French Restaurants – Page 4

Paris – Ten Belles ( Canal Saint-Martin), Breizh Cafe (Marais) and Revisiting Edwart Chocolatier

September 16, 2023 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Chocolate, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

Since we were spending two weeks in Paris, the Missus decided that She wanted to get Her hair done. So, after doing a bit of research She found a place in 10th Arrondissement. So, we headed off, up Rue du Temple past Place de la République.

Crossing over to the 10th, which we were not familiar with. There seemed to be a real "local" vibe to the area.

I've seen dog walkers, but this woman carted pooches around…..not sure what this is called? Kinda cute though.

We found the salon without much of a problem. While the Missus was having Her hair done, I decided to take a walk around the area and find a place to grab a cup of coffee.

There was quite a bit of interesting street art in the area. There was a place named Holybelly that was the subject of one of the Earful Tower's Podcasts and since it was in the 10th, I thought I'd walk over to check the place out. Hole smokes was the place busy, with a line waiting to get in.

I had done a bit of research the night before and did have a coffee shop on my list of places to check out.

This one was on the other side of Canal Saint Martin.

Which by the way, I had never visited in all our trips to Paris. Go figure.

It was a nice, mild, winter day, so the walk was quite pleasant.

Right across Canal Saint-Martin, down Rue de la Grange aux Belles is a location of specialty roaster Ten Belles, which I believe has three shops in Paris.

The folks working were quite friendly. I tried to order an Americano in French, but the girl laughed and started talking to me in English and told me "good try"!

And it was a decent Americano to boot.

I took a seat at an empty table and just had a nice relaxing moment. A few minutes later, I saw the gentleman on a small single table next to me greet a woman. Unfortunately, he had no room, so I scooted over and made the hand signs to trade tables with him and we switched. He made sure to walk over after and shake my hand, giving me a nice, warm "merci beaucoup"! As I left the couple both waved goodbye to me. Such nice folks….

Ten Belles – Paris 10
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles
75010 Paris, France

As I strolled back down along the canal, who should I see but the Missus walking up to meet me!

It was still fairly early, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Both the Missus and I had heard and read about the chain of Crepe shops in Paris that were highly recommended; Breizh Cafe. So many folks mentioned this place and they have several shops in Paris, Lyon, and even one in Tokyo if I recall. The Marias location on Rue Vieille-du-Temple is very popular, but we easily got a table.

IMG_4003_02

So Breizh Cafe specializes in crepes from Brittany, that would be buckwheat "galettes". We aren't into overly sweet main sweet dishes for breakfast-lunch-brunch, so we both went with savory galettes.

The Missus got the Complete Champignons, which included jambon, Comté, and a sunny side up egg.

I got the Complete, which is jambon, egg, and comté.

Both the Missus and I were quite underwhelmed. The food lacked seasoning, the galettes were bland and this just wasn't too our taste. Perhaps galettes aren't our thing?

At least the people watching was fun.

Breizh Café
109 Rue Vieille-du-Temple
75003 Paris, France

We've run into folks who've been to Briezh and they echo our opinion. And the owner of Hola Paris told me that buckwheat galettes can tend to be on the bland-dry side as well. So, like I said, perhaps galettes aren't our kind of thing. But we're glad we tried them and will again if we're in Brittany.

We had a nice walk to our last stop before heading back to the apartment.

During a previous visit to Paris, we dropped by Edwart Chocolatier. And even though we had a good amount of chocolate on hand from other places we visited earlier during the trip, the Missus wanted to add to Her collection.

And after a few samples, the Missus added to Her ever growing chocolate collection.

Edwart Chocolatier
17 Rue Vieille-du-Temple
75004 Paris

I'm guessing Edwart is now a regular stop on our visits.

We'd headed back to the apartment for a break before doing a bit more exploring and heading to one of favorite restaurants in Paris for dinner.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris – Aux Crus de Bourgogne

September 3, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

We had a nice little break after our visit to the Louvre and having some ramen. Checking email, taking a short nap, and heading to the corner Carrefour for some coffee pods. This being winter, the night came on like a curtain being dropped and there was a chill in the air. We don't get this in San Diego, and especially not in Hawaii, so it was kind of fun to experience. We decided to head on over to an area we don't really go to a lot, in the 8th Arrondissement, Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It had been a while since we'd been in this area, but thought that visiting during the Christmas season would be fun and it was!

And with all the famous brands and shops along the street, you knew there had to be some rather flamboyantly decorations, right? Like the one on the Dior shop.

Visiting Europe during the Christmas season always puts us in "the mood".

And before you knew it, we were at Place de la Concorde.

When we had first arrived in Paris, before heading off to Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Toulouse, I had mentioned that the Tuileries Christmas Market was being set-up. Well, by now things were in full swing and we stopped on by.

We'd by stopping by a couple more times during our stay.

And of course, I couldn't resist getting a shot of the Louvre Pyramid at night.

As for dinner? Well, there's an interesting story about that. While looking thru various boards and such….it seems like all the Parisian Chowhounders had found a home on the Hungry Onion's France Page. And there was a familiar name mentioned. A place we've passed many times during our stays near Rue Montorgueil, Aux Crus de Bourgogne.

This Bistro, like the name mentions specializes in the cuisine of Bourgogne…..Burgundy. We really enjoyed our time in Burgundy and of course one of the reasons was the hearty cuisine! As for Aux Crus de Bourgogne, well, due to the location and looking over the menu, I thought it to be somewhat of a tourist restaurant.

Looking over the menu posted outside of the restaurant, we saw dishes we were interested in…….so we walked in and got a table on the second floor

Service was professional and quite "Paris" if you know what I mean. We decided to order mostly entrées and specials which really appealed to us.

The baguette came with rillette, which was quite good.

First up was the Mushroom Cream with Poached Egg.

Rich and creamy, quite woodsy-earthy, with a hint of sweetness. The egg was poached beautifully. We almost finished all the baguette with this one dish!

Of course, we had to have some escargot.

The Missus had never enjoyed escargot until that first dinner in Dijon. From that point on She was sold! But of course you had to choose your spots for this. The version here was solid, firm but not hard, could have used perhaps more garlic, but it had a sufficient amount of olive oil and such that it paired well with (even more) bread.

The final two dishes came arrived together. The special of mushroom with Vol-au-vent and another specialty of Burgundy, Oeufs en Meurette, eggs poached in red wine.

The Oeufs en Meurette were solid, if not great. The sauce was quite rich, though it had a tinge of bitterness. The eggs, like the other dish was poached perfectly, so rich and creamy. We missed the lardons that were no included in this version.

The Vol-au-vent was probably our favorite dish on the evening.

The rich, earthy mushroom sauce combined with the buttery-crisp "case" of puff pastry, which held up well throughout the meal. We could even make out garlic tones in this.

We were surprised at how much we enjoyed this meal and I ended up making reservations for later during our stay.

Aux Crus de Bourgogne
3 Rue Bachaumont
75002 Paris, France

This was such a pleasant surprise. And based on my walking for the day, I think I earned it, right?

Paris – Le Bouledogue

August 27, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

After spending our first full day in Paris, we had reservations for dinner at a place recommended by an acquaintance of mine. They often stay in the Marais and enjoy a brasserie named Le Bouledogue. We were staying just a few blocks away so the nice walk down to Rue Rambuteau was quite easy for us.

The interior of the restaurant is quite charming and the brasserie's namesake is "Elliot" who was owned by the previous owner of this establishment. Service was interesting, the gentleman running things seemed almost irritated and angry at something. The woman who was our Server was very nice and friendly.

I'm sure this place is quite popular. It was 7pm on a Tuesday night and every table was reserved!

The menu is full of "classics" which made us quite happy. We placed our order and soon enough dishes started arriving.

Of course we had to get the Bone Marrow (11,5€). We were quite astounded at the portion size!

The bread provided was wonderful. The nice Server told us it was from the famous boulangerie Poilâne. So, another place to add to our list to check out. We found the bone marrow to be under roasted. In fact, the last of it was on the bloody side and metallic in flavor.

Another standard for me; Beef Tartare (27€), I was a bit concerned about the price, but like the bone marrow, the portion size was quite large.

Goodness, this was indeed a "plat principal"! The frites were on the soggy side, but as with potatoes outside the states, the interior was creamy and yielded a nice, almost sweet flavor. The greens were bitter, yet quite refreshing. The tartare was quite mild in flavor, I like a bit more Dijon, capers, and cornichons in mine, to add pungency and contrast. The cut was also more coarse than I prefer, thus making this a bit more chewy than I prefer.

The Missus is a fan of Andouillette, having enjoyed the versions we've had in Lyon and other places in France. So She ordered that (25€) as Her main.

Again the greens and frites were quite good. That Andouillette was quite, well, rotund, literally bursting at the seams. This was quite funky, shades of lampredotto! The tripe was quite thick and chewy, but this was not bad overall.

As we were dining, the tables filled up; about a 50-50 non-French to French speakers. Folks were being turned away at the doors. Seems like Le Bouledogue is quite a popular place indeed! For us, well, it seemed more about the portion sizes here.

Still, who wouldn't love Elliot?

Le Bouledogue
20 rue Rambuteau
75003 Paris France

Hola Paris

August 22, 2023 mmm-yoso Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, French Restaurants

**** Hola Paris has closed

Back in May, I was doing a morning walk around Old Town, when I walked into Old Town Urban Market mainly to see what was going on with the location of Barrio Donas that was opening there. You can read about my visit to Barrio Donas here. When I noticed that the shop opening right across from Barrio Donas had some activity going on. It was called Hola Paris, a name which harkens to some of our favorite places to travel, so of course I was interested. There was a nice couple setting things up, when I inquired about the name, the nice owner named Gabby is Mexican and her Husband who is handling the chef duties named Benjamin is from the outskirts of Paris! Thus, Hola Paris! Of course, I then cracked them up when I left saying "merci, adios, au revoir"!

The place opened a couple of weeks later. Looking at the menu, which featured pastries and crepes was perhaps not going to be our cup of tea. We had spent two weeks in Paris during our last trip to the city and one of the places we tried was the ever popular crêperie Breizh Cafe. It turns out that we didn't care for the savory crepes there.

Still, the owners of Hola Paris seemed so nice. So, I decided to check things out. I went on one quiet morning to the very "Instagrammable" looking shop in the Urban Market.

Hola Paris 01

Benjamin broke into a big smile and laughed when he saw me…….I guess he remembered me! We had a nice conversation and I mentioned I don't care for sweets much. I also mentioned that during our last stay in Paris, we tried crepes and didn't care for it. He asked where and I told him Breizh Cafe. Benjamin quickly explained that Breizh Cafe makes Bretonne style crepes, which uses buckwheat. The style made here is based on the sweeter style crepes made with wheat flour. He also pointed out, because of the Mexican touches, the several of offerings are quite savory and even have some spice.

Hola Paris 03

He recommended I try the Ham y Queso ($13), which includes jambon and queso fresco.

Upon turning, I noticed this sign, which gave me flashbacks!

Hola Paris 04

I asked him about it and was told Gabby loves Chanel! I mentioned the Cambon location….and apparently Gabby loves that location as well! Oh boy…….

Anyway, I went and had a seat and soon enough my crepe was delivered.

Hola Paris 05

The crepe was light and at first a bit too sweet for me.

Hola Paris 06

But as I tucked into it, the saltiness from the ham and the mild, rich milkiness of the queso fresco started coming to the forefront. While this was still a bit too sweet for my taste it was not bad!

I waited about a month, before revisiting. And Benjamin greeted me with a smile. In thinking about what I'd had on the previous visit, I thought that a bit of heat might really spice up things a bit. So, I decided to order the La Suiza ($14), which included tomatillo sauce and a green salsa.

Hola Paris 07 Hola Paris 09 This time the crepe was delivered with a fork and knife. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy chicken in a crepe, but it wasn't bad at all. Actually, the bite of tangy-sour heat from the sauces/salsa really made it enjoyable to my palate. The sweetness was tempered and the cheese really helped to balance out the flavors. I do think this could have used a bit more salt. And heck, even more spicy too!

Hola Paris 10 Hola Paris 11 I'm glad I tried Hola Paris. While it's not something I crave, Benjamin and Gabby are so nice and friendly. I really enjoyed chatting with Benjamin about Paris.

It'll be interesting to see what other savory items make it to the menu…and heck, I might even just have a Kir Royal here once day!

Hola Paris
2548 Congress St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 6pm
Sat – Sun 9am – 7pm

Toulouse – Marche Victor Hugo (Again), Lunch at Restaurant Attila, Criollo Chocolatier, a Walk Along Canal de Brienne, and Other Stuffs

July 30, 2023 mmm-yoso Chocolate, Festivals & Events, France, French Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Seafood, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

We started our last day in Toulouse by taking a short walk in the area.

We had really enjoyed Toulouse, there's a down to earth, relaxed vibe to the place. We spent the morning wandering about.

Nearing 11, we walked on over to the huge March Victor Hugo, which I covered in an earlier post.

We ended up getting some stuffs for a nice self catering dinner for our last evening in the city.

We then headed upstairs where the restaurants are located. Man, the passageway is pretty cramped.

We settled on a seafood place named Restaurant Attila. I really wanted to have some Coques (Cockles) and Langoustines.

Of course there's a plat du jour and other lunch specials as well.

We were guided to our table where we placed our order. The seafood in the marche looked wonderful, so we were quite excited about this meal.

First up was the Salade de Coques Persillade (10€ – $11/US).

The cockles were prepped well, no gritty bits. I was surprised at how tender these were, with a nice hint of savory-sweetness. Strangely, I expected more of a briny flavor, but these had a nice butteriness to them. The greens and such was fine, but those cockles were definitely the star.

The Langoustine with Aioli (13€) was a disappointment.

The langoustine were over cooked and really dry and even though it was supposedly cooked with a court bullion the flavor was lacking.

Last up were the Huitres ( 9 for 15€ – $16.50/US). These were from Marennes, an area famous for their oysters. These really delivered.

Pleasantly briny with a wonderful clean finish! Definitely a winnah!

Restaurant Attila (in Marche Victor Hugo)
5 Place Victor Hugo
31000 Toulouse, France

After lunch, we headed downstairs.

And just wandered around. I ended up buying more Tarbais beans in the shop/deli above….yep, 35€ a kilo and I bought another half kilo.

After which we headed back to the chocolate shop that the Missus had enjoyed earlier named Criollo Chocolatier.

Man, the place was humming!

The pieces here are sold by weight and the Missus bought a good sized box of it.

Of there's any reason for us to return to Toulouse, it's so the Missus can restock on chocolate from here.

Criollo Chocolatier Toulouse Victor Hugo
23 Place Victor Hugo
31000 Toulouse, France

We then headed back to the hotel and started doing some packing.

After which, we decided to go on another walk. I picked out the Canal de Brienne area. The canal which connects to the Garonne is a short 1.6 kilometers in length, but tree lined and quite peaceful. You totally forget you're in the middle of a large city.

Apparently, that building above was an old tobacco factory, which now houses a building the university.

It was a lovely walk and fun to see a different part of Toulouse.

We walked back to our room and just relaxed and then had dinner. Later that evening, we heard singing and chanting. Looking out the window we noticed a endless line of folks, waving the Moroccan flag. Apparently, Morocco had just beaten Belgium in a World Cup match. We decided to head on down to the square. It was a fun parade, one of joy and celebration, peaceful without any antics….a refreshing scene to be sure!

A couple of groups had even set-up around the perimeter of the Christmas Market and were singing and dancing.

We decided to head into the Christmas Market.

To get some Vin Chaud of course!

Egad! I've posted on Vin Chaud before, we have a kind hate-love-hate relationship with this warm mulled wine drink. We really don't care for the taste….but we love that it really puts you in the holiday spirit.

And perhaps we're developing a (bad) taste for this????

Warm mulled wine in our bellies, we slept soundly, got up early and finished packing. We then took the metro to Toulouse Matabiau. We were a bit early and crossed the street for some coffee.

Before catching our train to our final stop on this month long journey.

We had enjoyed our time in "La Vie en Rose", the Pink City – Toulouse. But next we were spending most of two weeks in….well you know where, right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Toulouse – A Walk Along the Garonne and Dinner at Aligot Bar

July 29, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

After spending the morning in Albi and returning to Toulouse, we did a bit of window shopping, then returned to the hotel for a nice nap.

Upon waking we relaxed a bit and then decided to take a stroll. The Christmas Market, right outside our hotel was going strong.

We decided to take a stroll before finding a place to have dinner. As to where we were headed; well, that was answered when we got downstairs. There seemed to be some kind of "walk" going on.

Folks were having such a great time….singing, laughing, it seemed so wonderful that we just kind of followed along.

They headed over to the Garonne, the river that flows thru the city and then crossed on Pont Saint-Pierre. Just having a joyous time waving those light sticks.

After doing a bit of "Googling" on my phone, I found that this was the Course des Lumières a Cancer walk/run. It was really great seeing a community come to together like this.

Instead of heading across the bridge, we decided to walk along the Garonne. It was such a clear evening, the reflections on the river were striking.

It was so beautiful…..

We walked to the Port de la Daurade area, then decided to head back to find a place for dinner.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, because of how busy things were and because most places in the city don't do online reservations, we weren't able to get dinner reservations even when we dropped by a restaurant several days before. So……we just walked around a bit looking for a place to eat.

Close to Notre-Dame du Taur, which we had visited earlier on the trip, was this little place named Aligot Bar.

This Bistro/Fast Casual-ish restaurant served food from the Aveyron region just east of Toulouse. I had been wanting to try Aligot, but the Missus, after taking a look at the gooey-stringy mashed potatoes had always declined. But I noticed the "Salade de Occitane" on the menu, which seemed much like what the Missus enjoyed in Carcassonne earlier in the trip, so I managed to talk Her into it.

We were seated and placed our order. Soon, a young lady sat on the table next to us. She was Asian and we started talking. She's Japanese, from the area right outside Heathrow Airport! It was a fabulous conversation about growing up Asian, the meshing of cultures and all of that.

The Missus enjoyed Her salad.

The Farci au Foie Gras was nice and gamy, though it lacked the nice, offal richness of foie gras. The duck proisciutto was cut too thick, therefore making it really chewy. A decent salad for the price of 13€….actually a bargain if you think of it costing $14/US!

I went for it, ordering the Aligot Classique with Duck Confit and Toulouse Style Sausage (19,5€ – $21.50/US)

And guess who enjoyed the cheesy-gooey Aligot? Yep, the Missus! It was stringy. though smooth, love the flavor….it's like potatoey cheese fondue-pudding if you will. The duck confit wasn't very good; it hadn't been heated properly, the skin was rubbery, the flesh tough and stringy. I did enjoy the Toulouse sausage though. The casing had a great snap, the flavor galricky-porky and this had a bit of pepperiness to it.

Overall an ok meal and chatting with the young lady was wonderful.

Aligot Bar
35 Rue du Taur
31000 Toulouse, France

Needless to say, we didn't leave hungry!

Toulouse – Les P’tits Fayots

April 29, 2023 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, France, French Restaurants, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

After a nice day of checking out the Markets and doing some exploring, we decided to do a bit more walking before dinner.

We also decided to drop by a couple of places I had on my "list" to try and make dinner reservations for upcoming nights. Many of the restaurants I had on my list didn't do online reservations and required a phone call. Unfortunately, my French is beyond hideous, so we decided to try and appear in person to make reservations. Unfortunately, since this was a weekend, it was big time fail.

On this night though, we had dinner reservations. It was quite a blessing in disguise. I mentioned in an earlier post, that I had tried to get a private tour with Elyse Riven who heads up Toulouse Guided Walks and is often a guest on one of my favorite podcasts, Join Us in France. Unfortunately, Elyse was I believe out of the country at the time, so we downloaded her VoiceMap audio tour. Elyse was kind enough to make some recommendations for dinner and also for visiting Albi, which is where we were headed the following day.

One of the places she recommended and was on my "list" was Les P'tits Fayots, a nice little restaurant that does small, shareable plates. And they did online reservations!

The location is on a side street, the restaurant quite discreet.

The Missus enjoyed the fact that veggies were well represented on the menu and also enjoyed the wine selection. The service was very warm and friendly. Toulouse is a lot ore laid back than Paris!

The first item up was the Pomme de Terre Confit & Hareng Fume. Wonderfully earthy potatoes confit which was paired nicely with the savory smoked herring.

The mustard creme added a bit of punch and along with the starchiness of the potatoes helped handle the umami-heavy herring.

Next up; the Sable Emmenthal Noisette.

Basically Emmenthal and hazelnut biscuits; this was quite an interesting combination. The celery cream was interesting; we actually enjoyed the greens and herbs the best, nice texture and a touch of bitterness.

Sucrine & Ouef Mollet. You know the Missus and eggs right?

The Missus loved the runny soft boiled egg and even the creamy Mornay Sauce, which was very balanced in terms of butteriness and cheesiness. She also loved the sucrine, a lettuce that seemed like baby romaine, it tastes so clean and the shaved Parmesan and mild sauce added so much savory notes to the dish.

The last dish was actually our favorite. The Langoustine Boullion.

The Langoustine was so tender, sweet, and oceany. And that broth was seasoned perfectly, with just enough salt to highlite the touches of sea faring flavors. Bread with this……

We really enjoyed our meal. It was our favorite of our stay in Toulouse. We loved the service and the food!

Les P'tits Fayots
8 Rue de l'Esquile
31000 Toulouse, France

Toulouse – Le Capitole, Basilique Saint-Sernin, and Dinner at Le Bibent

March 25, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

After having a bit of an adventure trying to get out of Carcassonne, we made our way to Toulouse by bus, which ended up taking 4 hours. Once we made it to the city however, things went quite quickly. We were staying right on the the main square Place du Capitole. And it was a snap getting there on the metro, which was fast and efficient.

We stayed at the Hotel du Grand Balcon.

We really enjoyed the location and our room had a view of the square and this being the end of November, there was a lively Christmas Market happening. We loved just watching the goings on from our window.

I listen to quite a few Podcasts and one of my favorites is Join Us In France. A frequent guest on the Podcast is Elyse Riven who runs Toulouse Guided Walks. Not knowing much about Toulouse, I tried booking a tour with Elyse, but unfortunately this being the holiday season Elyse was travelling during our time in Toulouse. That said, Elyse was so generous in making a few recommendations and I did download her VoiceMap audio tour. We really enjoyed Toulouse and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to book one of her walks next time around.

We were quite happy to find that our room was ready when we arrived. We freshened up and then headed out. It turned out that Toulouse was a wonderful city for walking. Our first stop was right across the square at Le Capitole, a combination City Hall, Theatre, with beautiful State Rooms.

To us, Le Capitole seemed more like a grand art gallery, then a municipal building.

From the Grand Staircase which dates back to 1674 and beautiful paintings that adorn it…..

Which leads to three halls, each featuring stunning artwork.

Whoa…..we really didn't anticipate all this grand and quite stunning art!

It was a nice first stop for us in Toulouse.

From Place du Capitole streets stretch out in all directions like a spider web. We headed up north a bit to see Basilique Saint-Sernin. This huge Romanesque style church was constructed in the 11th Century.

This was once the church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin. Only the church remains. It is said that Pope Fabian sent the church's namesake, Sernin, consecrated as a Bishop to France, which was then Gaul, where the Christian religion had been replaced by pagan beliefs. Sernin, would walk past the various pagan temples, the idols would suddenly not be able to prophesize. The priests grew angry, seized him, tied him to a bull and he was dragged to his death. The Bull finally ended up on the street going up to the Basilica, now named Rue du Taur (Route of the Bull) and at the place where the bull finally deposited the body of Saint Sernin is a church now named Notre Dame du Taur.

The interior, as expected is quite grand.

And is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We even found a statue of Saint Roch, the Patron Saint of Dogs!

We stopped by Notre-Dame du Taur on the way back to the hotel. I took a photo of the exterior of the church later in our visit.

We returned to our room and took a short break before dinner.

One of the challenges I encountered while making plans for our stay in Toulouse was making reservations for dinner. Most places did not do online reservations and my French is horrendous, so there's no way they'd be able to understand what I'm saying. I did manage online reservations at two places, one of which was a recommendation from Elyse. We did try to drop by restaurants to attempt to make reservations, but alas, the places were booked solid. I really need to do that French immersion thing.

Still, Toulouse had a more relaxed vibe than Paris, much less touristy. In fact the Aerospace and Aeronautics sector is the largest employer in Toulouse. We really enjoyed our time in the city, though I'm not going to quite fall in line with this….

For dinner, I had made reservations at a place nearby, off Place du Capitole, named Le Bibent. There was a familiar name associated with Le Bibent, Christian Constant, whose restaurants we've eaten at in Paris. Even though he is now retired, we were interested to see what Le Bibent would be like.

It was a drizzly evening and we were seated close to the bar area. The restaurant has been restored to it's former glory in the Belle Époque style and is quite stunning.

As is typical of our eating habits, we went with three entrees and one plat; starting with the eye catching Carpaccio de Tete de Veau (14€).

This was quite good, the veal head was tender, mild in flavor, it almost melts in your mouth. The mustard seed vinaigrette added a nice layer of sour-pungent tones, the greens were amazingly crisp, with a mild nutty bitterness. We loved the combination of flavors and textures.

The Missus loves Her Oeufs en Meurette (16€) so we had to get that.

The Missus enjoyed the poached egg, the potato mousse was a bit too starchy-gooey for us. The red wine sauce was nice, not overly bitter. This was not bad.

Of course we had to get the Foie Gras En Croute (21€).

The pastry was on gummy side though the "fillings" were really wonderfully "offaly"-earthy in flavor. Loved all the wonderful textures and flavors that the various greens and the pickled onions provided.

And of course, we had to try the Cassoulet (29€), which ended up being quite diapppointing.

We liked the "crust", but things ended there. The beans were hard, the dish was too salty, this was just not good eats to us.

Of course the Missus was hoping for that ethereal Cassoulet, but it was still not to be found.

Still, in terms of price, this was not a bad meal at all.

Le Bibent
5 Place du Capitole
31000 Toulouse, France

And we enjoyed the "feel" of Toulouse.

Folks here were very friendly and kind……

Carcassonne – More of La Cité and Lunch at Adelaide

January 14, 2023 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

After a wonderful night's sleep at the flat we were staying at, we were ready to do more exploring of La Cité. The previous day had been quite interesting with the medieval city almost empty. While it made exploring easy, it gave the place an almost eerie atmosphere.

There had been sporadic drizzles from the night before so we took our umbrellas with us. Instead of taking the same route up to Porte de l'Aude like the day before, we swung around the city. Passing Rue Trivalle where we had dinner the night before.

We took a walk down the street and did notice that many of the restaurants on the street were closed for the week.

We skirted past the hotels on Rue Gustave Nadaud and made our way to what is considered the main entrance to La Cité, Porte Narbonnaise.

The gate with two huge towers and drawbridge is quite impressive.

As you walk to the gate you can't help but notice the bust to the right. Who is this you might ask? It is the bust of Lady Carcas, the namesake of the city. So, why is the city named after her? Well, according to legend, and yes it seems that this is a legend, while under the rule of the Saracens, the Franks under Charlemagne surrounded the city hoping to retake the city that was once theirs. At the point where the siege had gone on for over five years the citizens of the city were running low on food and water. Lady Carcas, the widow of the former chief requested an inventory. She was told that there was some grain left and a single pig. She ordered that the pig be launched at the Franks. Charlemagne seeing this pig launched toward his army believed that the city had enough surplus supplies that it could waste food, lifted the seige! As the Franks retreated Lady Carcas ordered the bells of the city to be rung, which led people to exclaim "Carcas sonne" – "Carcas Rings"! You gotta love it.

One thing that is easily noticed as you cross the drawbridge into the city are all the formidable battlements and defenses. There's a huge metal gate to crush you, notice the curve as you cross into the city, that serves a defensive purpose as well; to slow you down as you attacked the city.

The place was very quiet, just as the day before. The intermittent drizzle set the mood as we walked along the cobblestones, winding streets, passing medieval structures. Even the TI was closed!

Though unlike the previous day, some of the shops were open or opening.

And the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus was open as well, so we decided to take a look.

We spent a good amount of time walking the avenues of La Cité and before we knew it, the clock stuck noon. We were lucky enough to notice that one of the places I had on my "list", Adelaide was open! So, we headed on in.

The place had just swung open its doors for the day, so we were the first customers.

The folks were very mellow and friendly, of course there was one key item on the menu that the Missus was raring to try.

We started with some salads, not "just greens" mind you. The Missus got the Foie Gras mi Cuit de Maison (22€).

We loved the greens here, crisp, fresh, tossed with a nicely balanced vinaigrette. Of course, you're wondering how the foie gras was, right? Well it was quite good, somewhat rustic, light funky-offal tones, that caramelized onion jam was the perfect foil for it.

I got the Salad Adelaide (17€)

Which included the same salad, some fois gras, but much more. There was a nice cured duck breast and more importantly, what you see at the bottom of the plate in the photo above, Gesiers de Canard, duck gizzards. I had really enjoyed the version we'd had in Sarlat la Caneda years ago and couldn't wait to try this. We could not believe how tender these were, they basically melted in your mouth. Loved the flavor we call "funky-ducky", it was so good!

And the Missus and I split a main, the house specialty and one of the reasons we traveled to this area; the Cassoulet (15€).

Man, this was not to our liking. It was super salty, the duck confit dry, the sausage tough and bland, and worst of all the beans were hard and undercooked. I did appreciate the piece of pork rind at the bottom of the pan. But overall, this was not very good.

Man, after those salads our hopes were high, but the cassoulet had us crashing to the earth. There were two other couples in restaurant as we left and we noticed they were having cassoulet as well. I'm wondering how they fared. Well, at least the price at 15 Euros for the cassoulet was not bad.

Adélaïde
5 Rue Adélaïde de Toulouse
11000 Carcassonne, France

As we made our way back to the Porte Narbonnaise, we ran into a few people.

We had enjoyed our time in La Cité, but it was still mid-afternoon and I could tell the Missus wanted to do more.

So now what to do?

Stay tuned!

Montpellier – Antigone, L’Arbre Blanc, Dinner at Le Bouchon Saint Roch, and Maison Bonnaire

January 8, 2023 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, France, French Restaurants, Toulouse, Montpellier, Carcassonne, and Occitania, Travel

As we were trying to decide what do for the afternoon it started drizzling. But that didn't deter us once we made a decision. I knew the Missus got Her fill of the Old Town, so how about checking out the "Neoclassical" side of Montpellier? We decided to take a walk to Antigone. Heading thru the Polygone Shopping Center.

Much of Antigone was designed in the Neoclassical style by Spanish Architect Ricardo Bofill. There are some pretty grand structures.

That's the huge Place de l’Europe.

It was quite grand. Though all the restaurants seemed very corporate and chain like in the area.

As we crossed the Lez River we came across the most distinctive building, which the Missus called "the White Cactus".

This "interesting" building is L’Arbre Blanc designed by Japanese Architect Sou Fujimoto. It drew the Missus and I like moths to a flame! We didn't quite know if we liked it or hated it. And it seems many feel the same way, see the comments for this article. Still, once you see it, you'll never forget it. In fact, after I got home, I watched an episode of House Hunters International. I really don't watch a whole lot of television, but I will watch some episodes of HHI to see cities that we've visited. And guess what? It was taken in Montpellier (and the couple was moving from San Diego)! Plus, Adrian Leeds cracks me up. Anyway, one of the properties shown was a unit in the white spiked bladder stone porcupine!

We headed back thru Place de Thessalie.

And Polygone Shopping Center.

Where we stopped by the madhouse of a pharmacy for some eye solution.

And then back to the apartment where we took a break. For dinner, much like our last two getaway meals in Paris, I wanted something a bit more traditional. A Boullion or Bouchon would seem like a good bet. So, of course I went to this older Montpellier post from Edible Reading, where I saw a mention of a place named Le Bouchon Saint Roch. I went ahead and made a reservation for 7pm online before we left on our trip. Of course, 7pm is almost an ungodly, early dining time….and would severely interrupt the heart of "apero time" in France!

And of course, when we arrived the place was empty.

The dining room was decorated in what we might call almost "stereotypical brasserie le cochon" as piggy posters and art was everywhere. And of course, the red checkered tablecloths and all that….

The two folks working were quite cheerful! As with the name, the restaurant's menu leaned Lyonnaise.

The Missus wanted some Escargot (9,€ ). I remember those days when the Missus (thought) She hated escargot; until our first meal in Dijon. She's been on the escargot wagon even since then!

This was decent; though we prefer a stronger garlicky-olive oil-parsley flavor. You know, because half of the enjoyment is dipping your bread into the drippings. The gastropods were on the chewy side, but acceptable. The plain salad had a decent Balsamic dressing.

We also got the "Oeuf Poché à la Crème de Morilles, Parmesan et Ses Toasts" (11,€), whew talk about a mouthful! Basically poached egg in morel creme with Parmesan and toast.

That sauce with a bit of cheese on the toasts was really nice. Good earth-slightly sweet mushroom tones, perfectly salty, the egg added an additional layer of creaminess and egginess to the dish.

We got a third starter, the Bone Marrow (10,€).

Man, this was so creamy and savory. Perfect amount of salt and the toasts and even more bread was needed to finish this!

About this time folks started arriving; several groups of students….most of them got burgers; go figure!

The Missus and I split a main; the "Quenelle de Brochet Sibilia, Sauce Nantua, Riz, Poêlée de Légumes" (19,€). The Missus really enjoyed the Quenelle we had when visiting Lyon so we ordered this.

Pike Quenelle Nantua Sauce

The darkness of the Nantua sauce threw us off a bit; but it was pretty tame with regards to seafood tones. The quenelle was a bit tougher than we like but was quite mild in flavor as is typical. The rice was on the hard side and the cooked vegetables was actually "légumes trop cuits" and really mushy.

By this time the more "French" crowd started arriving.

I've been enjoying having cheese for dessert and ordered the Saint Marcellin (7,€ ), the menu said it came with "olive oil" which I thought would be interesting for dessert.

Saint Marcellin has a somewhat fruity-nutty flavor and this was no exception; along with being so creamy. Along with the olive oil, there was a Balsamic glaze which helped things along. I'm thinking this might actually be a nice starter.

As we left the place started filling up. This was a nice meal and a great way to end our time in Montpellier.

Le Bouchon Saint Roch
14 Rue du Plan d'Agde
34000 Montpellier, France

We slept in the next morning, then I decided to get a croissant to have with my last coffee in the apartment. We had also become converts to the French way of traveling on the TGV…..having a sandwich or something similar for lunch on the train.

We had passed an interesting looking Boulangerie/Pâtisserie several times during our walks and decided to stroll on over.

The name of the shop is Maison Bonnaire.

And along with the usual baguettes and croissants, the window had many temptations, the eclairs looked especially tempting.

We got a croissant and two tartes for the train ride and headed back to the apartment.

The croissant was dark, flaky, and light. But it really lacked the butteriness I like and was on the dry side.

Maison Bonnaire
45 Rue Saint-Guilhem
34000 Montpellier, France

I did a final cleaning and bade the apartment farewell right at 11am.

We took the short stroll to the train station. Our train wasn't leaving until 1pm so we had some time to kill. Like much of the architecture in the city, the Montpellier Saint-Roch Station has an interesting design.

We found seats and relaxed, grabbing some coffee from the outlet of Paul in the station and bought some water from Casino. Soon enough we were on our train.

We had the Tartes which were pretty good, the one with the roasted tomatoes and tapenade was the better of the two. But the crusts were crisp and flaky.

And this did a good job of holding us over.

Perhaps we stayed in Montpellier a day longer than we should have; but I enjoyed myself.

But now I was looking forward to our next stop. Carcassonne!

Thanks for stopping by!