You gotta be resourceful in a kitchen this size.

Even while in France, I couldn’t help myself but to make a few meals for some friends. In fact, we were asked to bring food to a couple parties. I couldn’t resist the urge to make a bunch of awesome quesadilla’s to blow some French people’s minds. Tex-Mex food isn’t quite common over there. Needless to say, they were well received. But I was in France, so I definitely did sample the local food (great steak, awesome wine, terrific cheeses).

So, enjoy the food related photos and I’ll see you here again with some recipes next time!

Of course, I had to go to l’as du falafel again.

can I haz falafel

I did have a food revelation thanks to my brother: fromage blanc is amazing. I can’t seem to find it here in Raleigh though, which is unfortunate. It’s such a simple pleasure, it’s not even fancy. Just a mild cheesy, yogurty, curdy goodness. Imagine a cross between Greek yogurt and ricotta. I would just spread it on some fresh baguette and call it breakfast or a mid day snack. I did some research back in the US for the English name for it and they all sound like names of characters in Lord of the Rings or something: Topfen, Quark, Tvorog, or Kaas. Try to tell me that I am wrong.

Dinner in Nantes (top), Le Labo bar in Nantes (bottom left), Breakfast (bottom right).

The meals in France were always stellar. Above you can see a seared goat cheese salad with prosciutto and melon eaten at Millesime 68 in Nantes. Next to it is beef and potatoes gratin. I forget what it was actually called, but the sauce was very rich meaty.

After dinner, I stopped by a bar called Le Labo. Their thing is to play up the whole “laboratory” atomosphere. Their drinks are served in lab flasks or beakers and the drinks list is organized into things like “Cryogenics” and “Erlenmeyers.” If that’s not your thing, they also double as a pretty impressive rum bar with a long and varied list of rums to choose from. (Photo of Menu here, and here.)

Bread is still amazing in France. That last photo was basically my breakfast every morning there. I devoured a baguette and some kind of croissant, pain au chocolat, or pastry. I wish I could still have baguette and fromage blanc here in Raleigh…

Petanque with a group of friends at the canal (top), Poached egg with asparagus (bottom left), English beer in France (bottom center), The Black Lips, an Atlanta, GA band playing in Paris (bottom right).

Other interesting revelations:
-Playing petanque with a group of friends by the canal is a great way to spend an afternoon. Though finding out which brother is winning can be tough.
-Speaking of good meals, the poached egg with asparagus was the appetizer and beginning of a great meal at Café Panique. Unfortunately, I don’t have any other photos, so I’ll just move on.
-Potato chips come in different flavors than over here too. Many were very meat-centric like Rotisserie Chicken or Chorizo.
-I didn’t go out to eat as much this time, so no serious restaurant reviews like last year. I mostly made simple dinners with my brother or bummed around the city. It was good just to relax and not take much seriously for a while.
-I managed to find decent English beer, but it just wasn’t the same in France. It’ll hold me over until I go back to England though.
-Speaking of traveling to one country to see something from another: I saw the Black Lips in Paris. I lived in Atlanta for five years and never saw them in their home town, but I travel to Paris and see them there… go figure. Great show though.

Döner kebab with fries

Much like the falafel, this is a messy sandwich with ingredients and toppings piled on top. The classic way to serve this is wrapped in a cone of wax paper (or tossed into a bag), with fries stuffed on top of it. You can already likely see the appeal of such a meal after a night out.

As with any street food, hundreds of variants exist, but the most basic version consists of sliced of lamb wrapped in a flat bread or stuffed into the pocket of pita bread. It is very similar to a gyro or a shawarma. A choice of a harissa sauce (spicy) or a sauce blanche (a tangy yogurt sauce) is generally offered. Other ingredients, like onions, peppers, and lettuce, are sometimes added.

It may be the greatest late-night food I have ever eaten. I have no idea why it hasn’t caught on in the US yet. All of Europe, the Mid-East, and North Africa already seem to be on board with this delicious sandwich. Actually, I hope it doesn’t get too popular, because then I couldn’t use it as excuse to travel…

As you approach the store, you will see other restaurants all making the absurd claim that they have better falafels. Resist the temptation to get one form anywhere other than L’As du Falafel. Stick to your goal. At the intersection of Rue des Ecouffes and Rue des Rosiers you will notice one particular restaurant that has an abnormally long line. That’s where you want to be. Queue up and don’t be daunted by the wait, it tends to move fairly quickly. But if you are in a hurry, take advantage of their to-go window and eat your falafel on the street. I can assure you that you won’t be the only one doing it.

The falafel in question.

Just be aware that this place is no secret. The falafel has fans coming from all over Paris–heck, people come from all around the world. The sandwich itself is stuffed with about 6 golf-ball sized falafel balls (essentially fried chickpea dough balls), plenty of creamy hummus, cucumbers and fried eggplant. Be sure to ask for the spicy harissa sauce added in, it definitely pushed an already fabulous sandwich over the edge. It’s a delicious mess that’s actually best tackled with a fork. Just don’t be shy about it.

While you are there, know that is one more thing this restaurant is known for, and that is its lemonade. In the US, lemonade–the kind made with lemons and sugar–is everywhere. But in Europe if you ask for a lemonade, you are served a Sprite. The whole “when life gives you lemons” thing never really caught on, so real lemonade is virtually impossible to find. Take advantage of it while you can.

Bubar

There is no better way to spend a casual evening in Paris than sipping wines in one of the many wine bars scattered through the city. Bubar is a cozy, hidden wine bar located near the Bastille, and it’s one of my favorites. Packed with old friends and locals in-the-know, the simple bar has a casual, inviting allure about it. There are tall stools and standing room around the bar and old wooden tables (and a vintage school desk) fill out the rest of the space. The bearded owner is very nice and helpful in choosing wines and provides a selection of cheeses, olives, and fruits to accompany the wines. With a good choices by-the-glass and an even greater selection by-the-bottle, the owner can steer you toward something in your taste. Oddly enough for a French wine bar, the wine list shows no allegiance to French wines. The owner prides himself of finding uncommonly good wines for a reasonable price. We had a few wines from Argentina, Spain, and -of course- France.

The name of the bar is actually a clever pun on the owners beard. A popular style of French slang is to inverse the syllables of a word to create a new, different word that means the same thing. This is called verlan (the name is itself an inversion of the French word for “inverse”, “l’envers”). The French word for bearded is barbu, and the slang would be bubar. To up the cleverness quotient, the phrase “bu bar” literally means “drink bar”.

So after a nice dinner, show up with some friends, chat with the barbu owner, and have a nice glass of wine. And yes, you are allowed to feel clever knowing the origin of the bar’s name.

Just don’t confuse it with Babar…

First thing first, order a bottle of cider. Cider is the traditional drink to have with galettes and crêpes. It’s a bit different from US cider as the carbonation is a result of natural fermentation as opposed to forced carbonation during bottling. This yeilds a smoother drink. Oh, and you normally drink of out bolées.

Galette

I know that nearly everyone knows what a crêpe is, but what about the galette? The galette is the savory, salty version of the dessert crêpe. This thin pancake has it’s origins rooted in the traditions of a simple, cheap, poor man’s dinner. It is made with buckwheat flour, as the refined, white flour used is crêpes was not commonly available, and fewer eggs (or none). (The white flour and eggs were used by the likes of Marie “Let Them Eat Cake” Antoinette.)

The nutty flavors of the galette also help it stand up better to the various savory ingredients used. A galette “complète”, as I ordered mine, basically means it has egg, meat, and cheese wrapped in it for the meal. The final difference between the galette and the crêpe is simply the presentation. Galettes are normally folded into squares or rectangles, crepes are folded into triangles. The thicker filling of the galette doesn’t fold nicely into a triangle.

Flambéed Nutella Crêpe

The crêpes are what keep people interested. This one was a Grand Marnier flambéed Nutella crêpe. It’s kind of hard to see the fire in the picture, but the pale blue glow over it is the flame. Other varieties include the no-fuss butter-sugar crêpe (a fantastic classic) and the lemon crêpe (absolutely worth a try). But me, I’m all about the Nutella or the chocolate crêpes.

Granted, you can pick up a street crêpe at any street corner, but to get the real deal, stop by La Crêperie Bretonne.

And you know what, it’s surprisingly good.

I found the restaurant Les Fines Gueules by way of a David Lebovitz post. He asked some Parisian locals to pick their favorite places to eat around town. There are a lot of good recommendations in that article, so if you are thinking of going to Paris, be sure to check it out.

Steak Tartare at Les Fines Gueules

This was the recommended restaurant for steak tartare. This would be my first time ordering steak tartare, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect, perhaps a pile of beef in a puddle of blood. Quite to the contrary, the meat was tender and flavorful. There wasn’t even a drop of blood! Admittedly, This preparation of steak tartar was not quite standard (normally just raw egg and raw beef), but it was not terribly gussied up either. Hand-chopped, high-quality, beef was tossed with truffle oil and sun-dried tomatoes then topped with shaved Parmesan (OK, maybe it was a little dressed up). The truffle oil, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan provide a bit of background complexity to the meat, but don’t compete with the naturally beefy flavors. Served with a salad of mixed greens and some potatoes, it made for a nice, and surprisingly light, lunch.

Lunch at Les Fines Gueules

Even if you don’t want to try the steak tartare, the menu at Les Fines Gueules offers enough of a selection to satisfy anyone. The food is well prepared, fresh, and reasonably priced.

My meal was tidily completed with an espresso served with Valrhona chocolate. I could do this everyday.

Espresso and chocolate. So simple a combination.

Pont des Arts, by Phil Hilfiker.

One way to cross this (delicious) task off your to-do list is to stop by Nicolas for a bottle of wine, and a cheese shop for a couple cheeses. Your bounty now in hand, head to Pont des Arts over La Seine for a picnic with all the other Parisians. You’ll feel right at home tearing chunks off your baguette and watching the sun set over the city.

Foie Gras at Astier

I was quickly able to cross another food from my list: My meal began with the quintessential French delicacy of foie gras d’oie.

The foie gras was served chilled with a chutney and sprinkled with Fleur de Sel. I had a glass of Sauternes to sip as I ate my foie gras on freshly toasted baguette. It’s quite a delicious and a decadant way to start any meal. I made a note to myself to pick up a few tins of foie gras before leaving France. This is one of the few foods that I am actually allowed to take back on the plane. Ever try passing customs with a chuck of cheese? Not a good idea.

As a main course I had the seared duck breast and my friend had some baked fish.

Duck and Fish at Astier

Largest. Cheese Plate. Ever.

If there is one thing that I can’t get enough of, it’s good cheese. Well, maybe after being served from this giant platter, I was at least temporarily sated.