France – Page 2

Strasbourg – Scenes from the Christmas Markets

December 24, 2023 mmm-yoso Alsace, Festivals & Events, France, Travel

**** Not much food in this post. Quite a few photos from the always colorful Christmas Markets in Strasbourg though.

I did an earlier post on our visit to Strasbourg and walking around Petit France. We actually spent a good deal of time enjoying the Christmas Markets during our two evening and one day stay. I thought I'd just do a single post as more of a photolog.

We had really enjoyed our visit to Strasbourg way back in the winter of 2017. We especially loved the Christmas Markets, lively, with everyone in a joyful frame of mind, we found it to be a relaxing change of pace from Paris. And at night, the place looked so beautiful and enchanting. We found it no less so on this trip.

From the wonderfully decorated streets to what seems an endless supply of Christmas ornaments, the 13 Christmas Markets in Grande Île just bring out the kid in me.

And at night, the Grande Île comes alive.

Our first evening was spent enjoying the markets, especially the window displays. And of course we had to get the Missus Her Choucroute.

Sadly, all the photos of the food….I believe it was the lighting around the eating area, caused my photos to turn out looking like this!

As I detailed earlier, we spent the next morning checking out Petit France. Of course we passed thru several Christmas Markets along the way. Each market seemed to have a theme and several had folks "in character" to make things even more fun.

We stopped by a booth at Place du Temple Neuf and got some Truffle Risotto.

Then headed two blocks away to bustling Place Broglie.

And went back to the same stand as the night before.

Where the Missus got Spaetzles à la Choucroute et Aux Lardons, which She thoroughly enjoyed.

I got a Tarte Flambée from a nearby stand.

And as always, we enjoyed people watching.

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We then headed back to hotel to rest up.

When evening arose, we headed back out.

Again enjoying the colors and booths.

We made our way via a now familiar route.

To colorful Place Kléber which is considered by many to be Strasbourg's central square. The Christmas tree in the square always garners your attention.

At this point, we had to decide on what to get for dinner. After two meals of choucroute, the Missus decided that some Asian food might be really good on this chilly evening, which is when we headed to Lamian.

Like on our previous visits; I've always loved the Christmas Markets in Strasbourg. Though there's much more to see. You can click on these links if you'd like to see and read about Strasbourg Cathedral and Petit France.

I'm sure we'll return if we are in France from the last week of November onward.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays!

Paris – Aux Crus de Bourgogne Revisited

December 23, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

After our surprisingly enjoyable meal at Aux Crus de Bourgogne, a place that we had walked past countless times thinking it was a tourist restaurant, I made reservations to return for dinner. This took us past our favorite street in Paris, Rue Montorgueil, which I've written about countless times already.

During this visit, the street had been declared "Rue des Bulles" ("Bubble Street") for the season. Every year, Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne House declares a Rue des Bulles and the street is decorated in balloons that resemble champagne bubbles.

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It makes an already lively street seem even more festive.

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No matter how many times you've walked down a street, there always seems to be something you never noticed before.

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We walked up to Rue Bachaumont and presented at the restaurant. One thing we quickly noticed was that the menu had changed since our last visit and several of the items we enjoyed last time were not available.

The place filled quite quickly……folks seemed to be really getting pretty large meals.

Of course, things started with the baguette with rillette, which the Missus enjoys.

We enjoyed the Vol-au-Vent with mushrooms the last time so we ordered the Bouchee a la Reine, which is basically vol-au-vent with poultry.

We had previously enjoyed the mushroom dishes here, but for some reason this dish was really weak in mushroom flavor and the chicken was super dry. The vol-au-vent was still good though; crisp and buttery.

The Missus enjoyed the Escargot as She did before.

And we got even more baguette for sopping up all that garlicky goodness.

Because we had eaten so much for lunch, we ordered one main to share. We ordered the Sweetbreads and Mushrooms. The mains come with one side and we got the green beans. We weren't prepared for the monstrosity that arrived.

The sauce for the mushrooms were wonderfully flavored, but very gloppy and pasty in texture. The veal sweetbread was massive, dry, tough, and very metallic.

The green beans were undercooked, hard, and in need to more salt.

The service was very prompt and professional.

Well, this was not quite what we expected based on our previous meal. It seems that the menu changes from day to day. Based on this meal, the Missus and I decided that we'd need to see the menu before committing to a meal here. So in the future, since we're usually close by, we'll check out what's being served first.

Aux Crus de Bourgogne
3 Rue Bachaumont
75002 Paris, France

Still, we enjoyed the walk and the always lively Rue Montorgueil.

Paris – L’Éclair de Génie and Fondue 9

December 22, 2023 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Desserts, France, Paris, France, Travel

Man, the first ten days of our two week stay in Paris just seemed to fly by. At least for me. On this bright, but chilly Saturday morning, we decided just to do the flâneur thing as we headed down Rue Vieille du Temple. We found a couple of shops that caught our attention.

And had fun browsing…….

Man, I want to find an English edition of this book…..

Right across the street was a lovely park and garden.

This is the Jardin de l'Hôtel Salé.

Further down the street is a large community center; the Halle des Blancs Manteaux. Since it was Christmas season, there was a large craft fair going on.

We had a fun time exploring.

We made our way down to Rue Rivoli and saw this Eclair shop on Rue Pavée.

The Missus had been wanting to try some elcairs so we headed on in.

There was quite a collection of beautiful looking eclairs.

After some hemming and hawing, the Missus made Her selection.

And we headed on back to the apartment.

L’Éclair de Génie
14 Rue Pavée
75004 Paris, France

After storing our purchases, we gave some thought to lunch. For some reason, we felt pretty cold on this day. I mentioned a hot pot place we'd seen on Rue Saint-Denis a few days before. Hot pot sounded like just what we needed, so we headed off to Fondue 9.

The restaurant seemed a bit tiny, until we realized that there was dining upstairs as well. Can you imagine carrying hot pot up and down stairs….one false move! We also noticed that the customers during our visit were all Chinese, a bit of change since we'd seen pretty much a 50-50 mix during our visits to various Asian restaurants in the city.

After checking out the menu; we decided on the "lunch special".

After which we headed straight on over to the condiment bar to get our "stuffs".

Not much in terms of spicy sauces and no fermented bean curd. And we started to worry that the hot pot was going to be a bust.

But as our Yin Yang hot pot made it's way to the table we knew this was going to be ok. You could smell the herbs and spice.

Lots of white pepper.

All the usual suspects arrived.

Even frozen tofu! The noodles were quite stretchy.

The tripe was a bit too tough; though the seiche; the cuttlefish was surprisingly tender.

What was most surprising of all was the fish, which had been nicely velveted and rubbed with chili oil.

It was wonderfully buttery and tender after a brief swim in the broth.

The meat were of good quality; especially the lamb, which was so gamey and tender.

This was quite a satisfying meal for us. We had found a solution to the cold; at least for a while.

Fondue 9
168 Rue Saint-Denis
75002 Paris, France

We headed on back to the apartment and took a short nap.

When we woke; it was "tea time" for the Missus. Time to break out the eclairs.

These were a bit too sweet for me.

The Missus, it turns out, is not a fan of crème pâtissière, the custard fillings used for eclairs.

But of course, we had to eventually try elcairs….because, when in France, right?

A Day Trip to Chantilly and Dinner at TenZen (Paris – Since Closed)

December 17, 2023 mmm-yoso France, Japanese Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Paris, France, Travel

I knew that when spending two weeks in Paris, I'd need to break things up and plan some side trips, we'd already spent two evenings in Strasbourg exploring the Christmas Markets and for an encore, I thought that since we'd already done Versailles and Chartres, a nice day trip to Château de Chantilly might be fun. I'm not sure I mentioned, but Annabel Simms wonderful book, An Hour From Paris is a wonderful resource. We caught the TER, Regional Express Trains from Gare du Nord, and arrived at Chantilly Gouvieux in 25 minutes!

The Château is a couple of kilometers form the train station. Instead of following the standard signs along the road, we took the path described in the book to get to the Château, and then walked thru the village on the way back.

We loved the forested path.

It was lush and green, birds were singing, even though it was winter. The trail is clearly marked and cleared.

We even had our own "escort" for part of the walk.

You'll past the racetrack before arriving back at the main street and the Musée du Cheval.

These days, unless we're on a tour, we try not to pack too many things into our explorations. We were just going to visit the Château. On Rue du Connétable, you take the road as it curves right, becoming Route Pavée and you'll soon come to this wonderful sight.

That's Château de Chantilly. You saunter thru the gates.

Up to the ticket booth. I'd bought my tickets in advance and then the Château is yours…..to visit of course….

It's quite impressive. There are actually two château here, the Petit Château, and the Grand Château, which is where the entrance is.

We loved the statues of the dogs that "guard" the entrance to the château. The one above are named Lumineau and Seduisant and were actual pooches belonging to Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, who commissioned Augustus Cain to create these.

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The Grand Château was actually destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870's. The original structure was built in the 1500's by the Montmorency family, but eventually taken over by the Orléans family. Henri d’Orléans had the château rebuilt and that is mainly what we see today.

The Chapel of the Condé Hearts, Suites, Dining Hall and the huge Reading Room are something to see.

But beyond all of that there was one area we really wanted to see.

The Musée Condé.

Consisting of over 2500 drawings it is the second largest art collection in France next to the Louvre. You'll notice some interesting arrangement of paintings. This is because the Duke d'Aumale, who bequeathed this to France, had some conditions, one being that the collection be shown in it's original location; the works cannot be moved, nor can any of the works be loaned out. So, if you want to see these works by Raphael you'll have to come here.

For some reason, we enjoyed our visit here much more than Versailles.

Perhaps it was the lack of crowds or the atmosphere……we kind of enjoyed the peacefulness.

Yes, it's not a palace, but it is quite stunning in its own way.

After our visit, we headed back to the train station via the village of Chantilly. It was getting close to our designated train time, so we quickly grabbed a sandwich and caught our train back to Paris.

After the full morning, we rested up, before heading to dinner. I had read about a small tempura restaurant located under the quite popular Zen Restaurant in the 1st Arrondissment. This little 12 seat underground restaurant was named TenZen and featured a multi-course meal featuring…well tempura of course. Staying in Paris for the length of time of our visit, meant we could really "eat like we would at home", which meant…well, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Sadly, TenZen closed mid-2023, but I thought you might enjoy the photos.

Zen restaurant is a bustling shop in the area of Paris we call "Little Tokyo". You enter the restaurant, show the hostess the reservation and were guided downstairs.

This was the realm of chef Jiro Kondo. He does all the cooking.

For the three hours, we really felt like we were back in Japan.

From the excellent Otsumami.

To the decent quality sashimi.

This was all fine. But then, came the reason we visited.

My goodness, the tempura was just perfect, the batter light and airy, yet really enhancing each item.

My goodness, the Madagascar Shrimp was so amazingly sweet-oceany, such great flavors and textures.

The shrimp from Normandy was no slouch either.

Several of the items included Black Volcanic Salt from Iceland which really added a slight smoky component to things.

And the tempura finished off with a perfectly cooked scallop.

And things were finished off with a Kakiage Don and some miso soup.

Oh, and of course dessert.

After our meal, we were escorted out by the staff, just like Japan!

We were really sad to hear that TenZen closed as it was a place we wanted to return to on our last trip back to Paris.

TenZen – (since closed)
8 Rue de l'Échelle
75001 Paris, France

I hope you don't mind me doing this post as I want to remember and recall this wonderful meal.

Thanks so stopping by!

Paris – Petit Palais and Dinner at Onii-San

December 16, 2023 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, France, Japanese Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

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!

Strasbourg – Exploring, Lamian Restaurant, and L’Atelier 116

November 29, 2023 mmm-yoso Alsace, Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Croissants, Desserts, Festivals & Events, France, Niu Rou Mian, Travel

One of the great things about being in Europe during the last of November until the end of the year are the Christmas Markets. We had really enjoyed the Christmas Markets in Strasbourg when we visited several years earlier. And the Missus just couldn't keep still for the two weeks we were in Paris, so I decided to book two nights in Strasbourg. It's less than a two hour train ride from Gare de l'Est. Because this was a rather last minute decision, I wasn't able to book anything on Grande Île. Instead, we stayed at the Hotel Tandem, which was quite comfortable right next to the train station.

It's quite convenient and just a short walk (or you take the tram) to the Grande Île. That first evening, we just wandered the Christmas Markets, which brought back wonderful memories and ate at the market. I'll do an out-of-sequence post on that when we get closer to Christmas.

The next morning, we had a light breakfast and coffee at the hotel and decided to do a bit of exploring. During our previous visit, we hadn't spent much time in the area known as "Petit France", a neighborhood which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with lovely cobblestone streets and half timbered houses. You might be thinking "wait, but this is France, right?" Well, Alsace is right on the border of France and Germany and thus, has changed hands many times. The area named Petit France is not named after it's nationality, but as I mentioned in an earlier post:

"the name "Petit France" is not named for its architecture, but because of a 16th century hospital that treated "zum Franzosel" (the French disease), aka syphilis while still a free city in the Holy Roman Empire. Apparently, the citizens of Strasbourg believed the disease was the fault of the French. Basically, the idea was to isolate those with the disease in a structure in this district."

There was one structure we saw on our earlier trip that we didn't visit. On the River Ill stands the Barrage Vauban a dam and bridge.

That passageway on the bridge is the Passage Georges Frankhauser. There's a terrace and crossing above the passage with what looked like a nice view so we decided to cross into Petit France that way.

What I hadn't read was about the passage itself.

Lining the passageway were gates that almost looked like jail cells. And within the "cells" were various sculptures and castings.

And the view from the roof was quite nice.

From here we crossed the Ponts Couverts.

And we were in Petit France…..

Love the charming houses and streets……

And the canals…..

If we hadn't already done it on our previous visit, we would have taken the canal tour.

We wandered thru more Christmas Markets.

Before ending up at Place Gutenberg and familiar territory…..

We grabbed a light lunch at one of the Christmas Markets and headed on back to the room. We took the ever popular Grand'Rue back to the Canal du Faux-Rempart to get back to the hotel.

Along the way, we passed a Boulangerie I had on my "list". The Missus wanted to get something to have with Her afternoon tea, so we stopped in.

Man, the place was super busy, but the line moved quickly and the Missus got Her treats.

She enjoyed these and we decided to head on back for some croissant and coffee before catching our train the next morning.

L'Atelier 116
116 Grand'Rue
67000 Strasbourg, France

We relaxed then once the sun set, headed on out to check out the markets and lights…..

Soon enough, it was time for dinner. The Missus had already had Her fill of Alsatian Christmas Market cuisine and because our trip was made at the last minute, I wasn't able to make reservations at any of the places I as interested in.

So, we decided on……well, Chinese of course! There was a noodle soup shop I had on my "list" and while the Missus was highly suspicious of my choice She went along. The shop was also along Rue du Fossé-des-Tanneurs, on the way back from Place Kléber. The name; Lamian.

The place was pretty busy when we arrived, but there was no wait for a table. There was one of the chefs working the "lamian" action for all to see.

So yes, they made their own hand pulled noodles here. Of course, we had to order that.

We started with a nice cold beer and some Cacahuetes au Vinaigre Pimente (3,5€/$3.75US), basically boiled peanuts with vinegar and chilies.

As for our noodle soup, we got the Soupe de Nouilles au Boeuf Braise – Legerement Pimente (14,9€/$16.35US), basically Beef Noodle Soup, slightly spicy.

No, this wasn't cheap, but the meat, while being a tad more chewy than I prefer was quite beefy, the broth had a nice beefiness, was decently rich, with good five-spice tones, not overly salty, with a mild spice to it.

The noodles, were slippery and stretchy and quite good as well.

The boiled egg was overcooked, the yolk hard and dry.

We got the Canard Laque (5,5€/$6 US) – literally translated to "Peking Duck". This was not quite Beijing Kaoya, but the skin was fairly crisp, the flesh on the dry side, but the flavoring wasn't too bad.

And for the equivalent of six bucks US, this was perfectly fine. The version of "duck sauce" was terrible though.

We also ordered some Jiaozi, the Raviolis au Bouef et Celeri (5,5€/$6 US).

The dumplings were quite large; the wrappers too brittle and chewy. The filling for the jiaozi were very beefy, with nice celeri tones, seasoned quite well, but quite tough. We were surprised that the black vinegar-soy dipping sauce was not half bad. This was our least favorite dish of the meal.

Half the fun was watching all the customers; about one-fourth were Asian, the rest were not. We got a kick watching the woman on the table next to us eat Her noodle dish. She used a fork to twirl the noodles, like you'd do with Italian pasta. She was really enjoying her meal and seemed to relish her Tsingtao! She ordered a second one, but wasn't able to finish. And at the end, she went and made sure to take some photos of the noodle maker.

Adorable! We had fun watching French folks eating Asian food on this trip; whether it was Jiaozi, Ramen, A Sando, Sichuan, hot pot, or yes, Niu Rou Mian, they seemed up for it!

There was quite a line when we left.

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After all, what better on a chilly winter evening but some noodle soup, right? Even in Strasbourg.

Lamian Restaurant
20 Rue du Fossé-des-Tanneurs
67000 Strasbourg, France

We headed back to the hotel and had a nice night of sleep. The next day, we awoke our train back to Paris wasn't scheduled to leave until 1044, so we headed back to L'Atelier 116 to get some espresso and a croissant Au Buerre.

The croissant was nothing to write home about; the exterior was decently flaky, but it needed more butter and was too doughy.

As we were enjoying ourselves, an interesting thing happened, the Missus heard someone call Her name! Oh my, it was one of Her coworkers! She was visiting Strasbourg with her parents to check out the Christmas Markets. The woman's parents were so much fun; they had just come from….well, Paris of course! And loved France. We had such a great time talking to them that we had to force ourselves to leave in time to check out and catch our train. Such a fun coincidence; running into the Missus's coworker and her parents, at a random Boulangerie….in Strasbourg!

Life is amazing, huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris – Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji

November 17, 2023 mmm-yoso Bakery, France, Japanese Restaurants, Paris, France, Ramen, Sandwiches, Travel

Even though we had quite a bit of walking during the day, we decided to head back out toward the 1st and 2nd Arrondissement for a nice evening walk.

Heading West on Rue Reamur, then up Saint-Denis an interesting and "colorful" area.

I've posted on some of the interesting characters in this neighborhood, the former red-light district that is becoming more gentrified with every visit.

Walking thru Passage Choiseul yet again.

The Missus exclaimed how distances in Paris were seemingly a lot shorter these days……

There was one church we had been wanting to check out in the area; Église Saint-Roch.

We had walked by many times; but had never gone in. We decided to pop on in for a look.

The church itself was built between 1653, when Louis XIV laid the first stone, completed in 1740.

Within its walls hung works of the most renowned artists of the day. Of course, the French Revolution was right around the corner and the church was looted and sacked. In fact, the famous French writer Denis Diderot was entombed at Saint Roch. When the church was looted, his grave was sacked and his corpse was left on the church floor. And his final resting spot is not known.

It's quite an impressive church! We should have visited earlier.

We decided it was time to get some dinner so we headed out. We could see the Ferris Wheel from the Tuileries Christmas Market down the street.

Things did seem much "closer" in Paris these days…..

As for dinner; well, the Missus thought some ramen would be nice on a chilly winter night. There was a ramen shop I'd been wanting to try since I first read the story of a retired French Air Force pilot who opened a ramen shop because of his love of of the dish. Jean-Baptiste Meusnier first opened Kodawari Ramen (Yokochō) in the 6th Arrondissement. The restaurant's theme was a "Yokochō" a food alley. Since we were in the 2nd, we headed to Kodawari's second location, Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji, which is based on…yes, Tsukiji. We arrived at a fairly early dinner time, so the restaurant, while busy, did not have a queue.

The interior was festooned with boxes of fish and fish market themed items stacked everywhere, the floor had even been wet to give it a real fish market feel….lucky for us, the "seafood" in the boxes weren't real nor was there the "parfum de poisson" lingering in the air. It was pretty tight quarters in the restaurant.

Of course I needed to start with a "biru".

By the time we placed our order there was a line outside of the restaurant. So we had some good timing.

Looking over the menu, I knew this was going to be an interesting meal. Based on the theme of the restaurant; this location of Kodawari featured a broth that was based on sea bream and chicken. Now, I wasn't sure how the Missus would handle that; but this would turn out to be the Missus's favorite ramen in Paris!

There are some nice appetizers on the menu, we ordered 3 apps along with the Sea Bream Paitan Ramen.

The "Sardine Shelter" was savory, umami-land.

A bit smoky, briny, good oil, rich lardo.

The Missus loved the Sea Bream Carpaccio.

The fish was fresh and firm; the grilling added a nice smokiness, the miso sauce added a layer of savory.

The Sea Bream Tartare was refreshing, with a clean flavor.

The sauce had a nice savory-slightly sweet miso and the shiso really did a nice job refreshing the palate.

As for the ramen; well, I ordered the Sea Bream Paitan Ramen. Based on previous experiences with similar versions of ramen; I wasn't sure the Missus would like this.

I was wrong; the Missus loved this. The broth was rich enough to nicely coat the tongue; the chicken flavors weren't overly strong and there was a nice balance with the flavors from the bones of the sea bream that were simmered for 5 hours. The shio tare wasn't overly salty and the sea bream was so very tender and moist. The Pata Negra Chashu was quite porky f on the more chewy side. The chili paste was totally unnecessary as this was packed with umami. The tamago was decently cooked and marinated and was warm. The noodles, made inhouse were nice and firm, with a good chew.

The Missus loved the broth.

I was worried when we got here that it was all kitsch and concept over substance, but I gotta say, Kodawari Tsukiji went past the over-the-top setting.

Look at the line outside as we left!

So yes, it was a fun setting, but the food was quite satisfying and by the Missus' request, we'd return later during our stay.

Kodawari Ramen Tsukiji
12 Rue de Richelieu
75001 Paris, France

Bellies warm and full, we enjoyed the walk back to the apartment.

Needless to say, we slept well.

To give us a nice break, I had made reservations to stay in Strasbourg, so we could once again enjoy the wonderful Christmas Markets in the city. It's only a hour and forty-five minute train ride to Strasbourg, but of course, I needed to do the very French thing and get us some sustenance for the ride. On one of my earlier visit to Boulangerie Pezeril I noticed the group of police getting sandwiches from the shop….so heck, if they are getting food from there…..

Our train left Gare l'Est right on time at 1255 and we enjoyed our lunch and desserts on the train.

Boulangerie Pezeril
183 Rue du Temple
75003 Paris, France

And we were looking forward to two fun nights in Strasbourg!

Stay Tuned!

Paris – Pierre Sang in Oberkampf and More Wandering Around the Marais

November 11, 2023 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Cheese, France, Paris, France, Travel

I'm quite "old school"…well perhaps, I'm just old? Anyway, when it comes to finding places to try on trips I check out blogs and various sites, and yes, even discussion forums….when was the last time you heard that term? As for Paris; well, the now defunct Chowhound had a lively Paris board, after CH shut down, many of the folks moved over to Hungry Onion. There can be quite a bit of "noise", but also some useful info; which is how we found that Aux Crus de Bourgogne a place we passed so many times and thought was a tourist stop, was worth a visit! And which is how I came across all the recommendations for Pierre Sang in Oberkampf. Now there are those who are going to take pause at the thought of dining on French-Korean. But, look at all the French-Japanese places we've dined at in Paris!

Pierre Sang Boyer came to prominence after appearing on France's version of Top Chef and now has a kingdom of several restaurants in Paris. The most highly recommended, at least on H.O. is the tasting menu only location on Rue Oberkampf in the 11th. So, being that we were in Paris for an extended time, I made dinner reservations.

We walked on over to the restaurant, which has a few tables and a bar area. Checked in and were seated. The staff were very friendly, unusually so for Paris, and then we found out the "other part" of the process here for the 5 course menu. You were served and had to guess what you were eating! Which I thought was fun.

My apologies for the poor photos; the lighting in the place was so dark.

Anyway course 1. This was an easy one.

Obviously Salmon Tartare, flavored with sesame oil. No biggie, just a simple dish. I guessed that there was daikon in this; but it was watermelon radish.

Next up.

This had some perfectly cooked lentils and I also correctly guessed kimchi and chorizo! The Server was kinda impressed. At least someone was impressed. This dish seemed so mild in flavor in spite of the kimchi, which there was too little of and soy sauce which we actually couldn't taste.

Dish 3

Well I got the Beef Tataki part. The beef was a bit tough for our taste. I also guessed cho-jang, but was told gochujang. I'm thinking the tones of vinegar and sweetness tilted things to the chogochujang side of things. The pickled onions were quite good, crisp and bracing; there was a citrusy component to the dish as well.

Our favorite item of the night. This is an easy one.

The duck was perfectly cooked, the skin crisp, the flesh fairly tender. The butternut squash puree added that little sweet-fruitiness complimenting the duck. The bok choy was still nice and crisp. The gochujang was too overpowering for the duck. In theory, it should work a la hoisin sauce; but the spice was a bit overpowering in this case.

The Missus enjoyed the dessert.

Overall, a fairly unique and fun meal, but with more misses than hits. We liked the staff, but really don't think we'll return.

Pierre Sang in Oberkampf
55 Rue Oberkampf
75011 Paris, France

The next morning we got up and did what was now our routine; coffee and croissants at the apartment. Then headed on out to do that Flanuer thing, exploring the area around Boulevard Beaumarchais. It's such fun just wandering and window shopping…..

We got to check out the trendy Merci at 111 Bd Beaumarchais.

Loaded with all those things you don't need…..

And there was a moment, just like what happened a few days earlier, where we were reminded…….

Of that "special one"…..

We stopped by Maison Plisson and took a look around.

And got some terrine for lunch. The cheese looked tempting, but I had another destination in mind.

Maison Plisson
93 Bd Beaumarchais
75003 Paris, France

Near Place des Vosges we came across this chocolate shop with some, well, unique designs.

Yes, those "shoes" are made of chocolate!

The name of the place is:

Joséphine Vannier – Chocolaterie d'Art
4 Rue du Pas de la Mule
75003 Paris, France

At Place des Vosges, we took a quick look at the courtyard of Le Pavillon de la Reine.

It was fun ducking in and out of places and shop with no objective in mind. We loved little scenes like this one.

We finally made our way to Rue Saint-Antoine, which becomes Rue de Rivoli and made two quick stops; one at Fromagerie Laurent Dubois.

Cheese heaven.

Fromagerie Laurent Dubois
97-99 Rue Saint-Antoine
75004 Paris, France

Heading back to the apartment, we picked up a baguette at Boulangerie Pezeril, which I posted on before, and had terrine, fromage de truffe, and baguette for lunch.

Before nap time kicked in>

I was really enjoying "Paris at our leisure" and hope you enjoyed this post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris – Musée National Picasso, A. Lacroix Pâtissier, and Brunch at Le Saint-Regis

November 10, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, France, Paris, France, Travel

Day six of our two week stay in Paris was a Sunday and I had an idea. During the first Sunday of the month, many museums have free admission. The Musée National Picasso was fairly close by and opened at 930am, which would mean less crowds. We had already been to the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, so we thought this might be an interesting place to check out. After getting croissants from one of the nearby Boulangeries and a morning coffee we headed out.

The museum is housed in the very impressive Hôtel Salé, which was built in the 17th century.

One of the special exhibitions during the time we visited was an exhibition based on Maya Ruiz-Picasso, one of four known children of Pablo Picasso, born of Marie-Thérèse Walter one of seven known "partners" of the artist (who was also married twice – shades of Diego Rivera). Young Maya was quite the muse to her father as a child and became devoted to the study of her father as well as an expert on his works. She also had quite the collection which was on display as well as many photographs.

We sometimes find that the artists are even more interesting than their works.

We enjoyed our one hour visit.

Sadly, Maya Ruiz-Picasso passed away just a couple of weeks after our visit.

Musée National Picasso
5 Rue de Thorigny
75003 Paris, France

After our visit we crossed on over to Île de la Cité taking a quick look at Notre Dame, then on over to the left bank, where we came across yet another Patisserie.

Where the offerings looked lovely, thus the Missus bought a couple of items for le goûter (tea time) later in the day.

The "Notre Dame", the one looking like a green apple and full of confit pomme verte (green apple of course) was actually quite good, not sweet, fairly tart, nice with tea.

A. Lacroix Pâtissier
11 Quai de Montebello
75005 Paris, France

We decided to cross back over one Île Saint-Louis, the island right next to Île de la Cité. Passing Le Saint-Regis, we decided to stop in for lunch. We had previously enjoyed having coffee here and had noticed that the food looked decent. Plus, those al fresco tables looked perfect for people watching.

The Missus had enjoyed the Salmon Benedict (19€/$20.35) She'd had in Montpelier earlier in the trip, so She decided to try them here.

The "salmon" here was lox, which had been nicely cured and quite tender without being too salty, the eggs were nicely poached, and the Hollandaise was smooth and not overly buttery.

I got the Salmon – Avocado Tartare (17€/$18.25).

Man, where do they get the avocado here? It was perfectly ripe and creamy. It went well with the salmon. I enjoyed the mustard vinaigrette and the pleasantly biter greens.

It was a nice brunch and we'd gladly return. Also, not sure if it was just me, but it seemed like prices in Paris were cheaper than in San Diego?

Le Saint-Regis
6 Rue Jean du Bellay
75004 Paris, France

We strolled down Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île.

Stopping to peek in at various shops….especially if we saw pooches. Like this fella' whom we deemed "Winston" as we saw him amble into one of the bakeries.

He was obviously more interested in visiting the bouchon…..

And then we crossed the Seine on the Pont Marie. This being Paris, there are many historical sites.

That is Fontaine de Jarente.

And then there are "other places" along the way….

We’re Back!

November 9, 2023 mmm-yoso France, Italy, London, Milan, Paris, France, Travel, yoso-silly

Yes, we're back! And yes, I'm waaaay behind on my travel posts….the ending of our two weeks in Paris, our Taiwan trip, our Prescott – Albuquerque – Santa Fe – Taos, The Big Island and Oahu in February, and even a recent road trip to Buellton/Los Alamos! And here I go again on another trip! I know most folks come here looking for San Diego – SoCal food posts, so I save my travel stuff for weekends. Hopefully, I'll catch up soon now that we're back in town.

We were actually in Italy for Halloween, which was kinda interesting.

And even had one of the best meals of our trip! Yes, it was Chinese cuisine…in Italy!

We really enjoyed our time here and can't wait to go back!

Speaking of "going back". Of course we had to spend at least a couple of days in our favorite city.

Mainly to shop…..

And of course visit our old favorites…..

And do our favorite activities here. One of which is just "people, and pooch watch".

The more we visit; the harder it is for us to squeeze meals at our favorites in a couple of days. Though this time we found a new favorite, which was in plain sight. It seemed to be and is a kinda touristy restaurant, but we found the traditional dishes there to be quite good! Heck, we'd pass this place sometimes 4 or five times a day during our stays and never even though of eating there!

That mistake has been rectified!

One thing that we'd never done in this city is a tour. One this trip, we booked a private tour of our favorite neighborhood, from one of my favorite podcasts. And man was it fun and informative.

There was so much hidden in plain sight….stuff we had walked by so many times and never noticed! The tour was well worth the time and cost!

And of course, you'll always see something new when you visit….like this rainbow!

And then we ended up where we started. We had just one full day; but I got to see an item on my "bucket list".

And to do a bit more exploring.

Things ended on a high note as our last two meals were quite good. A Sichuan restaurant whose menu was developed in consultation with on of my favorite authors.

And a wonderful meal at the favorite restaurant in this city, of a late chef, author, and travel personality.

I know I need to catch up with all my travel posts. I'm hoping to do so soon!

Thanks for stopping by!