Paris On My Mind

It’s a rainy day in the northeast today, so instead of sprinting though my day and attacking my “to do” list with determination, I decided to pour myself a second cup of coffee and stay put.

As I sat on my sofa, still wearing my pajamas, I started to think about my recent trip to Paris.  The weather, as I described to my husband over the phone, was perfect.  It was just like September in Connecticut; beautiful and sunny 70 degree days followed by chilly nights that begged for a cashmere wrap.  Well, fortunately I had Paris in August because this September isn’t quite living up to its fabulous reputation.

As many of you know (and for those who don’t, like myself), many of the great restaurants of Paris close the entire month of August for vacation.  I discovered this fact as soon as I started looking into making dinner reservations the week before I left. Since searching out and dining at good restaurants is one of the greatest joys of traveling for me, I refused to be deterred.  I spent hours researching well rated, value driven restaurants that would be open the week I was there.  I ended up finding some absolute jewels that I would go back to even if every restaurant in Paris were open!  If you are thinking about or planning a trip to Paris, here is my list of favorites:

Chez Casimir

It was not love at first sight upon entering Chez Casimir.  I had three teenage girls in tow so I was a little nervous when I found the restaurant to be less than half full and in a very quiet neighborhood. The room is bright and bare.  A hand scrawled black board menu hangs on a wall and there is a small bar in the corner.  The restaurant offers a prixe fix menu for 29 euros, that includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert.  This is an amazing deal, that became even more apparent as the food started to arrive.  I started off with the house made pâté, which was excellent.  My main course consisted of a perfectly cooked tuna steak served over a bed of roasted fennel. The cheese plate came next, which was a lot of fun because the same cheese plate gets passed from table to table.  As you can see in the photo, it boasts an abundant selection of cheeses.  For dessert, I went with the stewed apricots with lavender infused ice cream, which was delicious!  This is my favorite kind of food; simply prepared dishes using fresh, seasonal and high quality ingredients. Service was friendly and half way through our dinner; the restaurant had filled up so there was a delightful din around us.  Conversations flowed freely from table to table so by the time we left the restaurant, we had made quite a few new friends!  The good, straightforward food combined with the fun atmosphere more than made up for the simple, almost drab interior. I will definitely go back to this quintessential neighborhood restaurant.  I’ve heard the Sunday brunch is fantastic!

6, rue de Belzunce

10^th arrondissement

01 48 78 28 80

Café Constant

Renowned French chef, Christian Constant, owns this tiny restaurant in the 7^th arrondissement, just blocks from the Eiffel Tower.  He also owns the more expensive and very highly rated restaurant, Le Violon D’Ingres just down the street. There is a no reservation policy at this restaurant so Molli and I were very lucky to snag the last available table on the second floor when we arrived.   Our waitress was excellent. She was young, very pleasant and spoke perfect English.  As casual as this restaurant is, there is an air of sophistication here.  The polite wait staff know their stuff and the food coming out of the kitchen is thoughtfully prepared.  The menu is priced by the course with the appetizers at 11 euro, entrees, 15 euro and the desserts at $7 euro.  This is another incredible value especially when taking into account the great chef commandeering the kitchen.  If I knew I was going to be writing a blog at the time, I would have taken photos and paid more attention to the details of the food but you’re going to have to trust me on this one.  I had all three courses and each one was perfect.  Molli and I split the chocolate quenelles with crème anglaise for our dessert and couldn’t have been happier.  This is a popular spot with a limited amount of tables so if you don’t arrive early, then expect a wait.  The wait however doesn’t look so bad.  When we left, the crowd outside the door seemed to be quite content standing on one of the prettiest streets in Paris and enjoying a glass of wine.

139 Rue Saint-Dominique

7^th Arrondissement

01 47 53 73 34

L’avant Comptoir/Le Comptoir du Relais

My new friend, Wendy Lyn introduced me to this wine bar and restaurant on the food tour she took me on in August.  They are both owned by chef Yves Camdeborde and are both situated in the Hotel du Relais Saint-Germain.  Not until writing this post did I realize that Yves once worked side by side with Christian Constant. L’avant Comptoir is a very casual (hole in the wall comes to mind) wine bar that serves small plates of food also known as tapas.  There are no tables or bar stools here because there is no room for any; you either belly up to the bar or claim your spot on the sidewalk outside.  The wines on the menu are from small-scale producers throughout France.  Wendy and I each had a glass of Marcel Lapierre’s 2010 Morgon, which was delicious.  It was young, fruity and probably one of the best Beaujolais I’ve ever had.  Even though we had been eating our way through Saint-Germain the entire afternoon, Wendy ordered a tapas that consisted of a crispy waffle topped with artichoke puree, thinly sliced Iberico ham and a drizzle of the greenest olive oil.  The flavors were intense and I loved the contrasting textures.

Two nights later, even though Wendy warned me that reservations for Le Comptoir du Relais were made 3-4 months in advance, I took my chances and made my way back to the left bank.  The hip bistro was packed but I walked right up to the maître d’ and asked for a table for one.  Surprisingly, he said, “Right this way Madame” and led me to a cute little table overlooking the busy sidewalk. I loved the energy of this restaurant and the food did not disappoint.  I started with a light summer dish of Octopus Carpaccio with a shaved fennel salad and continued with a tuna steak paired with  raw, shaved vegetables.  A glass of rose was the perfect companion for both courses.  The service was attentive and I left reveling in my good fortune.


I left for Connecticut the next day thinking that August in Paris wasn't so bad after all!!

9 Carrefour de l’Odeon

5^th Arrondissement

01 44 27 07 97