As we did not have access to a kitchen, we ate out most nights, or made use of the complimentary breakfast, or ran to the grocery store for a quick snack. The foods all differed from one another and there were restaurants for every kind of food all within walking distance.
While the foods themselves were not that much different that what we’re used to, the menus seemed to mostly be limited to a large meat entree, sandwiches, a salad, or something with fish. I cannot imagine how vegans would go out and find something. Though I am a vegetarian, I made exceptions for this trip because of convenience and because even though I don’t want to eat meat, I still like eating meat. So I did when I wanted to.
Our complimentary breakfast. They had fruits, yogurts, applesauce, pastries, mini pancakes, crepes and nutella, hard boiled eggs, cereal, and sliced meats. Coffee was everywhere, and good coffee too. They also had OJ, milk, water (which tasted off everywhere we went), and cranberry juices. Most places had these and even more juices too which was very exciting.
I’m going to mention here the sodas over there tasted different than our US sodas. I think it’s because they use stevia forms of sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup to sweeten their drinks. While healthier, a cold stevia sprite on a hot day was not nearly as satisfying as drinking one with corn syrup.
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A meal we sat down for after visiting the Arc de Triomphe.
I had a mushroom and cheese crepe. It came with a deliciously fresh side salad and of course baguette pieces. Everywhere restaurant we went to served a large bowl of bread before the meal. I also had a sparkling lemonade that was clear, not yellow.
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These next few were from dinner at an Italian restaurant–different pastas with bread and cheese.
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We stopped by this place on the way to the Jardins du Luxembourg.
I had a cheese platter with bleu cheese, brie, goat cheese, and cheddar.
They were so delicious and rich, full of flavor and texture. There was really a whole other standard of cheeses in France.
Ari had the French onion soup which was also fantastic. They loaded it up with cheese and bread but it was still incredibly flavorful.
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After the gardens, we passed by the most amazing charcuterie. I had been searching for one the whole trip and found this one by random. It was run by a young man from the south of France who sourced his meats and cheeses from local, small-scale farms. The animals were raised and butchered with so much care, and the taste was proof enough.
As soon as we walked in the store, he offered us samples of various cheeses and wine pairings. We tried a walnut wine, a peach wine, grappa wine, manchego, chèvre, sheep cheese, a tomato basil gouda, jamon iberico, a French prosciutto, two types of paté, and French salami. He also had jams and cheap but high quality champagnes.
He made his own bread below the store and gave us a baguette of fig and honey. It was so fresh and sweet.
This man was extremely kind to us and explained where he got all his products from and how the flavors go together of the different cheeses, wine, meat, jam, and bread. The freshness and creative flavors of all the different foods was unbelievable and delicious.
^the peach wine
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We ordered sushi one night because it was the only place open on a Sunday night. The sushi was really good but I was more fascinated with the differences in condiment take out containers. The soy sauce came in a squeeze resealable bottle and plastic trays for the sauce were next to the chopsticks. The wasabi and ginger came in packets like the soy sauce over here normally comes in.
I just really admired the new containers for take out from this sushi restaurant.
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A block away from where we were staying was this incredible looking pastry shop. We went in one day and I ordered 3 mini macarons, one vanilla and two raspberry. Also I said it in French and I thought that was cool because she didn’t just speak English back to me like most people would do when they could tell we weren’t French.
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Near the Eiffel Tower we had a nice lunch on a street corner. We both ordered a French onion soup as our throats were feeling a little scratchy. We also split a plate of fried calamari and it was the best I’ve ever had I think. It came with a delicious mustard sauce to complement it.
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On the last night, we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at a fancy restaurant. It was maybe too fancy to feel comfortable and parts of the etiquette were unfamiliar to me. But we had the most amazing meal and the most expensive one for sure. The dishes were like a work of art, each one so delicately designed and the flavors to complement just perfectly.
We started off with cocktails and I chose “La Favorite.”
It had a bowl made of ice cubes of the rim of the glass and had cherries inside. So once the bowl melted some, the ice boat and cherries would fall in. The drink was very tasty and very sweet, but fresh.
This beautiful platter was brought out to start us off. The samples included cream cheese with salmon roe, a goat cheese filled wonton pastry topped with hummus, a cracker with beet root and soft brie, and a wonky-airy-light-type of cracker with a sauce. They were indescribable but so wonderful.
Next, we had this tiny but incredibly flavorful dish. It was veggies on the bottom with this potato cream that disappeared like air on the tongue.
For the main course, I ordered baby goat with zucchini prepared three different ways: grilled, raw, and with the flower fried. It had plant tops covering it and from the tendrils and leaf shape, I could identify it was in the pea family.
Ari ordered the lamb brain covered in fried parsley. I tried a bite of this because of what a rare opportunity it was for me, and enjoyed it. Though, I don’t think I could get past the eating brain part in my head.
Before dessert we had a pre-dessert plate which consisted of a type of sugar coated marshmallow, a tiny lemon tart with dried fruit, and a chocolate bon bon with edible gold on top. It was accompanied by an elderflower-pear water of sorts. This juice water was the most refreshing, tasty, and unique drink I’ve tried.
For dessert, we ordered a sampler of all the desserts and were blown away at how beautiful they looked and then how amazing they tasted.
We started with the chocolate plate. On a chocolate cracker bed were 4 different bon bons, one of them even had pop rocks in it. The flavors were unlike any typical bon bon filling I’ve tried and they were so creative. To top it off, a thin caramel square added that extra rich flavor.
Next we moved to the mixed fruit which was to be paired with a fizzy raspberry foam. It was such a unique sensation of the foam with its incredible flavor compared with the flavors of the fresh fruit.
The next one we tried was a raspberry and pistachio assortment with a tiny cake. As I love raspberry, this was also delicious but I maybe would have toned down the pistachio. But, that’s just me probably.
Finally we had this mix of all things rhubarb. It was incredible. The tartness of the rhubarb was paired so well with just the right amount of sugar. The rhubarb was turned into things of which I don’t even know what to call. The bottom pink layer was a solid jelly form, and then there was rhubarb stalks that had been altered in a way I don’t know. The dish also had a rhubarb sauce-paste on a pink cookie and a marshmallow with more of that jelly on top. It was delicious and inspiring to see all the creative things to do with rhubarb.
All the different foods we tried were absolutely incredible and so creative. It was more than a meal, it was watching artwork in the medium of food be presented in front me. And then I got to eat that artwork and taste the flavor palettes as well. It was an amazing experience.