After returning from our last trip to Paris, we contemplated a longer trip, which ended up being a whole month in France. As usual, we started in Paris, flying out on BA thru LHR. Like I mentioned in my previous post; while the Business Class meals on BA has to us seem better when returning to San Diego from LHR, overall, the food had improved from our last post-Covid travels.
These days we have a routine when flying into Paris in the evening. We catch the RER Blue Line from CDG to Les Halles and stay in the area. This time, since we'd be staying at AirBnbs and VRBOs for most of the trip, we did a hotel right outside Les Halles. One benefit of flying Business Class are the lay flat beds, where we can (usually) get a decent amount of sleep and work on getting our internal clocks adjusted. By the time we got to our hotel it was after 9pm, so it was right off to bed.
The next morning; well we slipped right into our routine.
We strolled over to Rue Montorgueil and had our Café Allonge at Café du Centre just like we usually do.
And just enjoy people watching……
Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France
This was a pretty quiet Thursday morning.
And we felt so relaxed and at home at our corner seats.
As for our plans; well, we went to the Marais and did our due diligence lèche-vitrine ("window licking" – the French term for window shopping). We spent a good amount of time licking 'dem windows and when it was time for lunch, well, we decided on a place I'd had on my list for a while. A rather small shop on Rue Charlot right around the corner from Marche Les Enfants Rouge, named Chez Alain Miam Miam. In fact, this was our original destination during a previous visit to the area, but both shops (they have a shop and a stand in the marche) were packed, so we ended up eating at Chez Taeko. I had read so many superlatives about the place; Food & Wine says it's one of the best sandwich shops in Paris and this YouTube video calls it the "Best Sandwich in the World"that I wanted to check the place out. We decided on having an early lunch to avoid the crowds and got there at 10am. The shop is tiny; the owner, Alain Roussel was manning the counter and we ordered our sandwich and went to one of the shared tables.
Eventually, the beast was brought to us.
The bread was wonderfully toasted and a textural treat; the tomatoes had a wonderful sweet acidity, there's avocados, wonderful caramelized onions, a huge amount of milky-earthy Comte cheese, and ham. The only thing we thought was there wasn't enough of a salt component. But this was quite good and one sandwich was enough for both of us.
In Paris, there are processes. Here, after watching other folks, I noticed that once folks finished their sandwiches, the plates were returned (by non-tourists) to a window and so I took our now empty plate there and got a huge "thumbs up" from the crew!
As we were leaving at around 11 there was a line already forming outside the shop. Not a cheap sandwich at 17 Euros, but it was lunch for the both of us.
Chez Alain Miam Miam
26 Rue Charlot
75003 Paris, France
On Rue de Bretagne, we stopped at Jean-Paul Hevin for some confections and Comptoirs Richard for some tea for later in the trip and took our time walking back to the hotel. On Rue Saint-Denis, right across from Raviolis Chinois Nord Est is a church named Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles de Paris which was built in 1235! On Rue Saint-Denis? I had wanted to check the place out on our last trip but it was closed the entire time. It must have been my lucky day because it was open!
There was one main reason for my visit. I'd read that the relics of Saint Helena were kept in the church. According to Atlas Obscura:
"As history tells it, in 840 a monk from Hautvillers, France returned from a trip to Rome with a surprising souvenir. He admitted he had broken into St. Helena’s tomb and stolen part of her body while he was there. Instead of ordering its return, the pope allowed the relic to stay in France since the item itself hadn’t protested the theft by miraculously stopping it (as other relics reportedly had)."
And in 1819 the relics were moved here. We found the stairs to the crypt were closed and only opened during certain hours. But again, fate intervened as a woman came by with the keys and went down the stairs and waved us down.
I'm guessing she is a regular worshipper here so they gave her the keys. She lit some candles, said a prayer, then left.
Apparently, parts of Saint Helena's body is wrapped and kept here.
It was an interesting stop.
From here we decided to extend our walk and visit some other familiar places before dinner.
It was a lovely day in Paris and we wanted to make the best of it.
A sort of 'Gastropub' atmosphere with about 20 beers on tap, various seating sections (including covered outdoors), we were given a bottle of chilled water along with chilled glasses with our menu.
A simple menu-and there is a Monday-Friday Happy Hour, too (from 4-6:30)
We decided to try the Cheese Curds ($12). Wisconsin cheese, breaded and fried. If you bite into a hot one, it does indeed 'squeak'..but otherwise it's just a good bunch of piece of breaded fried cheese, served with a very nice homemade Ranch.
The Stuffed Jumbo Portobello mushroom ($15) can be a meal. Cream cheese, mozzarella and parmesan topped with a panko crust and placed in balsamic syrup…Oh my!
Cross section shows how many flavors you can get in a bite. 
We also ordered a Cobb Salad ($14). This tasted really good, very fresh ingredients (egg, bacon, avocado, tomato, gorgonzola and a nice Blue Cheese dressing. The presentation…eh. 
You can order 'to go' or find a seat. The 'to go' menu is on the wall to make it easy for the 'to go' people.
The 'for here' menu; a bit larger.
A cheese manakish ($4.99). A small version of a herby cheese pizza with no sauce. Excellent fresh bread: thin, slightly crisp, slightly chewy.
Here's a zaatar manakish (3.99) add cheese ($1.50). Zaatar is a spice mixture of thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. It's herby, nutty, salty, savory and tangy. Sumac by itself has the 'tang' you get from lemon juice. In any case, this combination of zaatar and cheese is really good.
Six tweaks of falafel ($5.99). A nice version. Quite crunchy. The tahini dip is so creamy!
Kabab Plate ($13.99) Two very large beef kabobs with rice, grilled tomato and raw onion. Easily shareable.
An order of baba ghannouj (6.99) arrived with pieces of hot-from-the-oven pita. The roasted eggplant based dip is smoky and smooth and has a sesame flavor from the tahini. Olive oil and lemon juice as well as garlic round out the flavors. The version here is just lovely.
The Appetizers plate ($15.99). Choice of four. Plan on taking some home; the serving platter is deceptively deep. Hommus, fattoush, baba ghannouj and in the center, tabboule. All the salads are made here daily. The hommus and baba ghanouj are excellent versions. The fattoush is primarily a 'bread salad' with the pieces of fried pit toping lettuces, tomato, cucumber and other vegetables. It's another craving I've had. The tabboule is parsley, tomato, cucumber, mint, green onion and bulgur-crunchy. Its dressing (lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper with olive oil) really showcases an excellent quality olive oil. 
A single beef kabab ($3) is sometimes quite enough for a nice snack/small meal. (This kabob is smaller than the two beef kabobs served on the kabab plate).
Free hot tea at the back; serve yourself. 
I don't know what it had been before, but it's a pretty large space.
The menu is quite extensive. Since this was a first visit…
The Mister ordered the Ma Pu Tofu ($12.99). Quite large, a nice heat/spice level, plenty of pork.
My 'usual' first time eating at a Chinese restaurant, Egg Foo Young ($12.99) This choice was BBQ pork (getting to try another favorite in this order). 
The BBQ Pork was inside (rather than on top of) the eggy vegetable filled pancake. Another unique version and quite tasty.
We ordered a medium tamarind agua fresca (fresh water)($3.25)which is made in-house, not from concentrate. Excellent tamarind flavor; refreshing and not too sweet.
One complimentary lamb broth (consommé) was brought out because of one of our orders. You can also order one small cup for $3.25. A good deep flavor/concentrated fresh lamb broth made with lamb drippings and with garbanzo beans. 
The lamb mixiote ($14.75). Mixiote is traditionally pit barbecue but can be made in an oven. Cubed meat mixed with pasilla peppers, thyme, cumin, garlic and cactus pieces. Other spices are in the mix, too. It's all wrapped in parchment paper then cooked (if pit cooked, it's wrapped in maguey leaves) (either way, it's slow cooked). This unique 'stew' has such a medly of flavors, including the unique robust (not really gamey) lamb .
The Chicharron de Queso ($7) is just that- crisp cheese made on a flat top grill. The guacamole is included and is always fresh (and wonderful). By itself, this is a decadent snack.
An order of flautas ($9.50). Flour tortillas filled then deep fried to a light crispness, topped with lettuce, creama and shredded cotija. The filling choices are lamb, chicken, potatoes or beans. Three are are quite a meal, or good for sharing. 
Walk in, order, pay, find a seat inside or outside.
There are menus above and on the wall as well as physical laminated menus. 
The Mister ordered a Soup and 1/2 sandwich plate ($10.75)
He chose a hot half sandwich-grilled Pastrami and Swiss on toasted sourdough (instead of grilled rye). Russian dressing, lettuce and tomato were offered and since this order wasn't traditional, he got it all. This was very good.
There are four homemade soups offered here: Chicken Noodle, Chicken Tortilla, Broccoli Cheddar and Clam Chowder. The chicken ones are priced at $5.50 and $6.40; the vegetarian is $5.25 and $6.15 and the chowder is $6.50 and $7.75 if purchased as an individual cup or bowl. No extra charges for the combo plate. Clam Chowder it is, and it is wonderful. Creamy, rich with clam juice and a lot of clam meat. Tiny diced potatoes and celery. Perfectly seasoned (no need to add salt or pepper), this was really the best we've had out here. 
I ordered a grilled chicken salad ($13.75) with the house made ranch dressing (as you can see, three containers of ranch are given). The fresh vegetables and nicely grilled chicken made for a really great meal. 
We started at the top right corner of this map (Green Line), changed to the Orange Line and after getting downtown, changed again to the Blue Line going North, ending up at the top left of this map. (Going home, we changed from the Blue to the Green Line)
It was sunny leaving Santee.
Then it got a bit cloudy when we hit downtown.
Many people left the Trolley at this stop, since it was closest to the Ballpark and the Padres had a playoff game.
By the time we were headed on the 'new' line, alongside Interstate 5, there was full fog.
We stayed on until the last stop, followed signage (and the other people who exited) to the Mall (through the parking lot) and eventually got to the Food Court, which overlooks the Ice Rink.
After checking all of the Food Court offerings, we decide on a meal and went off to order. The Mister stopped here, at Craft Pizza.
He ordered a Calzone with ham, sausage and mushrooms; an item going back to our dating days. This was excellent.
I went over to Kebab Grill and ordered a 'Lunch Special' advertised behind the cash register to the left in this photo.
Salad and
Lentil soup. Each was really good and made for a filling and complete meal. Then we started walking around the mall. 
The Mall has remained about the same, with new stores taking the place of old ones. There were some interesting vending machines.
Then we saw this. Had to stop.
A great selection of cookies, cupcakes, pastries and ice cream as well as hot and cold beverages. 
We shared a cup of coffee and a 
It was still overcast changing from the Blue Line to Green Line in Old Town.
Passing the new Snapdragon Stadium and back to sunshine by the time we got home.
I noted in my previous post that there's quite a bit more filling these days and on this visit they went a bit overboard on the chipotle. This was much spicier than I recall, though perhaps my tolerance has waned over the last couple of years? I also noted that they have changed the bread in my last post as well; it's quite yeasty and much lighter than what I used to enjoy. Regardless, the combination of eggs, beans, cheese, salsa performed adequately as my late breakfast on this day. Though perhaps I would have appreciated a bit more beans.