Paris Revisited

(Btw this song reminds me of Monsieur La Tache /Murph)

As much as I was enjoying Burgundy, it was time to bid the vineyards adieu and head back to Paris. Btw, forget April in Paris, (sorry, Murph…). The best time to walk these romantic streets is in early autumn. It's all so ooh-la-la, especially with everyone wearing the latest fall fashions! And if possible, you want to stay in an apartment – not a hotel – for a couple of really good reasons. First, you get a true sense of the lifestyle (and will soon find yourself strolling back to your flat with a baguette tucked under your arm). Second, it seems that almost all the restaurants forget to include veggies on the menu, which means if you want ‘em, you have to get ‘em yourself. They’ll use them for garnishing, but that’s about it. Weird, right? After almost eight days of no greens, I found myself craving a tossed salad!

Thankfully, the market down the street from where we were staying had almost everything an omnivore, and especially an herbivore, would want. I must admit, it was fun going from shop to shop gathering what later that evening would become dinner for my son and me. That's the thing about Paris: it's actually a joy to food shop there! Another benefit was that all of these shops were either inches away from each other or at most a block or two. The best way to describe our adopted neighborhood in the 6th district (or, if you want to be authentic, the 6th arrondissement!) was a combination of Soho and the West Village minus the interesting mix of people. Hey, you can't have everything, but rue Mazarine, our beautiful Parisian street, came pretty close.

For me, the best way to shop in Paris was to start at the open air market for fruits and veggies, then next to the bakery for bread and pastry. After that it was off to the butcher for rotisserie chicken, and then perhaps the chocolatier for a bit of chocolate. Last and most important, had to hit the cave for a bottle of burgundy. Ah, this is how food shopping should always be! (That reminds me: if you'd like a simple but tasty salad dressing to make either while in France or here at home, visit my website and click on “Recipes” in the Wine-ing Monthly section. You’ll find it in the Appetizers/Salads section, under the Summer Salad with Grilled Chicken recipe. It's the one made with agave.)


(Btw, the sales person working in this wine shop happened to be a friendly east coast girl!)


Another really wonderful aspect of having your own space is, quite simply, having your own actual space as opposed to just a room. Plus, if you're on a tight budget, apartments can be a much better deal than a hotel, a fact which surprises a lot of people. But think about it: in an apartment you have a fridge to store all sorts of items that can cost a small fortune when staying in a hotel such as drinks, snacks, bottled water, etc. And by having your own kitchen, you can make some of your own meals, which is nice. Breakfast alone can cost $40-50 USD in Paris! (At the end of the blog, I'll tell you about a great agency that my neighbor Melissa here in NJ introduced me to.)


Still, dining out in Paris is a must, despite the lack of greens. After all, it’s Paris! Actually, there are two absolute musts and one to avoid at all costs. (Since I want to end on a positive note, I’ll give you the bad news first…)


Le Grand Vefour ain’t as grand as it use to be. It's nothing like it was when my hubby took me there in 2002. I mean yes, the decor is still very Louis XIV, with lots and lots of gold everywhere you look (it's obvious they didn't need to design on a dime), but that's all that remains the same. (Being the pack rat that I am, I still have the receipt and the list of wines we drank. We started with a bottle of 1999 Henri Boillot Meursault, followed by a 1997 Domaine de la Fontainerie, and ended the night with a bottle of 1982 Calon-Ségur. Not a bad lot to spend an evening with!)



Le Grand Vefour has become quite the tourist trap and is terribly overpriced. Most of the dishes were inedible. To add insult to injury, the service is now way below par – even my teenage son pointed out how long it took us to get bread, have our water glasses filled, etc. This is one restaurant to avoid at all costs. Thankfully, we managed to take some lovely photos while we were there, and the wine was good, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Love Taittinger Rosé as a start to anything. This was followed by 2006 Chassagne Montrachet Dom Colin, and we finished with a bottle of 2002 Beaune Clos de Mouches.

If you're in the mood for an elegant lunch or dinner and don't mind reaching deep into your pockets, then Apicius is the spot to dine. My suggestion: have an aperitif outside (weather permitting), enjoy lunch in the beautiful dining area, and then go back outside for a digestif and dessert. And if you are as lucky as I to have a wine and food friend like Murph, you might also be lucky enough to have him enhance what was already a heavenly meal by adding La Tache to the experience. (In my book, Murph is synonymous with La Tache, so he should be known as Mr. La Tache. Or maybe Monsieur La Tache, now that I think about it. Mind you, it’s not that I don't like Murph as his pet moniker, but Monsieur La Tache…now that's a nickname!)





I always ask a seasoned traveler with a similar palate to mine one question: If I can dine at only one restaurant in (name the location), which should it be? Well, in Paris, Apicius is The One! That being said, I must add that it is also falls under my One and Done dining category – the same way the restaurant Alinea is a One and Done. If you go, I recommend you try the Foie Gras de Canard. It's a dish that my late husband introduced me to at Le Perigord here in NYC 23 years ago. (In a later blog, I’ll recount that evening, as it was beyond memorable!)









On the night before my WFF Murph, a.k.a. Monsieur La Tache, left for the States, we spent the evening dining at Le Relais d'Auteuil, a fabulous neighborhood restaurant in the16th district. We were graciously greeted by the hostess/owner as if we were regulars ...such a warm and lovely welcome, I couldn’t help but take note.



Our reservations were for four, but my son no longer had the muscles to endure another four hour dinner. He opted to hang at a local Internet café instead, happy to catch up with his buddies back home via Facebook. When we arrived, the inconvenience of resetting the table wasn’t an issue, nor was our lack of notifying the staff that we'd no longer be four for dinner. I wish life ran as pleasantly and smoothly as dining at Le Relais d'Auteuil!


We enjoyed an evening to remember. The festivities began with Monsieur La Tache ordering and pouring a bottle of wine for the staff. Then came our meal, with each course more scrumptious than the one preceding it. (We were even treated to extra shavings of truffles on our plates. Talk about special treatment…) Le Relais d'Auteuil also served Mimolette, one of the most memorable cheeses I've had to date (and considering how great a fan I am of fromage, that’s saying a lot- btw, Murray's Cheese sells it). It was first made in France when Louis XIV requested a French cheese to replace the popular Dutch Edam…it tastes like chocolate!




Afterwards, the chef and owner came out of the kitchen to meet and thank us. To end this Meal of Meals, fellow patrons joined us for a friendly round of nightcaps and cigars. In the words of Monsieur La Tache, the dinner was “superb in every way." All I can say is that this is a restaurant that I would not only revisit, but would do so in a heartbeat.
Vive le France! Vive Relais d'Auteuil! And Vive le Monsieur La Tache!





As promised here is the link to apartment rentals in Paris