Too much awesome food to write about, too little time to write about it. My first night in Paris, many many weeks ago, I met up with one of my old co-workers who is now living there. Lucky duck. We went to Le Bistrot Paul Bert, a perfect French bistro in a perfect French neighborhood. I started my night with a bang, deep fried head cheese with aioli.
Head cheese is awesome. So many textures in one little bite - gelatinous, chewy, meaty, crunchy. The best of all nasty bits rolled in to one, and then fried. Deeply fried.
To counterbalance the hypertension-inducing starter, I got the filet de dorade with cockles and risotto.
The risotto was perfectly cooked, slightly al dente but creamy. It absorbed the flavors of the ocean from the sweet cockles and dorade. I love dorade, it's flaky without being dry. Succulent and delicious. The perfect fish.
I rounded out my first night in Paris with the quintessential Parisian dessert, tarte tatin. Rich and caramel-y, the gooey deliciousness is brightened with the tart creme fraiche-like creme.
The table next to us was drinking a ginormous glass of wine. When I say ginormous, I mean Jolly Green Giant size. He was kind enough to let me take a picture in return, I had to taste the wine. Uh, win-win?
I couldn't leave Paris without having a crepe, or two. Which is exactly what I did during lunch one day, have two crepes, that is.
First up, a tomato, ham, cheese and egg crepe. I am powerless in the presence of runny eggs. I must order them when on the menu. The crepe was simple and delicious.
Really people, the thinness of a crepe is deceptive. One crepe per meal is more than enough. But hey, I was in Paris. I must stuff myself silly every meal. It's a crime not to, I swear. They told me. The food police did. Crepe #2 was a salty butter and caramel crepe, sprinkled with sugar. Enough said. YUM.
Did you know that salty and sweet crepes are made with different types of flour? I didn't. The grittiness of the salty crepe flour stands up well to the robust ingredients. While the softer sugar crepe flour complements the delicate dessert flavors.
Did you know the French drink cider when eating crepes? I didn't know that either. I am in love with the French cider. My favorite part is the cool little pitcher and bowls you drink the cider from. It is not sweet like the British kind, lightly sparkly, so yummy. I must look for it when I'm back in the states!
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