We did a
lot of research on places to eat and things to try before our trip to Paris.
But as with any good plan, we had to learn to wing it. After partly joining a
walking tour which began in the Latin Quarter, we ended up near Boulevard
Saint-Germain. While figuring out where we were in the map, we found Le
Procope, the oldest café in Paris (6th Arrondissement) which opened
in 1686. Of course, we had to give it a try (I read it from somewhere!). We
managed to get in without a reservation and got a table in the second floor.
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| Le Procope, Paris |
I
ordered the Risotto (from Michelin 3* Chef Frédéric Anton) while the rest of
the fam had the Plat du Jour. Grandma had cheese and trout with almonds while
the rest got duck terrine and roasted chicken.
My risotto
came with crispy artichokes and a fillet of Gilthead bream. I have to say I have
had better risotto. It was not exactly creamy as advertised and the bream could
be more tender.
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| Risotto and bream from Le Procope, Paris |
The rest of the dishes were not bad but not to die for, either.
The duck terrine was good (albeit not as pretty as the ones we saw in the
gourmet food hall of Galeries Lafayette).
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| Duck Terrine, Le Procope, Paris |
The chicken was not leaps and bounds
better than the ones we have had from the neighborhood deli.
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| Top: Trout; Bottom: Roasted Chicken, Le Procope, Paris |
Service was
ok and took as long as what we had expected. Still, overall, it was a thrill to
find ourselves dining where Rosseau, Voltaire, Napoleon Bonaparte and Victor
Hugo (even Benjamin Franklin--among others) dined.
Another
over-a-century-old, historic restaurant we tried was the Le Bouillon Chartier
when we were over at the 9th Arrondissement.
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| Le Bouillon Chartier, Paris |
It was founded in 1896,
in a former train station concourse. The long Belle Époque dining room is classified as a Monument Historique (designation given to some national
heritage sites in France). The servers are dressed in the traditional rondin, a tight-fitting black waistcoat
with multiple pockets and a long white apron.
We were
lucky to get in quickly for lunch. The restaurant is obviously quite popular as
there were cordons for lines from the courtyard to the sidewalk outside. Tables
are shared between strangers. We shared ours with a gentleman who seemed like a
regular.
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| Le Bouillon Chartier, Paris |
Hubby and
DD#1 had steak with pepper sauce while DD#2 and I had Veal stew. Grandma had
frankfurters. We noticed that we never got asked how we wanted our steak done in all the restaurants we have been to. They were all done perfectly. The service was good and quite fast. We had our meals in no time
at all! It did not look very appetizing but it was good. Everyone enjoyed their
meals.
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| Pepper steak and Veal Stew, Le Bouillon Chartier, Paris |
The bill was
written directly on the disposable paper tablecloth and the price was quite reasonable.
It was a nice meal which fueled us for the shopping that awaited in the Grand
Magasin (Galeries Lafayette and Printemps).
Another
4-star rated place we checked out was the Café A la Fontaine over at the 16th
Arr. The staff spoke English quite well and was nice enough to allow us to
share our mains. Having had a snack just recently, we weren’t too hungry but we
wanted to get some dinner. DD#2 and Hubby shared a Steak Tartare while DD#1 and
Grandma shared a Tagliatelle with squid ink and bream.
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| Having Italian in Paris |
I took another stab at
Risotto (I know, I know, not French, but I did not fancy anything else on the
menu) but this time with prawns. I should’ve learned but again, the risotto wasn’t
amazing. Actually, it was more like paella. Flavours were good, though.
Overall, good food, cozy ambience, and good service. We also shared a Mixte
platter of charcuterie and cheese which we all enjoyed.
