How small plate dining and big ethnic flavors are transforming gourmet Paris (Part I)
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Jardin des Tuileries
I ended my last blog on Avignon and Provence with “who can ever have too much of Paris?” Having now returned to Paris, exploring different areas and pockets throughout the city, I continue my reflections on a city that loves food and is gradually embracing more diversity in its cooking.
As I sit here at the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) watching the ducks swimming around and soaking up the sun, I’m thinking, how do I want to sum up my travel experience in Paris? After a few visits to this romantic city, what other places do I want to discover? Where do I start? What can I talk about that hasn’t already been written or discussed too often? And how would I want to do things differently another time? Oh, we are still talking about food here, right? Those were the questions I have for myself.
View from my Paris flat in 1 st Arrondissement (Palais-Royal/Vendome/Saint-Honore)
Vivre comme un pariesan (Living like a Parisian)
It’s hard to get a different perspective or gain insight into another culture without experiencing what it is really like to live, day-by-day, in that culture. So instead of being a bit too pampered at a nice, fancy hotel, I decided to reach out to a couple of my contacts in Montreal and Lyon so I could arrange a stay in their apartments, located in central Paris. For a short while, I’d be living like a Parisian in an historical art deco apartment building, able to explore different local neighborhoods, ride the Metro or get around on foot, shop at the best local farmers’ markets and cheese shops, and cook and enjoy local fresh ingredients.
I don’t claim to be an expert—eating and food shopping as a foreigner in gourmet Paris. But in order to fully research my piece, my goal was to cover a lot of ground by visiting as many places in different areas as possible, and then share my delightful epicurean discoveries.
Everyday food in Paris
We all know the French eat well—period. (I spoke previously about why I visited Lyon, being a huge fan of French cuisine and someone who enjoys eating, gourmet cooking and organizing culinary trips for other food and wine lovers.) One of my delights in Paris was knowing that without deliberately looking for a specialty food store, I could always walk into any average patisserie or general food shop and pick up fresh baked goods, exquisite pastries, decent quality cheese, smoked salmon, even escargots. And when I did make a special trip to the gourmet epicurean shop, the quality of just basic food, including local produce, was simply overwhelming: butter, crème fraîche, French-style ham and cold cuts, specialty cheeses, croissants, strawberries, asparagus, assorted mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchinis and brioche (okay, maybe not so basic!).
As a diehard gourmand, the gastronomy experience truly doesn’t get more satisfying than that! And who can overlook the wide assortment of quality French wines at such reasonable prices? I sure wish I could walk to my corner store in my neighborhood and pick up a decent bottle of Rosé anytime I want. I even found a good selection of my favorite Angelina specialty chocolates and cookies in a store on the very street where I was staying. It saved me from having to pick up some last minute souvenirs at the famous Angelina Paris tearoom in the Louvre/Vendome area, during my final crunch time before my plane left.
Clamato - 80 rue de Charonne
Culinary diversity and small plate dining
It’s ironic. When in North America, I’m always looking for good quality, authentic French places to eat; now I am in Paris again, and I’m looking for some eclectic, diverse places to explore that stretch beyond my beloved gastronomic French culinary experience.
The French enjoy dining out—restaurants are always packed. But while Paris has plenty to offer when it comes to food, I do feel through my various visits that their cuisine in eclectic and diverse eating somewhat falls short. Diverse dining options of different cultures definitely exist but in terms of the authentic flavors, quality and creativity, Paris is lacking when compared to other major cities, i.e. New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver, Melbourne and London. I was particularly disappointed in the lack of quality Asian/fusion cuisine. While it is pretty hard to beat cities like San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto, I did take note of a handful of very exceptional Japanese restaurants throughout Paris.
The small portion, tapas-style, shared food concept is springing up around the globe. It’s a new favorite way for many to eat, with smaller portions but a greater variety. For me, this trend in the food scene is nothing new. One of my all-time favorite food is dim sum, which has been around for centuries. More recently, world-renowned Spanish tapas have become a new gourmet sensation, and in doing so, hugely influencing the concept of small plates dining. The introduction of the Japanese izakaya and robata, Portuguese tapas, Mexican tapas, Italian small bites and a relatively new player to scene, Hungarian tapas treats, all focus on the same idea.
Many years ago, I took a friend from Argentina to an upscale Chinese dim sum restaurant for lunch. When I was placing an order for eight steamed baskets just for the two, she questioned what I was thinking. I said to Diana, “You are my guest and I want to introduce to you a dim sum feast! Just enjoy, if we have leftovers, we’ll have a doggy bag meal!” Not forgetting when it was my turn to visit her country, I was also served a feast—the concept in Argentina being a very big piece of barbecued meat with potato or fries. Yes, it’s a very different culture and that’s why eating and food travel have become a celebration of cultural diversity.
Le 1 Place Vendome
Fine dining is alive and well in France
Recently I’ve read various articles published in several cities about whether or not fine dining is dying or dead. Personally, I do not think fine dining is dead—far from it. But some cities definitely go through phases.
In Paris and the rest of France, there are many upscale restaurants with good linens, beautiful china, silverware and crystal, all demonstrating that the fine dining business is successful and going strong. Personally, I still very much like traditional dining, including the whole process of getting dressed up, sitting in a beautiful, elegant dining room in a formal setting for several hours while enjoying the ambience and a quiet conversation with your dinner companion(s). In that respect, I think I am still old school. My recent dining experience at Paul Bocuse L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Lyon, proves that when you make the right choice, fine dining is always memorable and very much alive. I had to make my reservation weeks ahead of my trip and the restaurant filled up fast!
The bottom line—the dining scene is always evolving but quality food is quality food. As the ethnic food scene continues to be a huge movement in cities around the world, ethnic diversity is influencing Paris’ culinary experience—but slowly!
So instead of presenting you with a list of best restaurants in Paris, I thought it would be more enticing to visit some of the fun, casual, trendy and up-and-coming eateries. I also wanted to shop at different gourmet food shops, specialty shops, and outdoor and indoor markets. To be honest, I was just excited about spending more time exploring the city while I carry on indulging myself with epicurean delights!
