Our train from Strasbourg was on time and we got into Paris-Est right around 1230. From there it was a snap getting back to our apartment.
After two nights at various Christmas Markets and watching me enjoy myself whether it was doing the flanuer thing, spending the morning on Rue Montorgueil, or just deciding where I was getting my morning croissant from, the Missus was ready to get into "shopping mode".
And so we unpacked, put in a load of laundry, and headed on out.
Passing thru some very familiar places.
And places we had just recently gotten to know.
Past Place Venodome.
All dressed up for the season.
Down Rue Saint-Honore.
The Missus knew the way by heart.
As before, we were treated like royalty at our destination with a personal shopper, some light refreshment……
And as several times before, we left, the Missus happy, our credit card not so much….but such is life.
Chanel
31 Rue Cambon
75001 Paris, France
We then headed out, with no objective in sight, just enjoying the day and came across the Petit Palais.
Life many of the places we visited on this trip, we had passed by the Petit Palais many times and finally decided to visit. Free admission made things a lot more attractive as well. The Petit Palais is an art museum, housed in a beautiful building that was built for the 1900 Paris Exposition.
It houses many several well known works and also temporary exhibitions (of which there is admission).
We were here on a whim, so had no agenda in mind. We'd just be wandering and enjoying things.
There's a grand portrait of Sarah Bernhardt.
It is by Georges Clairin and is said to be a favorite of the Actress who kept it all her life. It was donated by her son after her death.
Being that we're in the Les Halles area a good amount of time during our stays, we enjoyed this work.
Which captures the busy, chaotic place that "the Belly of Paris" was during the 19th century.
We also noticed folks actually painting as well.
It seems like this is an art group or class enjoying Petit Palais.
We got some tea and coffee and settled in the Terrasse and just enjoyed the place.
Petit Palais
Av. Winston Churchill
75008 Paris, France
We then started to head on back to the apartment; doing our share of lèche-vitrine – window shopping (literally translated as "window licking" in French) along the way. Though not everyone wanted us "licking their windows" it seems!
The Missus wanted something for le goûter (tea time) and we decided to stop at Fou de Pâtisserie on Rue Montorgueil again.
She chose the La Tarte Citron.
It was a "tart" tarte indeed, not overly sweet and the Missus enjoyed it.
Fou de Pâtisserie
45 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France
When it as time for dinner, well, a few days previous, we passed what looked sort of like a modern Japanese restaurant. The tiny place was packed and I cracked up at the name "Onii-San" which means "older brother" in Japanese. So, we walked on in and made reservations for dinner.
We were welcomed and seated. Looking at the menu; it became apparent that this was a pseudo-Izakaya, featuring some interesting dishes. The staff; except for one person we saw in the kitchen was French, so this was going to be an interesting meal. I need to apologize for the photos as the lighting in the place was quite flakey.
We placed our order and soon enough, the dishes started arriving.
First off, the Tempuras de Legumes – Vegetable Tempura (14€/$15.25US).
The batter was a bit too thick and heavy for tempura, the dashi was actually pretty good, nice savory tones. The vegetables were too hard.
The Shiitakes (15€/$16.35US) was interesting.
There were only four halves of mushrooms in this…like 2 Shiitakes! The wakame cream was kinda weird in flavor, mildly savory-oceany, but also milky. There was a interesting bitterness to the dish. We later found out that there sansho pepper in this. The ikura were actually trout caviar and were quite good; salty, with a sweet finish.
The Aubergine (Eggplant – 15€/$16.35US) was another con-"fusion" dish.
The eggplant was on the undercooked side for our taste. We liked the blanched watercress as it had a pleasant bitterness that went well with the sweet-soy-wasabi flavors in the sauce. Not sure about the cheese though as it just didn't seem to belong here.
Things took a nice turn for the better with the Tuna Tartare (26€/$28.40US).
The tuna was chopped nicely; it almost melted in your mouth; the shiso really enhanced the dish as did the trout caviar The ponzu sauce added that savory-sour-tangy component and the wasabi cream added a nice richness. We weren't sure about the brioche, but this seemed more like Japanese milk bread and was quite good.
Speaking of Milk Bread, I saw Toro Sando (26€/$28.40US) on the menu and just had to order it. It was our favorite dish of te evening.
Initially, I took a look at the fish and it sure didn't look like toro; but it was surprisingly tender. The breading, while not the best, still had a bit of crunch. The bread was fairly fluffy, buttery, with a mild sweetness. The wasabi mayo was a perfect match and the ponzu shallot worked so well with seafood. This was a surprisingly good sando!
On an interesting note; while searching for addresses I found that Onii-San opened a Sando shop named Ototo last years as well! Makes perfect sense.
While this wasn't a perfect meal, it was an interesting fusion, sometimes "Con"- fusion. While we've been used to French cuisine with Japanese touches; this place went in the opposite direction, with interesting results. Such is the ever changing state of food in Paris!
Onii-San
82 Rue des Archives
75003 Paris, France
Our accommodation was just 2 long blocks away. We passed the "very blue" Mairie de Paris Centre, the "Mayor's Office" along the way.
We had a day trip set for the next day, so it was off to bed early for us.
Thanks for stopping by!
It was as we remembered; a bit too dense and bready for our taste. But it was fun just to be here again after all these years.
No, your eyes aren't fooling you. That's a fairly small portion. The egg was crisp at the edges just like I enjoy it, but a bit over cooked for my taste as the yolks was hard.
I really appreciate having a place like this fairly close by. It's definitely not "Ameri-Thai", though I do think the proportion of rice to dish is a bit skewed on the starch side and the prices fairly high for the portion size.
I saved the seaweed salad for the Missus, not a fan of the stuff. The rice was moist and cooked decently.
It did seem like my sandwich was sticking "its tongue out at me"……perhaps mocking me? To use a single word to describe this would be "light". From the slightly crusty, yeasty-airy bolillo to the filling. Other than a good amount of heat from the jalapenos this was quite light. In my mind, it could have used a bit more salt (when was the last time I wrote that?), tomatoes, and onions. Still, it was a decent breakfast and the price was right.
This came on a by-the-book, yeasty telera roll. The chorizo was nice and smoky, with a hint of spice. The jamon was a rather thin slice and was made irrelevant by the chorizo. The gooey cheese was the glue (no pun intended) that added a slight milky flavor to things. There was a bit of jalapeno for some zip, but I could have used more beans on this. I think I'll have the papas con chorizo version of this next time.
Big Jim's Roast Beef & Subs opened as a Food Truck/pop-up about March 2021 and has steadily built a following of its New England Style slow roasted style Top Round sandwiches, ultimately opening this storefront in September. They still Pop-Up at the Wednesday Ocean Beach Farmers Market and the Thursday Oceanside Sunset Market.
A simple menu. When you order, toppings are described and you can decline or ask for an ingredient 'on the side'.
Junior Beef Sandwich ($9). This sandwich is very large; the in house roasted top round, sliced thin and served medium rare, the beef chilled. This has wonderful flavor and texture. It is served on a butter grilled burger bun with a horseradish mayonnaise and American cheese. We asked for the BBQ sauce on the side. 
French Dip ($16). Apologies for the photo. The aroma of the roasted beef was amazing. Again, thin sliced beef, cooked more medium, served warmed with Provolone cheese. Great sandwich, easily shared.
The Italian bread roll, sesame-seeded, was fresh, flavorful and sourced locally from a bakery in Little Italy. The jus had bits of meat in it and was not salty. Quite perfect. 
The BBQ Sauce had a nice 'tang' and the grilled onions were sweet. Each was added as a condiment at the end bites of the sandwiches. 
Seating out front.
We arrived at about 7:30, parked, checked in and were shown to our assigned float.
Statice (three colors) all will have to be cut, dried and blended into powder.
Bark has to be peeled and brushed smooth so the glue can adhere.
Straw flowers need to be cut and divided into colors (see the darker gold?)
It took hours for two of us to cut the bucket filled with the dark statice.
Meanwhile, some people were decorating the City of Alhambra float (seen fully open and collapsing down on 
The Oddfellows were preparing their float for tourist groups and decorators (This is the 'off camera' side, which I didn't photograph during 
Local students, earning Community Service Hours, were working quietly and efficiently.
Gluing dry wheatgrass -to resemble dog fur- begins at the feet.
Plenty of people showed up, but still many more volunteers could be accommodated.
The materials used on the 'candies' included powdered rice, mung beans and dark lettuce seeds.
These completed 'lightbulbs' were spotted near the City of Newport Beach float (a group of seven satellites)
People were working on the 'keyboard' of the Coding for Veterans float. There will be two back to back large screens with a fun video on this symmetric float. (Many floats are not symmetric, hence the "Camera Side" and the "Off Camera" side). 
You can see more of the candies, which will be used on this satellite of the city of Newport Beach float.
The steam trays were not available.
A few Sandos were in the counter.
The Noodle Bar also was not filled.
There were plenty of desserts.
We picked up a few things, paid and went to the seating area.
We used the microwave for the Tempura Set ($6.99)
Took home two sections of the Katsu Pork Sando ($4.99)
We also heated the Yakisoba ($5.75) and ate about half.
