Five Days in Paris: A Culinary Exploration and Food Orgy

Five Days in Paris: A Culinary Exploration and Food Orgy

>My niece who USED TO LIVE in New Orleans came for a brief visit…thanks to no home, no job, no car, no definitive future. Her parents’ (my sister and her husband) home in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain, was virtually destroyed by the flooding — stripped bare to the brick and studs just a week earlier. She was a chef until this fate happened — most recently as the executive chef for a caterer and long time pastry and dessert chef for award-winning Frank Brigtsen at Brigtsen’s Restaurant at the “Riverbend” in New Orleans (723 Dante Street, (504) 861-7610). Anyone who knows New Orleans, knows that this locale is where the streetcar makes the sharp turn at the end of St. Charles Avenue onto Carrollton Avenue and that Frank Brigtsen is considered to be one of the nation’s finest chefs (recognized by Food and Wine, the James Beard Foundation, Travel and Holiday and many others).

You might recognize my niece’s name, Allison Gorlin, as her fabulous photos (a long time hobby) of Paris taken during her visits here, have often made the top position of Parler Paris. Her creative right brain doesn’t stop there, though — she is also a talented artist and accomplished ukulele player, and as one can imagine from just this description, she can cook up a party better than anyone. While she was here, she did just that — making 50 chocolate chip cookies and playing her 100-year-old ukulele to a fun-loving Franco-American bunch of friends in celebration of my recent birthday.

Allison’s five-day stay in Paris turned into a culinary exploration. With a digital camera in hand, she photographed every plate set in front of her, every food stand and bakery window that appealed to her. The photos range from a simple head of cabbage to a fruity cocktail.

A Pims at the Ritz

The short sojourn in the City of Light also qualified as a food “orgy” — Allison wined and dined in our top five favorite restaurants — an eclectic assortment ranging from 10 euros to 110 euros a person!

At Minh Chau (10, rue de la Verrerie, 4th, 01.42.71.13.30), a 24-seater “hole-in-the-wall” Vietnamese, we went for broke on a whopping 20 euros for two salads, a crab cake, three main courses and a dessert with hot teas. Secretly, she photographed the four-and-a-half-foot high Vietnamese owner who waits on the tables with a big smile and a salesman’s touch.That evening at Les Fêtes Galantes (17, rue de l’Ecole Polytechnique, 5th, 01.43.26.10.40), chef and owner Bibi served up sensuous Foie Gras Profiteroles topped off by a coupe de champagne, while Allison gifted him a lavender lace bra to add to his collection strung along two walls. Three courses there is just 21 Euros and the passionate Egyptian, Bibi, is a brilliant chef.

In the 6th at Bistrot Le Mazarin (12, rue Mazarine, 6th, 01.43.29.99.01), after a morning of practicing French at Parler Parlor (http://www.parlerparlor.com) we tasted hearty and traditional fare with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, Alice Steinbach, (“Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman” and “Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman”). She’s writing a new book, set in Paris (of course), and researching the details to ensure each isauthentic and correct. Le Mazarin’s classic Paris bistrot atmosphere gave her fodder for her novel and more photo ops for Allison.

Christian Constant, signing his book for Allison
Thanks to a generous gourmand and visiting friend from Los Angeles, Saturday night we sipped on sweet cocktails to soft music at the Hemingway Bar at the Hotel Ritz before taxiing to Chef Christian Constant’s best of his three establishments on rue Saint Dominique in the 7th at number 135 (01.45.55.15.05) — Le Violon d’Ingres (a French idiom that means “hobby”). His wife Catherine greeted and chatted with us. His sommelier suggested superb wines. We ordered one or two dishes I learned to make when Chef Constant was teaching his one-day course…soft boiled eggs coated with buttered breadcrumbs, served with truffled toast soldiers…hmmm. And when the gastronomic delights were done, he presented the young visiting chef with a signed copy of his cookbook, “Everyday French Cooking” … and a big kiss. (The other two Constant restaurants include Café Constant, 139 rue Saint Dominique, 7th, 01.47.53.73.34 and Les Fables de la Fontaine 131, rue Saint Dominique, 7th, 01.44.18.37.55.)

After the Expatica Welcome to France Fair on Sunday night, when many restaurants are closed, along with John and Janie Howell (John Howell & Co., London, http://www.JHCo.org/), Chez Omar (47, rue de Bretagne 3rd, 01.42.72.36.26) became the perfect respite for couscous, grilled meats, “pastilla,” “brick du thon” and mint tea. Moroccan pastries on a large platter kept passing near us as we vowed to steer clear the rich desserts. Omar is always the host with the most and the other people dining there seem more like family than compatriot diners.

A neighboring diner offered to take a souvenir shot of the four of us and except for his finger in the lens, it was perfect…just like the five days and the five fabulous feasts, Paris style.
A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
Email [email protected]

P.S. I am currently on route to San Francisco and New York for the Living and Investing in France Conference and the Invest in France Seminar. You will be hearing from me from afar, thanks to the assistance of Lynda Sydney, Parler Paris Marketing Director.