Say Fromage!

I am enjoying these Paris posts. They bring back a lot of fantastic memories.

I mentioned before that we were renting a small efficiency apartment so we had access to a kitchen. We tried to keep the cost of the trip down by eating in at least one meal a day. Sometimes we kept our meals relatively simple (Maybe even to the point of stereotypical): Bread, cheese, fruit and wine.

This was the meal that topped off our day of walking to and from the Eiffel Tower. It was 7 miles each way so we were tuckered out by the time we hiked the 5 flights of stairs back up to our place. We passed by an outdoor market, a patisserie and also a fromagerie and made a mental note to stop in on the way back to pick up some dinner (and dessert!).

I would have to dig through a lot of my scraps and cards from the trip in order to relay the names and addresses of the places we stopped and hopefully I can update later with that information. The good news for anyone who might be reading this and planning a trip to Paris is that there are amazing bakeries and cheese shops everywhere so it would almost be pointless. The gentleman working behind the counter at the fromagerie was really nice and helped us to select a few different types of cheeses from his incredible spread.

These are all different types of goat cheese.

We each selected a dessert from the patisserie that was a few shops down. I selected a giant chocolate macaroon. I forget what Chris had but it is pictured in the bottom right corner of the first photo. I do remember that he enjoyed it very much. As you can see, we also picked up a baguette.

They say that the best cheeses are the smelliest and I think there is definitely something to it. We asked the gentleman behind the fromagerie counter to help us to select something and he sent us home with this...

This is the cheese that was inside of the large round container in the middle of the table.

It was creamy, luscious and it stunk to high heaven! It took us several days to finish it since it was on the larger side and every time we opened the fridge, it smelled like we had a dead body in there. Chris and I still laugh about it.

I Like Buttah.

I have exciting news. I am always a little hesitant to allow that particular statement to escape from my lips because when you're a 31 year old woman who has been happily married for over 3 years, the first thing that everyone assumes is that you're pregnant. I'm not pregnant. As a matter of fact, my exciting news wouldn't be possible if we had a baby!

My husband is taking me to VIENNA this month!!! He has a business trip and he bought me a plane ticket for my birthday!!! We're leaving two weeks from today!! We also have to go back to Germany for a few days and I am really looking forward to returning to the same hotel we stayed in this summer and eating the yummy (complimentary) breakfast!

For the next few weeks, I'm going to be researching and checking out possible links to cool places I need to explore. I found myself wondering aloud the other day if the butter in Austria is nearly as good as it is in France. If I could find a shop like Da Rosa, I'd be pretty happy!

Da Rosa is an amazing little foodie haven in the 6th arr that elegantly displays many drool worthy items.

(like lavender rice!)

We went there specifically looking for butter....

We bought two different kinds. Both were lightly salted but one was a little bit special...

You see those little black flecks? That is smoked salt. I cannot begin to write about how amazing it smelled melting in the pan while I was preparing dinner in our little apartment. I'd never do the memory justice. The best way to enjoy it was on a lovely baguette. There are so many little things that come to mind when I recall our trip and this is close to the top of the list. I am going to Vienna to enjoy some amazing art but I will also be on the lookout for butter.

If you are a foodie in Paris, I implore you to go to Da Rosa. If I had only one day, it would be on the top of my list. I'd buy a baguette, some salted caramels and some butter. Then I would happily munch away while strolling through the Louvre towards the Seine.

Da Rosa

62 Rue de Seine

75006 Paris, France

Tuesday Theme

I realized recently that I really didn't do well to blog about food from our trip to Europe this summer. I am currently enrolled in a French class that meets every Tuesday. This is our 4th week but I just came up with the idea to post a picture or two of food from Paris and write about it for the remainder of the class.

The first full day in Paris, we decided to hunt down a market to stock up on a few essential items. We tried our best, since we had access to a kitchen, to not eat out for every meal. We were staying in the 2nd arr and I'd read about a market in the 3rd arr called Le Marche des Enfants Rouges. This is apparently one of the oldest markets in the city and the name literally translates into "market of the red children". It was established in 1615 and evidently took the name from a nearby orphanage where the children wore red coats.

We picked up some eggs, butter, creme fraiche, some mushrooms, strawberries, wine and a few other items. We also scored some lunch at a Moroccan food stand.

Mmmmm.....dessert!

I have always wanted to go to Morocco and I've done a little bit of reading about the places and the people. They are said to be extraordinarily friendly and this was definitely the case here! We received a warm welcome and when they found out we lived close to New York City, the cashier who rung up our order was so excited because he was traveling there in September. He was just as happy as we were to be in Paris so I hope he had a wonderful time.

They had several vegetarian options here so I ordered the tangine with couscous that was served with hot mint tea.

The plates were hot so they had an older gentleman with very calloused hands and a kind smile who delivered them to the tables. The stew had many lovely elements such as cinnamon, raisins, preserved lemons and tender vegetables. Couscous is one of my absolute favorite carbs so I was really happy. Chris enjoyed his meal too. We'd definitely recommend it to anyone (especially vegetarians) who are looking for something special.

Le Marche des Enfants Rouges

39 rue de Bretagne

(3rd Arrondissement)

Paris, France

Falafel Alley

During our recent trip to Paris, I had a list of places to go and things to eat. I am sure that everyone does this when they go somewhere special (right?). I always scout out potential hot spots, especially for good vegetarian food. I'd heard from several different sources that there was excellent falafel to be had in the 4th arrondissement so Chris and I made it a point to go and check it out!

One thing I never got over after leaving Birmingham, Alabama was the loss of easy falafel access. Nobody tells you this but the streets are practically paved with it. You can get it at any time of day, seven days a week. After I moved to Georgia, I was high and dry and it's been that way ever since. I have one reasonable fallback here in Princeton and I've heard there is another place that has good stuff so I will investigate and report back.

For now, I will tell you about Falafel Alley in the Marias District of Paris. L'as du Falafel is somewhat of a landmark here. Right across the way from it is Mi Va Mi, another falafel place which is said to be the underdog. Chris and I couldn't resist trying both of them out and over the course of a few days, we did. We hit up L'as du Falafel for lunch. I was prepared for the line to be much longer than it was. They are obviously up on the crowd control because they have one guy bringing people in and taking orders while you wait to get up to the window so you already have a ticket by the time you get there. It all happened so fast that it's a blur to me now. The falafel slinger hands you a warm pita that is stuffed full of goodness. Despite the fact that he throws it together in no time at all, the distribution of falafel and veggies is perfect.

7 Euros gets you this gorgeous sammich and a drink.

So, in the name of scientific research, we returned to the 4th arrondissement the following day for lunch at Mi Va Mi.

Instead of getting it to go, we opted to dine in. Just so you know, it costs about 3 Euros more per person to eat and drink inside instead of getting it from the window. I really wanted to root for the underdog but it just didn't knock my socks off the way it probably would have if we hadn't eaten at L'as du Falafel the day before. Don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic lunch and I'd totally kill for some Mi Va Mi now but (in my humble opinion) it was a notch or two short in comparison. The service was friendlier. The ingredients were well balanced. Maybe it was the cold pita? The lack of Orangina? When it came time to decide where we would have our final falafel hurrah, we went back to L'as du Falafel. There are those who might disagree with me and I can respect that. Lenny Kravitz has my back though!

L'as du Falafel

34, Rue des Rosiers
75004 Paris, France

Mi Va Mi

23 Rue des Rosiers

75004 Paris, France