The Food Lover's Guide to Paris

by Wells, Patricia; Turnley, Peter; Rothfeld, Steven; Loomis, Susan Herrmann

• ISBN13: 9780761114796
• ISBN10: 0761114793
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Workman Pub Co

Summary

An internationally acclaimed authority on French cuisine, an award-winning cookbook writer, and restaurant critic for France's weekly International Herald Tribune, Patricia wells knows a thing or two about food in Paris. And what she knows she shares with one and all in her Food Lover's Guide To Paris, the book Bon Appetit calls "a must for every food lover." It's been six years since Ms. Wells last revised the guide, and for the Fourth Edition she's returned to the more than 450 restaurants, bistros, cafes, patisseries, and specialty food shops listed. She samples, she reviews, she updates all vital statistics -- and she drops those that have disappointed. She tells us what is new and wonderful (over 50 restaurants and 100 bakers, cheesemongers, wine shops, and other food establishments have been added), what is old and still trustworthy, what will make us shake our heads with amazement, and what will comfort us with the knowledge that what we loved 20 years ago we can return to today. Included with the Fourth Edition are 50 recipes, 10 of which are new, and an expanded glossary so that readers will never be at a loss when they are facing a French menu.

Author Biography

Patricia Wells is author of the award-winning Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells at Home in Provence, and Simply French: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon. She is the only foreigner to have served as food critic for the French newsweekly L'Express and is currently restaurant critic for The International Herald Tribune. Visit Ms. Wells at her web site: www.patriciawells.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Fourth Edition	p. vi
A Taste for Paris	p. ix
How to Use this Book	p. x
Restaurants: Restaurants	p. 2
Palais-Royal, Les Halles, Tuileries	p. 11
Opera, Bourse	p. 27
Rambuteau, Temple, Arts et Metiers	p. 32
Le Marais, Hotel de Ville, Ile Saint-Louis	p. 36
Latin Quarter	p. 45
Saint-Germain des Pres, Luxembourg, Odeon, Montparnasse	p. 50
Faubourg Saint-Germain, Invalides, Ecole Militaire	p. 68
Madeleine, Saint-Lazare, Champs-Elysees, Place des Ternes	p. 79
Gare de l'Est, Gare du Nord, Republique	p. 90
Bastille, Republique	p. 95
Gare de Lyon, Bastille, Nation, Place d'Italie	p. 102
Denfert-Rochereau, Porte d'Orleans, Montparnasse	p. 110
Grenelle, Convention	p. 118
Trocadero, Victor-Hugo, Bois de Boulogne	p. 121
Clichy, Ternes, Wagram, Etoile	p. 130
Buttes-Chaumont, Nation	p. 136
Restaurants: An Alphabetical Listing (with arrondissements)	p. 138
Restaurants Listed by Arrondissements	p. 139
Cafes: Cafes	p. 141
Les Halles, Pont Neuf, Tuileries, Louvre	p. 143
Chatelet, Marais, Ile Saint-Louis	p. 147
Latin Quarter, Luxembourg, Saint-Germain, Sevres-Babylone, Quai d'Orsay	p. 150
Champs-Elysees	p. 155
Bastille, Oberkampf	p. 156
Montparnasse, Grenelle	p. 158
Victor-Hugo, Arc de Triomphe	p. 160
Pere Lachaise	p. 163
Salons de The: Tea Salons	p. 164
Palais-Royal, Louvre, Tuileries	p. 165
Marais	p. 168
Luxembourg, Rue du Bac, Assemblee Nationale	p. 169
Concorde, Madeleine, Champs-Elysees, Pigalle	p. 172
Trocadero, Ternes, Villiers	p. 175
Bistros et Bars a Vin: Wine Bars	p. 176
Les Halles, Palais-Royal	p. 178
Marais, Ile de la Cite	p. 180
Luxembourg, Saint-Michel, Sevres-Babylone, Ecole Militaire	p. 182
Les Grands Boulevards	p. 188
Bastille, Nation	p. 189
Denfert-Rochereau	p. 191
Arc de Triomphe	p. 192
Montmartre, Belleville	p. 192
Marches: Markets	p. 195
Rues Commercantes	p. 199
Marches Volants	p. 207
Markets at a Glance	p. 218
Patisseries: Pastry Shops	p. 220
Bastille, Ile Saint-Louis, Marais, Les Halles	p. 221
Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain	p. 223
Sevres-Babylone, Ecole Militaire, La Tour Maubourg	p. 231
Madeleine, Champs-Elysees	p. 233
Passy, Auteuil, Ternes	p. 234
Menilmontant	p. 237
Boulangeries: Bakeries	p. 239
Les Halles, Bourse, Opera	p. 242
Republique, Marais	p. 246
Latin Quarter	p. 251
Saint-Germain, Sevres-Babylone, La Tour Maubourg	p. 256
Les Grands Boulevards	p. 262
Faubourg, Saint-Antoine, Bastille, Republique, Vincennes	p. 263
Bir Hakeim, Montparnasse, Plaisance	p. 265
Convention, Porte de Vanves	p. 268
Victor-Hugo, Auteuil, Saint Cloud	p. 268
Arc de Triomphe, Porte Maillot, Villiers	p. 270
Montmartre, Barbes-Rochechouart	p. 271
Menilmontant	p. 272
Fromageries: Cheese Shops	p. 274
Opera, Palais-Royal	p. 277
Temple	p. 278
Ile Saint-Louis	p. 278
Bac, Sevres-Babylone, Ecole Militaire	p. 279
Etoile, Madeleine	p. 285
Denfert-Rochereau, Porte d'Orleans, Porte de Versailles	p. 286
Courcelles, Villiers	p. 288
Montmartre	p. 291
Charcuteries: Prepared Foods to Go	p. 292
Marais, Bastille	p. 294
Saint-Germain des Pres, Odeon, Sevres-Babylone	p. 298
Madeleine	p. 299
Victor-Hugo, Etoile, Villiers	p. 302
Chocolatiers: Chocolate Shops	p. 304
Bourse	p. 306
Saint-Germain des Pres, Sevres-Babylone, Ecole Militaire	p. 306
Madeleine, Rond-Point, Arc de Triomphe, Grands Boulevards, Trinite, Le Peletier, Gare Saint-Lazare	p. 308
Bastille	p. 313
Specialites Gastronomiques: Specialty Shops	p. 315
Palais-Royal, Opera, Tuileries, Les Halles	p. 316
Temple	p. 319
Marais	p. 320
Saint-Germain, Invalides, Eiffel Tower	p. 324
Madeleine, Le Peletier, Gare du Nord	p. 328
Gare de l'Est, Oberkampf	p. 333
Pasteur	p. 333
Trocadero, Ternes	p. 334
Vins et Alcools: Wine and Liquor Shops	p. 336
Concorde, Bourse	p. 337
Odeon, Saint-Germain des Pres, Rue du Bac	p. 339
Champs-Elysees, Madeleine, Grands Boulevards	p. 341
Librairies Specialisees: Gastronomie: Food and Wine Bookshops	p. 345
Les Halles, Concorde, Opera	p. 345
Pyramides	p. 346
Saint-Michel, Monge	p. 347
Odeon, Saint-Germain, Duroc	p. 349
Musee d'Orsay	p. 350
Pour la Maison: Kitchen and Tableware Shops	p. 351
Les Halles, Chatelet, Palais-Royal, Place des Victories	p. 352
Marais, Republique	p. 355
Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, Sevres-Babylone, Montparnasse	p. 365
Madeleine, Courcelles, Franklin Roosevelt	p. 373
Bastille	p. 375
Montparnasse, Grenelle	p. 376
Arc de Triomphe	p. 376
French/English Food Glossary	p. 377
Food Lover's Ready Reference	p. 416
Index	p. 422
Recipe Index	p. 430
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

A Taste for Paris From the moment I set foot in France one chilly, gray January morning in 1973, I knew that Paris was a city I would love the rest of my life. More than a quarter of a century later, after spending twenty of those years in this gentle city, each day I am moved by Paris's elegance and beauty, its coquettish appeal. The quality of life here is better than in any other place I know, and eating well has much to do with it. This is the book I came to Paris to write. Equal only to my passion for food is my love for reporting. I have always thought that one of the most enjoyable aspects of journalism is that you get to know people on their own turf, and you get to poke around, asking the questions that any curious person wants answers to. In researching this book, I - along with various companions - walked just about every street in Paris in search of the gastronomic best the city has to offer, talking, chatting, interviewing, meeting with the city's men and women who are responsible for all things great and edible. We set out to find the crispiest baguette, the thickest cup of steaming hot chocolate; to spot the most romantic site for a warm morning croissant or a sun-kissed summer lunch; to track down the trustiest cheese or choclate shop; to uncover the happiest place to sip wine on a brisk winter's day. We quickly gave up counting the number of times we got lost or rained out as we checked off addresses and discovered back streets and sleepy neighborhoods. We toured the markets and tea salons, sparred with butchers, laughed with the owners of a favorite bistro, and shared the incomparable aroma of a great loaf of bread as it came crackling from the oven. We rose eagerly at dawn to catch a pastry chef as he pulled the first batch of steaming croissants from his wood-fired oven; climbed down rickety ladders into warm and cozy baking cellars to discuss the state of the French baguette with a skilled baker; shivered as we toured the aromatic, humid, spotless rooms stacked with aging Brie and camembert, Vacherin and Roquefort. Each day we lunched and dined, sometimes at modest neighborhood bistros, sometimes in fine restaurants. We gathered recipes from pastry chefs, cooks, bakers, and teashop owners, and tested, tested, tested until my apartment took on the same irresistible mixture of aromas as the food streets and shops of Paris. Throughout, it was an exhilarating labor of love, one from which I hope you will profit, the joy of which I hope you will share. This is a personal guide, and whenever I had to decide whether to include or delete a shop, a restaurant, a market, I asked myself one question: Would I want to go back there again? If the answer was no, the address was tossed into the ever-growing reject file. In choosing restaurants, I have tried to be comprehensive but selective. I have tried as best I know how to tell you exactly what I think you will want to know about a restaurant: why you should go, where it is, how to get there, what you'll find when you arrive, and what it will cost. I intentionally did not rate restaurants, for I find personal restaurant ratings clumsy, arbitrary, Dan generally unreliable. Besides, they make a burdensome science out of what should, essentially, be joyful discovery. No doubt, some places you will love less than I. Some you will love more. I hope this book will stimulate every reader to explore, look around, and ask questions, and will help everyone to understand just a bit more clearly the history, daily customs, and rich texture of Paris, the great gastronomic capital of the world. Excerpted from The Food Lover's Guide to Paris: Fourth Edition. Copy right (c) 1999. Reprinted with permission by Workman Publishing.