Best of Both Worlds

I have no qualms forking over good money for good food.  But there's something all too satisfying when you're able to find good food for an excellent price.  At Creperie Josselin, eating from the 10 lunch prefix menu almost feels like a crime.  For 10, they provide their traditional jambon (ham), fromage (cheese), and oeuf (egg) crepe, an option of a simple dessert crepe or sorbet, and a boisson (drink).  And with the drink, you can get their famous cider, a glass of wine, or if you're boring (like me), a bottle of apple juice.  And while everybody around me was getting a specialty crepe off the traditional menu (which were priced more appropriately at about 6-9 for just a meal crepe), the temptation of satisfying myself on just 10 was too great an opportunity to pass up.

At first glance, the savory crepe makes you do a double take because it's not what you expect from a savory crepe.  its a thick buckwheat crepe batter that is slightly crisped and stuffed with all the savory ingredients (in this case cheese, egg, and ham).  There is no sauce glazed over the crepe nor do any fancy decorations adorn the top, but none of that is needed as simple and to the point seem to be the theme of this creperie.  And this no frills crepe was actually quite delicious.  The buckwheat crepe batter is not as smooth as a traditional batter, but provides a little more grainy taste.  It is soft at the heart of the crepe where all the ingredients are and crispy on the edges, even until the very last bite.  The combination of cheese, egg, and ham within the crepe is gooey and flavorful, but not too greasy as sometimes this combination is.  I was able to scarf down the entire crepe and not feel heavy or bloated at the end.

Which was definitely a good thing because I still had dessert coming up.  In the mood for something citrusy, I went with the lemon crepe.  The dessert crepe came on the more traditional egg based batter and was stuffed with a lemon glaze and sprinkled with sugar.  The batter itself was fluffy and could be peeled in layers, almost reminding me of an omelet where the egg is rolled in thin layers over and over.  The lemon glazing was sweet and citrusy and the sugar added some crunch.  The dessert was also light and delectable as the whole thing disappeared in no time.

The end of a good meal is usually when the smiling ends as the waiter brings the l'addition (check/bill) and the penalties of a delicious meal, but not at Creperie Josselin where great, authentic French crepes and friendly service can all be bought for a bargain 10 during lunchtime.

Creperie Josselin

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67 Rue du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris, France

Metro: Edgar Quinet, Vavin, or Montparnasse Bievenue

Making mountains out of molehills

My momma always to tell me to eat early so that my body doesn't have to work on digesting food while I'm sleeping (which apparently is a reason for weight gain and tiredness in the morning).  I guess Paris never had a momma like mine to tell them what's up.  The running theme here is to eat dinner in the wee hours of the night and go to sleep extremely full.  And so, in our further attempts to be Parisian (sorry momma), I had a dining experience at the Chez Prosper from 10pm-12:30pm.

Ok so maybe 10pm is a little late even by Parisian standards (I heard standard dinner time starts anywhere from 8:30-9:30pm) but to be fair we had to wait an hour to be seated.  And to be honest, the one hour wait plus the raving reviews from fellow classmates, TA's, and professors really put me in a defensive skepticism about the place (Over-hype scares me and I have a bad habit of downgrading expectancy in response to it).  Plus, the hype was about burgers...

And those who know me back home know I have two food passions; ramen and burgers.  I've paid my dues and have had my fair share of gourmet burgers back home in L.A. with my favorites being places like The Foundry on Melrose (which serves a giant burger with homemade sauces and seasonal vegetables on a grilled 4-pack Hawaiian roll) and The Counter (a build-it-yourself burger bar where I can make my wildest burger fantasies come true).  This all to say the Chez Prosper was building itself a mountain of expectations that only grew with my growing hunger during the wait.

And so, how did the 14.50€ Parisian Cheeseburger at Chez Prosper fair? Surprisingly well. The burger itself was simple enough: bun, meat, cheese, tomato, onion, and mayo on the side. The bun was a standard toasted sesame burger bun, nothing special that didn't enhance or detract from the burger in any manner. The tomato and onions were well...tomatoes and onions, and the mayo tasted like....well, what mayo should taste like. 

But here's where it gets good. I wasn't sure exactly what type of cheese was on the burger (and I'll probably never guess since France has a million kinds of cheeses) but whatever it was, it was delicious. Not strong and overpowering like Gouda or Bleu cheese, but not invisible in taste like American or some Provolones do in a burger. It complimented the meat perfectly. And oh the meat! The meat patty was a fine blend of ground chuck beef that broke off in crumbles when I squeezed the burger too hard yet held it's own when I delicately (or my version of delicate when I'm voraciously starved) took a bite.  It wasn't the juiciest meat patty I've eaten in a burger (those props go appropriately to Juicy Burger in Hollywood) nor the most flavorful (props to the Golden State for that category) but the meat patty at the Chez Prosper most definitely held it's own among good meat patty's.  

I don't remember too much about the fries except for the fact that I finished them (which is probably a good thing) but the burger plate at Chez Prosper, while not the most exciting burger plate of condiments and fries, excelled in the one area that mattered the most in a burger plate, the meat patty.  


And as much as I'd like the end this post here and not further bore you, I have to mention a little bit about a tiramisu that was quite frankly, the most delicious tiramisu I've ever eaten (IN MY LIFE).  It was a classic tiramisu served in a glass jar that was priced at a hefty 6.90€, but trust me on this one, this tiramisu is worth every euro cent (I made the unfortunate mistake of sharing it with a friend to cut the price in half and I was left licking my spoon and staring longingly at the empty jar afterward).

It's hard to describe perfection in words, but I feel obliged to at least give it a try.  The creme was light in both taste and texture and tasted like what you imagine clouds would taste like if you ever dreamed of eating a cloud while staring into the sky.  The cake beneath the creme was moist and flavorful, complimenting the light creme well and also came in the right proportion to the amount of creme served.  


And so amidst all the hype and delusions from waiting to eat such a late meal, Chez Prosper gets a resoundingly positive review for a great burger, a friendly waiting staff, and the most delicious tiramisu (IN THE WORLD).  Not only do I recommend going back, but I'm making a note here that I myself have to go back to try the even more hyped nutella tiramisu that was out of stock by the time I was ready to order dessert.  


Chez Prosper

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7 Avenue Trône, 75011 Paris, France
Metro: Nation

Confessions

Everyone has confessions, whether small or big, outrageous or not.  Even Usher had one and he made an entire song about it (with two parts).  Mine is well, it's not that scandalous, but it's still a confession.  So you see...I have a secret addiction for making lists.  Lists in themselves are not satisfying, but the "crossing things off the list after I have successfully completed them" part is the most rewarding and satisfying part.  I could probably compile a short novel with all the lists that I've made but one of the lists that I've been secretly (or not so secretly) been keeping here in Paris is a list of foods that I still want to try.

Last night, in typical Parisian fashion, I had a pre-fix menu around 8pm.  With the recommendations and the help of some friends, I was supposed to try the restaurant Le Pot de Terre, but in arriving at their front door, we were met by a sign that said they were closed for dinner on Sundays and all of Mondays (unless you had a party of 30...).  So we ended up picking a restaurant along the same street (Rue Pot de Fer) called Le Pot de Fer "Chez Robert".  To my pleasant surprise, the pre-fix menu at Chez Robert had two items that had not been crossed off from my secret list of "Foods I still need to try in Paris" list.  The first being French Onion soup (or just onion soup since we're in France and the French part is both assumed and given) and the second being Coq au vine, or a traditional French dish of chicken marinated in wine.

And since I love great deals almost as much as crossing items off a list (I'm a religious user of Groupon, Living Social, Campus Cred, Woot, Gilt City, etc etc), I took full advantage of this two-for-one deal and ordered the onion soup au gratin for appetizer and the coq au vine for main course (dessert was a medley of sorbets).

The first thing I noticed about the onion soup when it came out was that it was gigantic for an appetizer dish.  Second was it was loaded with cheese on top (the French just can't seem to get enough of their cheese).  The broth of the soup was very mild and complimented the strong flavor of the cheese and onions quite well.  The bread quickly soaked up the soup and became sponges of added texture to alongside with the cheesy soup.  The soup ended up tasting nothing like French onion soup back home (or maybe the American attempt at French onion soup) and I enjoyed it quite thoroughly.  The mild flavor of the soup along with the large heapings of cheese and bread allowed for a warm, satisfying appetizer dish that didn't coat my tongue in salt, panting for water as I wait for the main dish.  But for those used to the heavily salted and flavored soups of French onion soup back home, you've been warned.

As for the main dish, the coq au vine, it also came with a generous portions, this time with chicken, potatoes, carrots, and zucchini.  The sauce was definitely a majority red wine, as the red wine flavor was very strong in the chicken and the vegetables, but I actually didn't mind the flavor of the sauce.  The vegetables were fine, as they tasted like how vegetables should, but the chicken itself, was a little tough and dry, especially the breast meat.  But I've come to terms with ordering chicken dishes from restaurants knowing that you can't always control the tenderness of the chicken; sometimes the chicken you eat will be dry.  Overall, the dish was average.  Even if the chicken was tender, there was nothing that really stood out about the dish, as the dish was nothing more unique than red wine on chicken.

The dessert however, was something else.  It was a small bowl of three different scoops of sorbet (lemon, raspberry, and...i'm not quite sure, maybe strawberry), and each was amazing in its own right.  The raspberry was the strongest in flavor with actual chunks of raspberry inside, the lemon was icy and refreshing, and the strawberry was very light (also with fruit chunks).  All three flavors stood their own individually, but also meshed extremely well together.  It was quite the pleasant surprise as dessert from the pre-fix was just a shoe-in without expectations to complete the pre-fix meal to which I was more anticipated towards the appetizer and main dish.

This entire pre-fix menu came out to be a very reasonable 16,90€ as I thoroughly enjoyed my sorbet medley and French onion soup and was able to try coq au vine for the first time.  In addition to the actual meal and price though, I have to add that the dining experience at Chez Robert was quite enjoyable with an extremely friendly (and English speaking) waiting staff and open air tables within the alley of Rue Pot de Fer, where many street performers stop by and play their 5 minute set of live music or entertainment before giving way to the next performer (save some spare change if you want to show your appreciation).  And it is here where I guess I must also confess that I'm a sucker for nice ambiance to compliment a nice meal.  But then again...who isn't?  


Confess in the comments below.


Le Pot de Fer "Chez Robert"

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12 Rue du Pot de Fer, 75005 Paris, France
Metor: Place Monge

When in Paris, eat crepes

So I've already reviewed a local crepe stand, but this time, we go deep into the Latin Quarters to eat some authentic sit-down restaurant type crepes at La Petite Tour.  The sit-down restaurant has an extremely friendly (and English speaking) staff who will kindly escort you to a great upstairs seated area that has open windows and a view into the rest of the Latin Quarters.

We started off our meal with a bottle of supposedly famous alcoholic apple cider.  Since I'm not used to the flavor of alcohol too much we got a the DOUX or a light smooth version of the bottle with only 2.5% alcohol as opposed to the darker, raw version with an unknown percentage of alcohol.  (I only know the percentage because the waiter kept assuring us that this bottle was a light version with only 2.5%...constantly).  The 75cL bottle that was good for 2 cupfuls for each of the three people present set us back only €11 and was actually pretty good.  After getting by the initial sip and shock of alcoholic after taste, I resumed to almost chugging the rest of my cup down thinking I could quench my thirst with this apple cider.  

As for the main entree, there is a wide selection of crepes ranging from the simple ham and cheese to more unique combinations under the house specialties list.  I have a tendency to try the house specials when I go to a new place and I wasn't about to leave La Petit Tour without trying their specialty crepes. So out of the four they had, I went with the recommendation of a friend and useful Paris blog and chose the “Forrestière” which had ground steak, lots of mushrooms, goat and emmental cheese, dairy cream, and garlic. I've had savory crepes before but as usual, the French surprised me once more with a crepe that came out looking more like a casserole:

Interestingly enough,I found the crepe under that mound of cheese.  The taste was definitely beefy and rich with the steak, and cheese overpowering much of the garlic and  mushroom.  The crepe batter itself didn't have too much flavor (or was again overpowered) and had a more grainy texture and dark color that made me wonder if it was wheat-based.  The crepe was solid in taste overall but is definitely not for those with a light palette.  I had a taste of my friends specialty crepe that had ham and I think I might have preferred the lighter ham flavor over the heavy steak.  


But on to dessert! I chose again a specialty crepe as opposed to a standard nutella and banana crepe that came with apples, walnuts, vanilla ice cream, and flaming glaze.  The flaming glaze was another surprise where our waiter brought out our crepe, doused it with alcohol and lit the entire thing on fire.  Pretty confusing and amazing at the same time.  The fire was too sudden and short to capture on picture or video.  The crepe did look something like this before we demolished it though:

The texture of the crepe was excellent with the right amount of fluffy layers.  Ice cream was ice cream and the apples and walnuts tasted like well...apples and walnuts.  Everything about this dessert crepe would have been great if it weren't for the darned flaming glaze.  You see, the alcohol (I'm gonna guess rum) that was doused over the entirety of our crepe to set it on fire for a fleeting 2 seconds definitely overpowered the delicate taste of everything else and since again, I'm not a big proponent of an alcoholic flavor, this dessert crepe was definitely a miss.  


However, overall, La Petite Tour is a gem of a crepe place that offers a huge selection of crepes where I just happened to order the wrong one.  I would definitely go back though to try their other selections of crepes, one without a flaming glaze.  


La Petite Tour

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6 Rue Grégoire de Tours, 75006 Paris, Île-de-France, France
Metro: Mabillon or Odeon

Fine Dining in France

Ok so I forgot exactly what a Bouillon meant in conjunction with the specifics of French cuisine or restaraunting (yes I just made that word up) but this specific Bouillon (Bouillon Racine) is pretty famous and has some pretty amazing interior decor.  Their website has a lot more information about their history (since 1906) and the type of food style they're trying to achieve.  

You can say this was my first official French cuisine in Paris so I wanted to go all out.  They had a set lunch menu (see the the heading Menu-Daily Market-) that included a starter and small entree, or small entree and dessert for €15.  But since the set came with a "small" entree I decided that it wasn't for me because I wanted to do it BIG.  I also decided against the other set menus that were €30 and €41 and just went with ordering
a la carte off the other side of the menu. I ended up with this:

I wanted to experience authentic French cuisine so I went with a dish that was supposedly really popular in France, a.k.a. Steak Frites.  The steak and fries were both very good as was the sauce that came on the side, but at the end of the day...it was just steak and french fries and I was wishing I kind of tried something even more unique like Tartar Steak or even foie gras (which I had already tried once in America).  My rule of thumb with expensive beef back home is that I'll pay good money for hard to cook/rare items like Prime Rib or Tartar Steak but just regular steak is something I prefer to buy from costco and fire up on the grill outside (because it usually tastes just as good as a Ruth Chris $40 filet mignon).  So all this to say that the steak frites was good, but next time I would try something else on the menu because this particular item tastes exactly how you would think it tastes like (like good steak with french fries).  

But no meal is complete without a dessert.  I myself am a huge proponent of creme brulee so when I saw creme brulee with waffle on the dessert side of the menu, there was no question that that was what I was ordering.  I was expecting creme brulee with a waffle on the side.  One thing I've learned about ordering food in France though is to expect the unexpected because what I got with this dessert was a waffle fused with creme brulee ON TOP:

Ingenious in thought but the execution needed some work.  My favorite part of creme brulee is the hot, crispy shell protectively covering the custard beneath.  This particular waffle creme brulee was missing both the hot and the crispy.  That's not to say it wasn't bad.  The dessert was quite delicious, but again, it just wasn't what I expected, especially with creme brulee.  I think a side of vanilla ice cream would have gone extremely well with this by the way.

This meal along with an unexpected bottle of water (can't seem to get how to order just plain tap water at a restaurant yet) put me back €27, a modest price for a fine dining experience that included a giant steak .  (remember this was lunch). Overall I have to say the Bouillon Racine was a positive dining experience with good food. I would go back to order something different off the menu once I figure out how to order some regular tap water rather than €5 glass bottles of filtered water.

Bouillon Racine
http://www.bouillon-racine.com/en/home/index.html

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3 Rue Racine, 75006 Paris, France
Metro: Cluny - La Sorbonne

Gelato-off

This is gonna be a double post.  I'll call it Amorino vs. Berthillon.  Both are gelato shops in Paris.  Amorino is a chain that my professor claims as the 2nd best gelato in Paris.  The first best claiming to be Berthillon.  I decided to put the professors claims to the test.

But I'll start with Amorino first since I had it today.  The first thing you'll notice about Amorino is the long lines.  But it actually moves extremely quickly so do not feel daunted but rather take the brief time you have in line to decide on multiple flavors from the flavor board.

And since i'm a rather poor decision maker and a proponent of systems, I decided that with 22 flavors on the board, I will try 3 at a time starting from the top and make 8 trips total, that way i'll hit all the flavors.  I may skip a couple like banana and cherry though if i feel like I can't end up making 8 trips.  Or i may end up combining more flavors with each trip.  How Amorino's works is that you pay for a set size (cup or cone) and from that size you can squeeze as many flavors as you want into it.  The more flavors you pick, the less scoops of each you get.  Pretty ingenious concept if you ask me;  paying for the size and not the amount of flavors that is.  (Btw I got the medium size on a cone which was €4.50).  Also, don't feel inferior for picking a cup to hold the fast-melting gelato as all cup-wielding customers do get a complimentary mini-cone on top of their gelato!

But anywho, for this first round of Amorino's, I ended up with chocolate amorino (must be their special), vanilla, and speculoos which according to wikipedia is a Dutch shortcrust biscuit.  I have to say this round was definitely a plus.  All three creamy flavors blended well with each other with the chocolate being the strongest, the sepculoos being a medium flavor, and the vanilla being light.  Oh and also, did I mention that the end result of the scoops of gelato on your cone comes out as a beautiful flower shaped design?

As for Berthillon, there is no special cup privileges so the cone was a must.  The flavor selection at Berthillon is actually much larger than the one at Amorino's with the board being divided into two sections, the left side being creamy, rich gelatos and the right side being icy, fruity gelatos.  The flavors also seems to rotate on a daily basis which makes for more of a surprise.

With a large crowd attempting to decipher the flavor board, I decided to just be bold and pick one flavor from each side and run with it.  So I boldly made my way to the counter and asked for Chocolat Mendiant and Fruit de la Passion.  I figured fruit de la passion was passion fruit (which i was right) but I had not idea what choclat mendiant was besides the obvious chocolate allusion.  Turns out mendiant is a historical french chocolate flavor that is composed of nuts and dried fruit.  (Hit the link for more details and some interesting French history).  This was the product I was given:

So as weird as the combination looks and sounds, it was actually pretty good as a combo.  The rich chocolate balanced out the tart, fruity passion fruit.  The chocolate mendiant had a good deal of nuts and dried fruits that added good texture (except i'm not a big fan of dried fruits so buyer beware).  And since the chocolate was mostly at the top, it was natural that I finished it all first and was left with just passion fruit.  big mistake.  The passion fruit without the aid of the choclat mendiant was EXTREMELY sour.  Like sour to the point that I couldn't finish it and had to scoop some out into the nearest trash can.  It's odd because I usually love passion fruit flavor and never once has it been unbearably sour.  The remaining empty cone after scooping out the sour-to-the-point-of-death passion fruit was very delicious though, crispy and flavorful!

I ended up paying €4.50 for two scoops at Berthillon, the same price as Amarino's, but at Berthillon's you pay by the scoop (with each scoop being only one flavor).

So with these two reviews up and posted now, I'm gonna have to disagree with my professor and say I enjoyed Amarino's more than Berthillon's.  It may have been that I got the wrong flavors at Berthillon's (PASSION FRUIT) and I'm fair that if the opportunity presents itself, I will give Berthillon's a second try.  However, Amarino's solid selection of flavors with the ability to mix and match as many flavors as you want for a set size prize coupled with the beautiful delivery of the gelato definitely gives it a one-up on Berthillon's in my book.

But I'm not one to decide for other's, so let's hear your opinion once you try them:

Amorino's next to the Luxembourg Gardens

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4 Rue Vavin, 75006 Paris, France
Metro: Valvin or Notre Dames des Champs


Berthillon's

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31 Rue St Louis en l'ile, 75004 Paris, France
Metro: Pont Marie

Starting Local

Before even coming to Paris, the one thing our professor would always talk about is the local crepe shop right across the street from our hotel.   The shop is nestled right between Le Pierrot and Le 15 Cafe and is easy to miss except for the sweet and savory smells that waft out of this small stall once the occasional crepe order has been placed.  Without a real name to define the stall, this shop is definitely a local attraction.

As for the actual crepes, they offer a variety of sweet as well as savory crepes.  On the savory crepes, you can get anything from cheese, mushroom, tomatoes, basil, chicken, turkey, chorizo, bacon, ham, and fried egg.  Salt and pepper is optional but the "special" hot sauce is a must that adds a great flavor to the crepe.  The savory crepes here can range anywhere between €3-5 depending on the number of toppings.

The sweet crepes are a little more limited compared (surprisingly) with bananas usually being the only fresh fruit available.  There are however options of heaping mounds of nutella as well as coconut shavings, strawberry/blueberry/orange jam, almond shavings, and even drops of alcohol.

Overall, this local crepe shop is a plus.  While the crepe batter may not always be fresh (there's usually a stack of pre-made crepes that are quickly heated up) and the selection of fresh fruits is marginal (seems to be like that with all crepe shops in Paris though as fresh fruit is definitely an expensive delicacy), the proximity of the shop to the hotel as well as its accessible hours (10am-2am) make it a place i frequent often to satisfy midnight (or 1am) cravings of hunger (usually with a savory crepe).  But I think Ryo-san back home at Harajuku Crepes would be pleased to know that his dessert crepes are still my favorite.

So far i have tried the following combinations:
-nutella/banana
-ham, cheese, tomato, mushroom
-chicken, cheese, egg, tomato
-bacon, mozzarella, tomato 



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On Boulevard de Grenelle between Le Pierrot and Le 15 Cafe
Open 10am - 2am
Metro:  La Motte-Picquet Grenelle