Astrance
As a foodie, I’ve always wanted to eat at Astrance. It’s one of those great dining legends you hear about, hoping one day you’ll get to experience the magic for yourself. Pascal Barbot & Christophe Rohat’s joint venture earned them three Michelin stars and a spot on San Pellegrino’s Top Fifty Restaurants In the World List for the last decade. How could you go wrong? Something went wrong because I wasn’t wowed or moved much at all. Don’t get me wrong: It’s not that dinner was bad. It’s an entirely elegant and intimate spot (with just twenty five seats), and the service is impeccable. The serene space is spread out over two floors, which are decorated with yellow leather banquettes, sky high ceilings, and charcoal gray walls. And I can’t ignore how fantastic the wine list is because there are...
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L’As Du Fallafel
Paris is one of the last places you would think you’d find mind-blowing falafel, but L’As Du Fallafel’s rendition is better than any I’ve had to date, including in Israel. This is God’s gift to Middle Eastern mezze, though you’d never know it from looking at the ugly green and yellow exterior or no frills dining room, equipped with plastic forks and knives, located in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Sometimes, I like to walk by this spot just before noon and savor the calm before the storm…
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Le Comptoir Du Relais
Some restaurants have that certain magic you can’t quite put into words. You know, one of those spots that everyone wants to not only see and be seen, but also wants to eat at. That’s not an easy or common combination. Just think about the restaurant at the Hotel Costes. Locals and tourists alike aspire to sit on the terrace at this sceney spot, sipping rose and people watching. But what do they eat? The same thing they eat at every single Hotel Costes restaurant (and there are nearly 100 Costes-owned and run eateries in Paris), and it’s all mediocre at best. Le Comptoir, on the other hand, is one of those few, magical restaurants that manages to be everything to everyone. It’s fashionable without trying to be and the food is terrific. Though it’s been around for...
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Le Dome Cafe
If you’re looking for an old school brasserie to sup on oysters and Chablis, Le Dome in Montparnasse is a fine idea. (Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller made a regular habit of Le Dome.) With bragging rights to a Michelin star and its own seafood shop just around the corner, the kitchen’s got today’s catch at its fingertips. As is often the case in seafood brasseries in Paris, the shellfish is on jewelry-like display at the entrance of the eatery, everything from Gillardeau and Fines De Claires oysters to Clams, Mussels and Langoustines. The space is a warm, cozy spot (especially good for a chilly night), outfitted in red-and-gold velvet banquettes, wood paneling along the walls and dangling light fixtures shrouded in lampshades. This is a fruits de mer platter kind of spot, so you’ll want to try whatever’s...
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Florence Kahn
You wouldn’t expect to find a boulangerie in the heart of the Marais named after the first Jewish woman to serve in the United States Congress. But there’s nothing American about this shop, easily identifiable by its beautiful, blue and white tile mosaic on the facade. (It’s actually a Paris landmark, which originally opened back in 1932.) In fact, it’s one of the last standing, traditional Jewish bakeries in Paris’s Jewish Quarter, and undoubtedly the best, especially for Pre-War Europe classics…
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Bones
“We could be anywhere but Paris,” my dining companion uttered as we sat down to dinner at Bones. In fact, it feels more like Bushwick, Brooklyn than Paris, France. The servers all speak English and the crowd takes cigarette breaks between each course. This new hotspot looks more like a construction site than a restaurant that’s open for business, taking the notion of ‘bare bones’ to a new level. The floors are cement, the walls completely unfinished and coming undone, some brick, others stone or unfinished plaster, and a metal beam in the center of it all. Just about everything is exposed. Bones is where the hipsters hang out these days, listening to alternative music pumping through the stereo, while feasting on hearts and other eccentric body parts. Dinner here is like an episode of Fear Factor:Food (if that were...
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David Toutain
Full disclosure: I’m not a big fan of the whole molecular gastronomy trend not just in France, but at-large (though I’m more than happy to be proven wrong and I most definitely (and thankfully) am wrong… once in awhile anyway). But like it or not, Paris seems to be embracing this avant-garde school of cooking wholeheartedly, which is why you’ll find so many mad scientists in Parisian kitchens. It’s not that I hate foam and edible dirt and all. I just want to eat good food that tastes like food rather than like an idea. Make no mistake, David Toutain falls into the avant-garde camp of cooking. In fact, David Toutain is one of the most buzzed about of the bunch, which is why I had to take a 12:45 lunch reservation because I couldn’t get in for dinner. (I promise...
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Marche President Wilson
Marché President Wilson is proof that outdoor markets don’t have to be ‘rough and tumble’ so to speak. In fact, this one on the luxe Avenue President Wilson just across from the Seine River is one situated on a very wide and stunning street in the 16th arrondissement. What that means in layman’s terms is room to wander without elbowing your way down the shopping aisles. There’s plenty of room to wander in peace in this airy, al fresco marche with top-notch ingredients (the best in Paris). Look no further than the fish stalls to see the impeccable spreads of seafood & fish – from six types of Escargot to eight varieties of Shrimp, beautiful St. Pierre, Turbot, Flounder, and heaps more all displayed on ice. That’s just the beginning…
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Marche Bastille
There is no shortage of outdoor food markets in Paris, that’s for sure, but some are way better than others, and Bastille happens to be my favorite. Why? Because there’s so much variety. The biggest problem is how much there is just how bustling and big it is. My advice is to do a dry run without stopping to shop to get the lay of the land, which involves a hefty slew of produce stands, several local cheese and fish shops, bread stalls, spices, nuts, olives, you name it. I say go hungry, and preferably on a Sunday morning, when you can make a pit stop at…
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Le Coq Rico
Planning a visit to the famed Sacré-Couer in Montmartre? There aren’t a lot of great dining options in this neck of the woods, aside from Le Coq Rico. If you want to cross Roast Chicken, the French way, off your “to-do” list, this “bistrotisserie” (how great is that word?!) is the perfect spot to do just that. It’s a beautiful spot with dark wood floors, creamy stone walls, glass wine walls, and white marble-topped tables that looks more like a Swiss chalet than a French bistro. Toward the entrance, just by the bar, is the main attraction, the rotisserie with several chickens slowly spinning round and round. Take one look at the menu and you’ll see that chicken is the name of the game here. Chicken in all forms. There’s several Chicken Eggs poached, scrambled, fried and battered. We...
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