I’ll let the video below do more explaining.  Enjoy!

While there is nothing better than finally resting in province for a few days, I did not make this trip just to be on vacation! On Tuesday morning I woke up to get ready for my trip back to Paris. I said goodbye to my family and got back on the regional train to Lyon and then the fast train (the TGV) to Paris. I was in Paris around 5pm. I did some shopping and bought some slate plates and a summer suit. I needed a new suit for the fundraising and social events in Houston! Unfortunately, my budget was very small after spending so much on restaurants.

After dropping off my goodies at the hotel, I met up with Philippe Pantoli for one last round. This time it was at Le Petit Pergolese. This is the restaurant of Albert Corre one of my colleagues at the restaurant of Jacques Cagna many years ago. Albert has the most amazing resume of anyone I have ever seen with all the Michelin starred restaurants he has worked in.  It was nice to see him again along with the work he is doing. It is like a modern bisto with a very nice, loyal clientele. The food is good, strait forward and affordable. Albert does not mince words and he told me about the high taxes he was paying on another 1-star Michelin restaurant that he ended up selling to focus on his smaller restaurant. He is glad that he made the change so he can spend time with his girlfriend and their new baby.

I thought about how it had been a long time since we were partners in crime, going to night clubs in Paris on just a small budget. Although we worked in a great restaurant at the time, it did not pay well! After Cagna, Albert went to work for Robuchon and I went to Carre des Feuillants.

After our diner at Le Petit Pergolese, Philippe encouraged me to go to Hotel Costes. I explained the problem we had with Manuel but he was sure he could get us in. In fact he did and I finally got to see the crowd that was there. The people were handsome and pretty but they were not very helpful or smiling. It was there that we finally saw some “Top Chefs.” I had just been watching the show the night before on TV. At one point I turned around and there were the two finalists living their 15 minutes of fame!
After a quick drink, we met the chef of Costes in another restaurant. He was having dinner with the owner of the restaurant who knew Gilbert Lecoze (the owner of Le Bernardin who passed away 18 years ago).

When I got back to the hotel it was already late and I still had to pack for my flight leaving the next morning. Once I started packing and my suitcase got fuller and fuller, I started to get a little worried. Then as I tried to close the suitcase and the zipper started to break, I got really worried. I finally figured out a way to close my luggage without causing permanent damage. What I did not realize it that while I sat on my suitcase to make it close, I also ended up breaking a gift plate that I received at the Master Chef ceremony! That was not the end of my troubles because at the airport I was running around like a crazy person with all my luggage…

Fortunately, after arriving in Houston the customs people did not bother me; and I made it back with everything else intact. It was difficult traveling with so much stuff but it was worth it once I got back home to Houston. I may be tired and poor from my trip but I’m happy to be back home!

French lesson of the day: “Les voyages forment la jeunesse”… si les baggages ne sont trop lourd!

Translation (figurative): “Travel broadens the mind”…and the shoulders if the luggage is not too heavy.

Saturday morning we went to the Marais by taxi* to do some window shopping.  We stopped and bought some dried sausage for Manuel (it was later confiscated). After the Mariais, I went back to my hotel for my bags. We had one last meal with Manuel and then I had to catch a train to Roanne, near Lyon.

Once I had my suitcase and checked out of the hotel (just for a few days because I was coming back to spend my last night in Paris), I met up with Manuel and Ines Pantoli for lunch. Ines is Philippe Pantoli’s daughter and she used to work with us at Philippe Restaurant last year. Lunch was located at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the 7^th arrondissement.  This was again, one of my favorite meals even though I’ve already been there at least 3 times. It is really a top level cuisine, especially for the price. It is well executed and the portions are perfect. This was my last stop before heading to Roanne to spend some time with my family so I actually relaxed a minute and appreciated the moment.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon has quite a different ambiance then any of the other restaurants we dined at. The décor is all black and red,from the tables and chairs to the plates and napkins. The kitchen is centrally located with a bar wrapped around it. The servers are between the kitchen and the bar (see video below). It is pretty amazing because you can actually see the chefs cooking in the kitchen.

With Chef Robuchon, the food always has a creative presentation. He has a “recipe for success” with his precision in mixing flavors, seasoning, and contrast of texture, perfect cooking temperature all within a chic and casual atmosphere.

After lunch, we said our goodbyes and I caught a taxi for the Gare de Lyon. I hopped on the TGV train (fast speed train) and settled in for a nap. Once in Lyon, I changed trains. This was a regional train and it was much slower. I enjoyed watching the countryside and looked forward to seeing my family again. When I arrived, I was so glad to see everyone but I was so tired from my last few days in Paris. Fortunately over the next few days I had time to rest and visit with family. We even celebrated my Mom’s birthday on Sunday. Tuesday rolled around before I knew it and I was off again to Paris. I had one more night in the city and one last meal to conquer… Check back tomorrow to hear about the final moments of my trip.

* This must have been the taxi driver that I gave my business card to. After I got home to Houston, someone from Dallas contacted me to say that they would be dining at Philippe Restaurant while in Houston…it had been recommended by their taxi driver while on a recent trip to Paris! What great PR for us!

French lesson of the day: Rien ne sert de courir; il faut partir à point.

Translation: There’s no point in running; you have to leave on time. The equivalent English proverb is “Slow and steady wins the race.”

On Friday evening I met up with Manuel and Philippe Pantoli at the Maison Blanche (White House) for pre-dinner drinks. It is a great place: it is a Michelin starred restaurant (from the famous Pourcel Brothers), a bar and a night club (only weekends) all in one location.

Unfortunately no one was there, so we just had a quick drink and then went to George V where we had heard there was a young Meilleur Ouvrier de France* working at the bar who we wanted to see in action. The hotel was very extravagant and lavish and as you may know, this is where a lot of celebrities stay when they are in Paris. So it is easy to understand why it is so luxurious and why the staff is so attentive. It is really quite impressive.

The bar was low-lit and intimate. The bartenders wore suits and ties, very classy but very uncomfortable for doing their job I would imagine. There seemed to be a lot American clientele; and after about 10 minutes we were able to secure a seat at the bar. That is when we got to speak to the famous barman himself! We had a nice discussion and he explained that there are 7 steps to passing the MOF barman competition.  This is what I remember from what he told us:

1. Champagne service along with a taste test and knowledge test
2. The repetition of making the same cocktail several times in the row, to challenge your consistency
3. An Iron Chef style test where you are given unknown ingredients and from them you must make an interesting cocktail
4. General knowledge of world and current events so that you can have conversation with the clients
5. Marketing and PR skills to see if you know how to sell the drinks and yourself as well
6. A test about ingredients so you can talk about each component of a cocktail but also so you know how to create new cocktails with knowledge of all liquors, fruits, etc
7. A blind tasting of coffee!

He gave us a lot of information and even offered to buy us a drink. Too bad we refused because we later found out that just one drink cost 28€ (about $35)! He even told us that some of his inspiration comes from the chef of Alinea in Chicago. That is great that the chefs in the US are making a name for themselves in France too.

From George V we ran by Alcazar to see where Top Chef France is filmed. Our trip there was quick because the finalists were busy filming at that time. We did however get to see a bit of the Latin Quarter which is an area where a lot of students find cheap places to stay during their studies. These rooms are usually located on the top floor of a building (up six flights of stairs, no elevator). They are called a chambre de bonne (a maid’s room). Because of all the students it is a very vibrant part of the city with shopping and a large fountain that is used as a meeting point for tourists and locals alike. There are tons of Greek gyro shops and book stores and the restaurant Cagna where I worked for a couple years many years ago…

When we arrived at our final destination, the restaurant Agape Substance, I was a little surprised. From the outside it looks just like a white storefront with frosted windows. Once inside, it is very small but with mirrors on every side which makes it look larger than it really is. There was one long communal table and one menu: 12 courses for 95€. It was definitely interesting…

Facade

inside Agape Substance

I had originally wanted to go to L’Astrance which is a 3-starred Michelin restaurant. Philippe Pantoli told me that the old sous-chef of L’Astrance had a couple of restaurants now and that we should check them out instead.

They presented us with several little dishes, each using new tendencies and methods, lots of molecular cooking. I am not sure this concept would work just anywhere. I feel like a lot of people still want a real appetizer, a main course and a dessert to have what they may consider a balanced meal. It was worth the trip and to see what such a young chef is creating in Paris. It was also interesting to see that the Chef’s were firing off each course themselves as they could see when each person was finished with their dish by way of the mirrored ceiling!

slow poached egg, corn puree

pigeon, potato filled with aioli-type sauce

lightly baked sea urchin

poached egg with foie gras and smoked potato broth

root vegetables, salad and herbs, olive oil powder

pea soup

crunchy salad with fresh herbs

sponge cake

calamari

fish cooked sous-vide, watercress sauce

smoked eel in squid ink sauce

dry pear with sorbet and crumble cookie

light mousse-type passion fruit, ice cream and crispy meringue

After our meal, it was time to part ways with Philippe Pantoli. So, Manuel and I continued the adventure and made our way to Buddha Bar to have our last drink. We were able to see it in a different light since it was really busy on a Friday night compared to our last visit on a Wednesday evening. Here we got to see another bartender in action (see video below). After Buddha Bar, we were done for the evening. Another adventure-filled day to reflect upon…

This was our last evening together in Paris with Manuel but we had one more meal to discover. Make our Saturday lunch at a place that needs no introduction…

*I mentioned this title yesterday; it is the Best Craftsman of France Award.

French lesson of the day: 28 Euros pour un cocktail? Vous êtes sur Monsieur?!

Translation: 28 Euros for a cocktail? Sir, are you sure?!

I slept in on Friday morning since we had been up the night before until 4:30am visiting the market at Rungis. Fortunately, we didn’t have a reservation until 12:30 at our next highlight of the trip, the restaurant of Thierry Marx, Sur Mesure. It is located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel which is another palace similar to the Shangri-La that I had visited on Tuesday night.

Thierry Marx was just awarded 2 Michelin stars this year. He is an avant garde chef doing a lot of molecular cuisine of very high quality. He is often referred to as Planet Marx because what he does can be so “far out there.” He is also a judge of Top Chef, just like Jean-François Piège that I talked about last week.

We were seated and we chose our menus. Manuel and I each ordered a 7 course meal while Philippe Pantoli decided on just 5 courses! Only a chef of this level can dare to do something like lobster claw in squid ink making it look burned. Of course it was not. Some of the dishes were quite technical and the server had to keep going back and forth to the kitchen to make it work. I guess being such a creative chef is risky business sometimes! We also had caviar that came with a very dramatic presentation (see video below). Even our desserts were spectacular with some very elaborate presentations. Of course the wine that went with our lunch was chosen by one of the best sommeliers in France – a Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny – a wine from the grape Cabernet Franc, light bodied, savory, herbal with bright cherry notes.

lobster with squid ink crust

dessert with a little crown, now that’s elaborate!

Wine from the Loire Valley

While this was an expensive place, the portions were appropriate making for a satisfying meal. The dishes were adventurous but the food was accessible. I really enjoyed the experience! The only critic would be that despite the modern all white design, the acoustics were questionable especially if you come here to do business.

I mentioned in a previous post that it is often difficult to find work in the country regions of France, so hospitality industry workers end up going to the big cities and especially Paris to find work. This is also true for famous chefs. I have spoken to chefs over the last few years that have explained how heavy the taxes can be on their business. Some go to Paris to have a better chance of being more financially successful and having more media attention in a bigger market, while others choose to work for someone else, like for a big, luxurious hotel in the case of Thierry Marx. This allows those chefs to leave the business part to someone else while they focus on their art. They can also bring prestige to a big hotel so it works well for both parties.

After our lunch, we did some more shopping and then got ready for our last evening in Paris. Check back tomorrow to hear about my final dinner with Manuel…but not our last meal in Paris!

French lesson of the day: Parfois être chef peut être un métier à risque!

Translation: Sometimes being a chef can be risky business!

Thursday night of my trip, we had eaten at the restaurant of Jean-François Piège and then gone for a drink at the Kube. After that, we took a 25 minute taxi ride to Rungis so we could see the large professional market. When we arrived at 1:30 am, the doors were closed! We asked out taxi driver, Charlie, to drop us off at the fish market entry and asked if he would come back to pick us up at 4am. He gave us his number and just said to call him when we were ready to go.

Since we had to wait half an hour, we made our way to a brasserie across the street. We also asked about the market next door and when it would open. The guys next to us said they were also waiting for the market to open. So we stayed there and had coffee and croissants at 1:30am with fish mongers and butchers all waiting to get in and have first pick of the freshest products.

When the first doors opened (the fish market opened first while fruits and vegetables did not open until 4am for the meat and 5am for produce and flowers), I found that it was very different then I had imagined. This was because of the timing of our visit. We arrived before the action got started. Also you had to come in covered, wearing a long white jacket. Fortunately we were able to purchase one there because that is the last thing we would have thought to bring!

Once we got our jackets on, we headed off the see the goods. We were in the fish building. Some products like fruits and vegetables were spread out over 10 to 12 buildings! The entire complex of buildings is spread out over 570 acres.

We saw a large variety of fish and seafood: live langoustine, sea urchin and shark (see video below). After checking out tons of fish we made our way to the meats. Here again, there were aisles and aisles of fresh and cured meats, sausage, tapas, etc.

We were getting tired so we headed on over to the fruit and vegetable section. They were just opening so we only got to see a bit of the selection. The little that we saw was incredible, but we just could not take it anymore. By that time it was 3:30 or 4 in the morning and we had to get back to our hotels for some rest. We called our trusted taxi driver Charlie and he came to pick us up.

He returned us safely to the center of Paris. That night – or morning should I say – I did not hesitate to do anything else except find my bed and crash!

Check back tomorrow, we get back to our favorite passed time: eating!

French lesson of the day: Charlie, pouvez-vous revenir nous chercher a 4 heures du matin?

Translation: Charlie, can you come back to pick us up at 4 in the morning?

Well, after an exceptional lunch at Apicius and some afternoon shopping at the chic Galerie Lafayette, I was excited to get to our dinner at the restaurant of Chef Jean-François Piège. Getting a reservation was not easy: you had to call exactly 2 weeks before the date you wanted to book. So I called, at 9 am (so 2 am Texas time!) as instructed on March 15 for a reservation on the 29^th. I had recently seen some creations by the chef in my Thuries magazine. There seemed to be a lot of buzz around his new place that is upstairs from his more casual brasserie and that was designed by the famous India Mahdavi. It is set in what looks like someone’s apartment.

interior

Maybe my expectations were too high – I was in fact expecting perfection – because I was a bit disappointed with our meal. Chef Piège comes from the ranks of Ducasse so I know he is talented. He is in fact one of his most famous chefs as he is known for his collaboration with Ducasse on writing several important culinary bibles: Le Grande Livre de Cuisine, Bistro, Brasseries et Restaurants de Tradition,  Desserts and Pastries and others.

However like many restaurant patrons, my experience started when we walked up the stairs to the second floor dining room. The hostess seemed a little cold and it did not quite set a relaxed mood for us.

Then we were seated in what seemed like a very intimate table. I might have enjoyed it more if I was on a date but dining with my sous-chef Manuel in this low-lit (you will see later that it was not good for taking pictures), romantic setting just did not do it for me!! All joking aside, the seating felt a little strange. I think that the well-educated Houston diners would agree and come to the same conclusion as me: the tables were too spread out and isolated in this small place making it hard to get the overall feel of the restaurant.

I wish the chef had been there, maybe I would have understood things better with his explanation. He had a good excuse because he was judging the French Top Chef competition. In fact, I later saw him in action on TV and he was amazing. He was very articulate in giving precise feedback to each participant. He was able to verbally express his vision and philosophy about food which was really amazing to watch.

While the ambiance impacted our overall experience, the flavors* of our dishes were rather exceptional. To start, Manuel had the lobster Thai style with fresh coconut and cilantro. The broth had a pure clean savory flavor of lobster and was sweet at the same time but the flavors blended well, neither one was too overpowering. I had the bass with baby vegetables with carrots, fresh herbs, carrot dust and watercress pesto underneath.

lobster

bass with baby vegetables

Following our appetizers, we had the choice of one meat that would be interpreted 2 ways by the chef. Manuel’s first dish was a homemade spicy sausage with cumin harissa broth and couscous made of broccoli, cauliflower, mint and parsley. I was amazed that there was no grain at all in the dish but had the same texture and taste of couscous. My first dish was chicken ravioli in a light broth.

Manuel’s second dish was a lamb loin sous-vide with celery sous-vide and a ragout of carrots and beans. It was a little spicy; it must have been made with espelette. My second dish was chicken sous-vide and crayfish. It was a revisited classic of “poulet ecrivisse”. It also had a crayfish sauce and a seaweed tuile.

Sous-vide is a slow cooking technique at a low temperature. It allows the meat or fish to cook evenly and stay juicier. It also keeps the original color of ingredients but this can give the impression that the meat is not cooked and so people might not like this aspect.

spicy sausage

chicken ravioli

lamb loin

poulet ecrevisse

The desserts were the highlight. They were very well executed. There were actually 3 small desserts: a macaroon type meringue filled with a creamy berry Chantilly (it had a creamy yogurt texture), a sorell granita (kind of like an herbed icy sorbet) and a very light blanc manger (you can try our version from our Pastry Chef Jami Kling at Philippe Restaurant + Lounge).

desserts

Since we did not finish up that late we decided to try out a bar that I had been to a few years ago, the Kube. That is where I had seen the bags for keeping wine bottles cool back in 2010 and where I had some amazing cocktails. Unfortunately it was completely dead because it was already after midnight! We had a quick drink but did not stay long because that night we planned to stay up all night. No, we were not planning on going to a discotheque…we had plans to go to the huge professional market in Rungis.

After our drink, we caught a taxi that took us to Rungis. We got there at 1:30 am only to find the doors locked! Check back next week to find out what we did…

French lesson of the day (I am always making sure this does not happen to me!): Rouler quelqu’un dans la farine.

Translation (figurative): To pull the wool over someone’s eyes.

* I apologize, I could not take any notes and my account is from what I remember. Therefore I might not be 100% accurate in detailing the ingredients of each dish.

The morning started off slow, thanks to the cocktails from the night before. While I did not have a hangover (that is not my style!), I am still not used to drinking even small amounts of alcohol. Therefore, the main side effect for me is fatigue. Despite being tired, I could not afford to slow down the pace, so Manuel and I met up in the lobby of my hotel where we picked up our tickets to the Louvre from the concierge who had already ordered our tickets.

From there, we took a taxi to the museum. We discreetly made our way past the lines and under the glass pyramids as we watched the scene of CGT (General Confederation of Labor) strikers march down the rue de Rivoli.

Once inside, we went straight to the Mona Lisa. The people at the museum were really nice and they gave us lots of information. When we went to the other side of the museum to see the temporary exposition, they even gave me permission to film and take photos! I had been looking forward to the exposition about the discoveries from the underwater excavations of the Rhone River. I was excited to see the only bust of Caesar that was done during his lifetime!

The Louvre

After our speed tourism was finished, we made our way to the Metro station. This was Manuel’s first encounter with the Paris Metro. Having lived in New York for long time, Manuel did not need any help understanding the way the system worked. He did say it was quite a bit cleaner!

We took the metro to the George V station. From there we walked to our next gastronomic adventure, Apicius.

This, by far, was my favorite meal. First of all, the setting was magical. From the street you just see a large rock wall, but once you see the gated entrance, you can see a lush green lawn leading up to a large manor house in the background.  When we arrived, a guest was sitting out on the patio enjoying the nice spring weather.

The “hotel particulier“ where Apicius is located on the ground floor is owned by the film producer Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Big Blue, etc). The renowned chef, Jean-Pierre Vigato, moved his restaurant to rue Artois just 2 years ago. The building and design were elegant and modern. Even the bathroom had an interesting décor! The atmosphere was sophisticated but not stuffy. The dishes were a little bourgeois but they had character.  From the amuses bouches to the dessert (even the wine cellar), everything was well executed for the restaurant’s clientele that was probably 70% Parisien.

The only inconvenience was the price – that was another bill that was difficult to digest!

amuses bouches

light seafood soup with toast

crusted paté

carpaccio of scallops and oysters with purified sea water

spring vegetables with mascarpone and parmesan

foie gras

frog legs

John Dory

pigeon napoleon with filo dough, ginger-quince chutney

tete de veau

serious butter and knife – look how huge this is!

peach melba

citrus terrine with sorbet mandarin

chocolate trio

petits fours

After Apicius, we made our way to the Galerie Lafayette and Beau Brumel. I was amazed at the number of tourists there despite the bad economy. I guess Paris is always packed whatever the world economic situation – even all the hotels in the area we stayed were booked solid! At the department store, we found some dishes, spices, photos and some souvenirs. After our shopping spree, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for an evening at the long awaited restaurant of Jean-Francois Piege.  Check back tomorrow to hear if it was worth the wait!

French lesson of the day: Avoir la gueule du bois.

Translation (Figurative): To have a hangover.

Manuel and I met up just outside my hotel after our already full day of food, shopping and sightseeing. Now we were back to the eating part again. This time we had 2 restaurants reserved back to back. The idea was to have the starter course at one and then the main course and dessert at the second one.  It did not quite happen like that…

We started off by arranging to meet up with Philippe Pantoli at 39 V (one of the new restaurants from Ducasse’s empire). It is located at number 39, avenue George V…  As we searched for the entrance, Philippe walked up. He said to follow him around the corner. We walked into the archway of what looked like a residential building on rue Quentin-Bauchart!

entrance from the street

From there, we went through a side door where we were greeted by a hostess. She showed us to a small door that was actually an elevator. So far, this experience seemed like we were walking into a dream world. Well, it was almost the case because when we stepped out of the elevator into the restaurant on the building’s top floor, we were met by an attentive staff and a warm and welcoming décor. We decided to first have a cocktail on the terrace where we ended up staying for a while before moving to the adjacent dining room that was separated from the patio by a wall of transparent glass doors. From there we could see that the restaurant circled around the building as we could make out tall white hats scurrying around back and forth. That is when we realized that the windowed area in front of us was actually the kitchen!

Sitting on the patio with a drink in hand, this was another one of those few moments that I actually felt relaxed. I tried to take it in while we sipped our cocktails and sampled some of the delicious cured Spanish ham that Philippe Pantoli sells to them. Philippe explained that this ham is like “caviar with 4 legs” and that you must show a lot of respect in how it is presented and served. Fortunately he was happy with the presentation!

multi-tasking as usual, every second counts… where is my Verizon 4G LTE?

cured Spanish ham – the 4 legged caviar!

We did not take long to decide on our first dishes of the evening. There were eggs poached with asparagus (asparagus was all over Paris by the way), lobster with pearl vegetables and endive 3 ways.  I was surprised to still see endive on the menu since it is more of a winter vegetable. All the dishes were precise and well executed (Ducasse style of course).

foie gras ravioli, lobster consommé

slow poached eggs with asparagus 3 ways

bass with trio of endive

John Dory a la plancha with asparagus

lobster with pearled vegetables

At one point in the dinner, the chef came to greet us at our table. His name is Frederic Vardon, he was one of the soldiers of Ducasse for 14 years, traveling and working in some of the best restaurants around the world.

We ended up eating an appetizer and a main course. We avoided the dessert but forced ourselves to taste the cheese. The restaurant had the only female sommelier that we saw on our trip. She was really good and suggested a lovely wine. You could tell that she knew her stuff but our Vanessa Trevino-Boyd is still the best!

At 9:30 we finally left to go to Le Diane that was literally right across the street. That is right, we like to strike while the iron is hot! Le Diane is the gastronomic restaurant of the hotel Fouquet’s where Nicolas Sarkozy had his infamous celebration party after winning the French presidential elections in May 2007. Well, we shared the dining room with some similar high-rolling guests although I could tell they were neither French nor American. I am not sure what language they spoke but they were having a good time we could tell and it did not look like they were so concerned with the cost of the menu, unlike me.

I was a little shocked when I saw the details of the small but very expensive menu.  And I was a little disappointed, probably because we had already stuffed our faces at 39 V! The amuses bouches, such as tartare with avocado were not really my style; but the appetizers were great and the salmon mi-cuit was well executed. The desserts were nicely presented but the flavor was very “traditional”.

amuses bouches

salmon mi-cuit

apple napoleon

The Chef was very nice to stop by our table and say hello although he had to leave quickly for personal reasons. After the meal, the sous-Chef came by and we talked about our trip. We told him that we were looking for places to try new cocktails and he indicated 2 new “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” barmen that worked in the area. One actually worked at the bar of Fouquet’s and the other at George V hotel.

We decided to have a drink after dinner in the lounge which was located on a beautiful outdoor patio that wrapped partway around the building. After just one drink, we decided to try the Buddha Bar back near my hotel. You have probably heard of Buddha Bar, it has been around for a while but I know they always have new cocktails and I really thought that Manuel would like it, which he did as he ended up going back several times!

There, we had some great cocktails and met a young girl that had studied at the Ecole Hoteliere in Bordeaux and was doing an internship in Paris. This is very common of people who work in the restaurant and hospitality industry to go to Paris for work. I will share more on this in a later post.

After our long discussion with the server at Buddha Bar we decided it was time to head back to our hotels and get ready for another day of activities. Instead, once I arrived at my hotel I got back on my computer to document my trip. Again I did not go to bed until 3 am…

Check back for tomorrow’s post. Our routine of eating, eating and eating gets shaken up as bit as we do some sightseeing. Do not worry, we get back to the eating after that!

French lesson of the day: Battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud.

Translation: Strike while the iron is hot.

Wednesday morning I woke up wondering if Manuel’s flight had gone well. I was expecting a call from him to say he was at the airport but as soon as I looked at my phone, I had a text saying that he was already at his hotel! I got ready quickly, grabbed a croissant and a coffee on my way out of the hotel and rushed to meet Manuel. He was staying at a hotel just a couple of blocks from mine. Once I got there, he was already in a bit of a dilemma. The hotel had a problem with the room and needed to send Manuel to another hotel for a couple of nights. He was not having much luck. First his flight was cancelled and now there was a problem with his hotel.  Anyway, I arrived just in time to translate and explain the situation to Manuel. He was soon on his way to getting settled into a room and unpacking.

We called Philippe Pantoli to fill him in on our adventures and asked him to pick us up before heading towards the Champs Elysees.  There we had reservations at the Mini Palais. We took the roundabout at the Concorde and then headed west towards the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. If you have been to Paris then you know what an architectural treasure this area is…you might have even seen it in the Tour de France. This is also one of the most expensive shopping districts in Paris so we were not surprised to see the typical Parisian scene similar to that of New York with ladies doing their shopping on Madison Avenue. As we searched for the valet, we could see the Eiffel Tower across the Seine River.

We made our way up the steps of the Mini Palais which is a restaurant housed in a corner of the Grand Palais. When we arrived in the dining room, the hostess said, “You are late for your reservation.” I said, “No, not really.” To which she replied, “Yes, you are 25 minutes late.”

In fact, we were pretty late for our reservation. I had not realized the time but hey, we were in Paris where everyone is late, at least 15 minutes fashionably late! The hostess looked like she was trying to play tough but I could tell that she was really a sweet girl. I decided to try the charm instead of getting mad and I said with a smile and a little laugh, “Mademoiselle, I am very tired from traveling and the only thing I want to hear right now is ‘Mr. Schmit, we are happy to see you. Your table is ready.’”

At first she looked at me a little strangely and I thought maybe she took it the wrong way. Then I could see a smile starting to crack and we both started to laugh. She showed us to our table and wished us an enjoyable meal. That was the beginning of what turned out to be a fabulous meal in a most unexpected setting. (Lesson in French culture: If the French try to stick it to you, then you have to stick it back to them… with humor of course! Do not let them take advantage of you!)

As Philippe and Manuel sat down to study the menu (they could only think of their stomachs at the moment), I admired the scenery.  First of all, we were seated near a widow and as you looked out you immediately saw large Roman columns with tables and chairs scattered among them. You could also see some of Paris’ most amazing architecture from where we sat.  The people ate outside and enjoyed the nice spring weather. The restaurant is one of Eric Frechon’s. He is not the actual chef there but you can tell that he is the inspiration there. The food was simple and had great flavor. It was kind of like Gordon Ramsey’s way of cooking: meat, veggies + sauce – straightforward and well executed. Where we were sitting allowed us to see many dishes go by, so now I really feel like an expert on the Mini Palais! See some of our dishes below.

sardines from Portugal – not as good as the ones that Philippe Pantoli will soon supply to Philippe Restaurant

fish carpaccio and steak tartare

blended asparagus soup with poached egg and bacon emulsion

chicken breast with potato pancake, sauteed romaine hearts and an extra side of delicious mashed potatoes

duck magret with glazed turnips + spice sauce (star anis, cumin and coriander)

baby lamb with espelette jus and mint pea puree

baba au rhum with non-sweetened Chantilly

Chocolate Jivara, caramel ice cream made with salted butter

chocolate fondant

wild strawberries

As my first encounter with the hostess predicted, we got along well with the staff here. This was in fact one of the rare restaurants that had such a welcoming staff and quite reasonable pricing I would come to realize later.

After lunch, we made our way to the Grand Epicerie. If you do not know it already, the Grand Epicerie is like an upscale Central Market. We of course wanted to buy everything in the store but settled on a couple of David Guetta signature Coca Cola bottles, a few dishes for molecular cooking (for the expert Pastry Chef in our kitchen, Jami Kling) and a chocolate croissant. We got some great ideas for bread and took a picture of the foie gras presentation. The quality of the fruit, vegetables, meat and cheese was remarkable. It is crazy to think that some Parisians do all their grocery shopping there – but it is true!

From the Grand Epicerie, we hopped in a taxi and made our way to Ile de la Cité to see Notre Dame Cathedral. There were many people outside the church taking pictures. It is amazing how we can now just snap a picture with a phone and then send it across the world in a matter of seconds. Fortunately the line was not too long so we made a quick trip through the cathedral. We wanted to cross the bridge to Ile Saint Louis and get an ice cream at the Maison Berthillion but it had just closed. Instead, we took a taxi back to the hotel but on our way, we stopped by Collette on rue Saint Honoré for my friend Catherine Moellering who is a trend forecaster in New York City for Tobe. Collette is a trendy store in Paris that sells just about everything from headphones, to clothes, to accessories, to helmets! From what I understand, it is very avant-garde and has quite an influence on upcoming trends worldwide!

Back at the hotel, we had just enough time to shower and change before saddling up for our next restaurant, the 39 V. Check back tomorrow to hear about our dining marathon (2 restaurants in one night)!

French lesson of the day: Monsieur, vous avez vingt-cinq minutes de retard!

Translation: Sir, you are twenty five minutes late!