Paris And Food


Our Paris kitchen is a boutique kitchen. It is a place to make coffee and to find jam for your morning baguette. It is not a kitchen for complex cooking expeditions, so we eat out for most of our meals. There is a café downstairs which has a distinctly family feel. Everyone seems to know everyone else, and you too can be part of this extended family with just a little exertion.

Parisians eat out a great deal, so the café, bistro, brasserie, and restaurant scene is a lively and competitive one. So much food, so little time. This year we are noticing more Italian restaurants as Parisians look for dining variety.

Food is very important to all Parisians. I forget all the types of food venders… small bakeries, cheese shops, chocolatiers, charcuteries (deli’s), poissonniers (fish mongers), green grocers, butchers ( boucheries), and wine merchants.

The large supermarket that is all things to all people is not as common here. The local Marche is great for picking up the necessities of life; it is fast and efficient. But you wouldn’t buy your cheese there. You would buy your daily bread and croissants from your Boulangerie, there is one on almost every corner. You would have your favorite.

You would visit individual stores and discuss your needs with the owner. Shopping is like sports, we all have our favorite teams, managers and coaches we like, and style we feel comfortable with.

The other evening we were out for a Sunday dinner in a popular restaurant near Saint Germaine. This restaurant took no reservations and there was only one entrée (steak and pomme fries) and it was all you could eat. There was an endless line waiting for a table. Next to us there was a friendly Swiss couple. We struck up a conversation with them and exchanged experiences. He said, as he finished his bottle of French Bordeaux, “Life is too short for cheap wine”. Amen