, artists, and media folk who make the most of the waterside cafés on sunny days. The bistro scene gets interesting east of the Bastille, where lower rents have encouraged young chefs to set up shop. Around Père Lachaise the selection thins, but wander a little farther to multicultural Belleville to find an intriguing mix of Chinese and North African eateries alongside some superb gastrobistros from a handful of gifted young chefs.
You don't have to be a chocoholic to appreciate this cozy little nook of a café focused on all things derived from the cocoa bean: decadent cakes and pastries, chocolates and tablettes (bars of chocolate), and a most sinful chocolat chaud. There are also coffee and other beverages to linger over inside or at a sidewalk table.
The impressive but unfussy gastronomic menu here features Asian-inflected dishes that express the food's far-flung influences. A starter of "zakouskis," several small dishes that may include deep-fried giblets, fresh radishes with anchovy butter, or herb-infused cockles, warms you up for a sublime entrée of whole lacquered quail, cod with spicy black-bean reduction, or crispy melt-in-your mouth pork on a bed of braised leeks. Deliciously nuanced desserts, a good selection of natural wines, and an unbeatable two-course €26 lunch menu add up to an essential Paris dining experience.
The deep sidewalk terrace at this three-in-one gourmet grocer, restaurant, and café is a great place to linger over lunch and a glass of wine, or an early (for France) dinner. The daily menu of hot dishes, soups, and salads complements a wide selection of tasty pastries and classic sandwiches made with top-notch ingredients. In the gourmet shop, Plisson scoured France for all its specialties: cherry juice from Provence, ciders and biscuits from Normandy, the famous Paris ham, and wines and Champagne from the best producers everywhere. Prices are steep, but it's great for a splurge.
