back from my honeymoon...

[brian d]

hi, people. i'm back from my honeymoon, the first 6 days of which were spent in paris. i'll be back soon with some details, but a quick "bottom-line" impression first. both my wife and i agreed that, in paris--and elsewhere in europe, for that matter--even basic food seemed fresher and of a better quality than, for example, the states (where i'm from). vegetables were fresh, coffee tasty, and breads put us off the idea of tasting any for a while here in japan (where she's from, and where we live). large portions didn't sacrifice subtle taste (unlike, ahem, certain leaders of the free world). we literally didn't hit a "clinker" for the duration of our trip (12 days).

as for specific paris restaurants, i'll only say that taillevent, alas, disappointed in some regards, whereas le bristol most assuredly did not. bofinger's, too, was a very pleasant surprise--as was a wild-card on our last night in montmartre, au pied du sacre coeur. anyway, more on this when i have my notes at my disposal. they're not copious, but they should provide some detail for anyone interested. (no photos, though: my wife felt a bit too self-conscious, so i gave up on the idea.) i'll be back with more in a day or so. just wanted to give a shout of "merci beaucoup" to all who offered suggestions, advice, encouragement, etc.

[Theresa]

I'd like to hear more about other parts of France - did you travel to other parts of the country during the rest of your honeymoon? This board verges on the repetative with its almost exclusive focus on Paris ... so if you ate anywhere other than there, it would be good to know where and what ...

[brian d]

thanks for the replies. we stayed in paris proper, so no news beyond the arrondisements. other places we sampled included bofinger; laduree; and au pied du sacre cour, a small bistro on rue lamarck, a 2-minute walk from our (alas, temporary) apartment on rue duhesme. of these, bofinger was the most satisfying. i can check my journal for more details. the short answer, though, was that bofinger delivered the goods (for me, at least). we ate there for lunch on easter sunday, and the energy of the place (the oft-mentioned "buzz"), in particular, made for a fun outing. lots of fun people-watching that reminded me of an upscale deli restaurant in new york, generous portions, and rather tasty food. (i had a main of pork choucroute, while my wife had the seafood choucroute. the chef does seem to have a reputation for seafood, from what i gather.) the service was good, not merely "correct," and we were able to relax. the only drawback was that we were not seated in the room directly under the famed dome, but in the adjoining room. (i had requested a seat downstairs, to be fair, and was actually told initially that they were full.) the fact is, the experience was so enjoyable, overall, that i really didn't miss the dome (and could catch a discreet eyeful of it on trips to and from the restroom).

oh yes, i also tried some great macarons at the patissier/chocolatier on rue caulincourt, i forget the name (will consult notes: arnaud lahur or something like that?). actually, they were at least as impressive, for me, as laduree's much-touted offerings. (perhaps eating them in a lovely living room in montmartre rather than in the somewhat tacky downstairs room at laduree in st. germain des pres had something to do with this?)

more on this next time when i bring my notes to work. incidentally, i should say that we could have done this cheaper, perhaps much cheaper, but opted to go a la carte in every case. thus, the bill at bofinger (inside of 100 euros for 2, but just barely) could have been knocked down 20-30 euros easily, for example--and, at the starred restaurants, certainly a tasting course could have been even more of a boon, financially. (or, as souphie and others often suggest, one can do lunch: wish i'd done that at taillevent, to be honest.)

more on this soon.

p.s. hit marche bastille before and after bofinger: it was fun, but i wish that we'd had more time (and money) to buy some food beyond some fresh fruits and vegetables. the rotisserie chicken, for example, looked awfully good...

[souphie]

lunch menu at Taillevent is a good idea because the place is not really about food so you have the whole Taillevent experience with the lunch menu anyway. It would not have been such a good idea at le Bristol because it is quite subpar there.

[Brunella]

Great notes. Regarding Laduree.......I've never been to the one in St-Germain des Pres but I have been both to Rue Royale and Champs Elysees and they are not what I'd call tacky. Maybe the St Germain des Pres location is not that good.

[f2dat06]

The product at both Rue Royale and St Germain is equal but I agree that the salon at St Germain is quite tacky, I recall it had jungle or polynesian looking wall paper or something like that, odd in comparison to the Rue Royale location which is elegant.

[brian d]

yeah, i realized afterward that i had probably gotten information regarding the champs elysees location, as far as a really attractive tearoom (upstairs?). kicked myself a bit afterwards, but the st. germain location was the one that best fit into our plans on that particular day (a break for tea after visiting notre dame, with my wife's energy flagging: i had also thought of hitting berthillon for ice cream as an alternative, as it seemed to be fairly close--but it required more walking than laduree, which also allowed for the possibility of a snap decision to forgo tea for coffee at deux maggots or le flore)...

f2dat, you're exactly right: cheesy Polynesian decor with some interesting Chinese characters that made us both laugh for their nonsensical content. souphie, thanks--as always--for your comments. we DO expect to get back to paris...eventually.