My self-indulgent trip to Paris - Part 3

I woke up Saturday morning in Paris and discovered it was a beautiful sunny day, a little unusual for late November in Paris and opposite from what the taxi driver had told me to expect as we drove into Paris from the airport the day before.

When cousin Matthias and I separated after dinner at A la Biche au Bois the night before, he to his apartment near Place de la Bastille and me back to my hotel near Boulevard du Montparnasse, we agreed to meet up for lunch.

He was going to sleep in and I was going to take a walk and shop for children's clothes. Daughters Tricia and Stephanie love French children's clothing stores, especially Le Petit Bateau, and I had promised to bring love-gifts for Avery, Dylan, Caedon and baby Madison.

Based on Alexander Lobrano's article in the November issue of Saveur Magazine entitled The 23 Best Bistros in Paris, I decided we were going to eat lunch at La Fontaine de Mars in the 7th arrondisesement not too far from the Eiffel Tower. I Googled and found that there was a Le Petit Bateau located on the way to the restaurant. So off I went.

My walk to the area where the restaurant is located took me past Les Invalides. The Les Invalides buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the French Army, a couple of other museums, as well as the burial site for some of France's war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte. You can see what a beautiful day it was in this picture of Les Invalides.



I was headed towards the Eiffel Tower located on the Champ de Mars. For those who don't know, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris and it is the most-visited paid monument in the world. Named for its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair.



I was in no hurry, it was sunny and warm and it was several hours yet before I was to meet Matthias for lunch. So I took my time, looking through windows and wandering in and out of stores that looked interesting including La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marché.

Not living in Paris, I have no idea if there are better food emporiums. I am quite sure there are less expensive places to shop for food but La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marché seems like foodie heaven to me. I would be happy to have a store like that within a 100 miles of where we live.

I found Le Petit Bateau store and walked-in. I buy clothes to bring back for our grand kids every time I am in France but I swear it is such an intimidating experience to walk into stores like Le Petit Bateau or Catimini. Invariably, I am the only man in the store and it seems like every eye is on me wondering what I am up to.

As I said, my daughters love the clothes from Le Petit Bateau but they are, especially Stephanie, very picky about what clothes their children wear. So not being sure of what tops and bottoms coordinated together or sizes, I was happy when a friendly young lady came over and offered her assistance.

With her help, I found cute outfits for all four kids including the outfits being modeled by Avery 4 and Caedon 2 in the picture below. Hey, I did quite well, don't you think?



I arrived at La Fontaine de Mars which is located at the intersection of Rue Saint-Dominique and Rue de l'Exposition, right on time. As I was walking in, Matthias called and said he had overslept but was on his way and would be there as soon as he could. I should have planned for this because Matthias is notorious for being late. Oh well, c'est la vie.

La Fontaine de Mars has been in this spot since 1908. The Bistro was operated by three families in succession until the current owners took over in 1991.



I was seated at a table in one of several small dining rooms near the open kitchen and bar and asked if I would like an aperitif to enjoy while I looked over the menu. Since I had to wait for Matthias, I ordered a glass of sparkling rosé.



Since there were not many diners in the Bistro, a server struck up a conversation with me. When he found out I was an American, he pointed to the sign and offered that President Obama had eaten in the Bistro with his daughters; he got the gigot d'agneau - leg of lamb.

The sign was actually a reprint from La Dépêche, a daily newspaper from Southwest France which said "Obama A Dîner Chez Une Tarbaise". I asked the waiter if that meant the owner was from Tarbes, the area where Tarbais beans are cultivated. He said yes, and with that I knew I was going to order the cassoulet.



Matthias arrived and the waiter took our orders. He started with a deep fried poached egg served over spinach with a saffron sauce. He let me have a taste; I had never eaten or seen an egg preparation like this but it was really good and I want to try it at our Bistro Des Copains.



I ordered the house made duck foie gras. As you would expect from a restaurant whose roots are in Southwest France, the foie gras was delicious.



The server brought out a large cassole filled with steaming cassoulet and ladled out a large serving on my plate. It was rich, aromatic with a big piece of sausage, duck and those wonderful Tarbais white beans. It was so delicious that I gladly took a second helping of this wonderful dish.

It was the best cassoulet I have eaten since Le Languedoc in Carcassonne several years ago. The thing missing from both of these cassoulets was well-browned crust on top because they were ladled out on plates. But I digress.



For his plat - main course, Matthias chose the Poisson du Jour à l'Ardoise - fish of the day as listed on the blackboard which on this day was monk fish in a bourride type sauce.



We were quite full after our meals so we decided to share a rich dark chocolate cake with mandarin sorbet. It was a perfect way to finish.



I highly recommend dining at La Fontaine de Mars if you are in Paris; I will definitely return. Check back to read the final installment about my self-indulgent trip to Paris.

My self-indulgent trip to Paris, Part 2

After finishing lunch at Allard, I walked back down rue St. André des Arts to nearby Metro station Saint Michel and got on the six-car train heading south toward Porte d'Orléans and Metro station Vavin near A la Villa des Artistes to see if my room was ready.

Thankfully it was, so I rode the tiny elevator to the second floor. I walked into the typically (for Paris) small but very well appointed room and dropped my suit case and flopped face down on the bed. The next thing I remember, I heard a cell phone ringing (mine) and the number showed it was cousin Matthias.

Matthias -- a law student at the Sorbonne -- wouldn't be free until after 4:00 PM. I was in a sleep-fog and couldn't remember at that moment the name of the hotel, the street where the hotel was located or how to get there. I did recall that it was very close to Brasserie La Coupole so we agreed to meet-up in front of the restaurant on Boulevard Montparnasse.

I had not made reservations yet for dîner - dinner that night, so now being awake, I set about finding a good place to eat with Matthias. As I said in my previous post, I came to Paris with a list of bistros from Alexander Lobrano in the November issue of Saveur Magazine entitled The 23 Best Bistros in Paris and from David Leibowitz's blog.

As you might guess, being late Friday afternoon, I was told by several of the bistros that I called that they were complet - full for that night. I kept calling and my perseverance was rewarded with a reservation for 7:30 at A la Biche au Bois on Avenue Ledru Rollin in the 12th arrondisement.

At 6:30 Matthias called again and said he was a few minutes away from La Coupole. I grabbed my jacket and headed out, remembering to leave the key card for my room at the front desk as is customary in French hotels.

Matthias was already there when I got to La Coupole. I told him where we were going and he said it would be faster at that time of the evening to take the bus rather than ride the crowded Metro and change lines or crawl to our destination near Gare de Lyon in a taxi.

We arrived at A la Biche au Bois a few minutes before 7:30, which is when dinner service begins. A small crowd of people were already standing near the door waiting for the bistro to open. Since I heard primarily French being spoken, I thought that was probably a very good sign of things to come.



We were shown to a small table towards the back of the bistro near the bar. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see what looks like cabinet doors behind the cart with desserts on top. Those doors lead down ladder-stairs to the cave, or underground storage area for the bistro's wines.



Cousin Matthias at our table at A la Biche au Bois. Wife Shirley calls Matthias her "summer son" since he has come to spend time at our home in California every summer for the past 5 years to perfect his English, which is now very good.



We both ordered the 25,90 Euro four-course Petit Menu for dinner. As the name implies, A la Biche au Bois' specialty is game and wild fowl during the season.

The 2010 Nouveau Beaujolais had been uncorked in Paris for the first time the previous day to great fanfare so we decided to order a bottle of Beaujolais-Villages Primeur to drink with our meal.



When our starters were brought to the table, the server also put down a basket of sliced baguette pieces and toasts and a jar of crisp cornichons to accompany our starter dishes.

I chose the salade Périgourdine which came with a slice of house made foie gras for a 4,50 Euro supplement for my first course; a creamy delicious way to start dinner.



Matthias chose the starter of the day which was a house specialty, terrine de faisan - pheasant. It was also a very tasty dish.

The bistro filled up quickly and an American couple from Philadelphia of mixed-race, she caucasion and he black were squeezed into the small table next to us. We helped them with menu translation since they spoke little French and read none.

They ordered the same starters as Matthias and I and when their starters were brought out, they were given a very small dish of cornichons (not a jar like ours) and no toasts for their terrine and foie gras.

They immediately noticed and asked us why they didn't get the same. It was uncomfortable and I was not sure if it was due to their being obviously American or because of mixed race or purely accident. I hope it was the latter.



For his plat - main course, Matthias chose the coq au vin which was brought out to him in a large cast iron pot. There was enough so I could taste all I wanted. It was a rich, winey, delicious dish of braised chicken parts, potatoes, mushrooms and onions in a red wine sauce. The chicken was moist rather than dry and it was hands down the best coq au vin I have ever tasted.



I chose filet de boeuf poêlé au poivre - pan seared beef filet with peppercorn sauce accompanied by house made fries. The filet was tender and flavorful; the fries tasted very good but I would have preferred them to be a little more crispy.



We were already quite full so we skipped the cheese course and went straight for the desserts. Matthias chose île flottante - floating island, sometimes called œufs à la neige, served over crème anglaise - vanilla sauce. This is one of Matthias favorite desserts and he pronounced it very good.



To finish my wonderful meal, I chose the chocolate tart with crème anglaise.



This was a wonderful meal in a classic Parisian bistro and I would return happily the next time I am in Paris. I am indebted to David Leibowitz for his post about this wonderful bistro.

Check back to read my next installment about my self-indulgent trip to Paris in Part 3.

My self-indulgent trip to Paris, Part 1

Last weekend, I took a self-indulgent trip to Paris. I figured out that I was going to be short a few thousand miles for me to maintain 1k or 100,000 miles flyer status with United for 2011 unless I took an unplanned trip before the end of the year.

As those of you who fly frequently on United know, there are some nice benefits for 1k status such as free domestic upgrades, priority for standby flights, priority for international upgrades and no fees to check bags, so I decided I should take a trip to get the miles I was going to be short.

I calculated that a trip to France would get me the perfect number of miles I needed to maintain my 1k status. I didn't have enough time to go to Sablet so I went to Paris this past weekend; I flew on Thursday, arriving early Friday morning. My flight home was on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to a recent post by Karen Fawcett at Bonjour Paris about some of her favorite neighborhoods and hotels, I got a room at a great little hotel in the 6th called A La Villa des Artistes. At least for this weekend, the room rates were a very reasonable (for Paris) 139 Euros per night.

As I said, I arrived early Friday morning (Thanks to my 1k status, I got upgraded for free to business class). After standing in line to get through passport check at Roissy Airport and an hour long ride in a taxi with a chatty driver through morning rush hour, I arrived at the hotel.



As those of you (whoever you kind souls are) who read Our House in Provence blog know, I am a foodie and wino and co-owner of a small French bistro in Northern California called Bistro Des Copains. So my agenda for my short visit to Paris was simple: eat two lunches and two dinners in good bistros.

Before leaving, I did a little research to help me choose where I would go for my bistro meals. I made my choices based upon an article by Alexander Lobrano in the November issue of Saveur Magazine entitled The 23 Best Bistros in Paris and a recent post by David Leibowitz on his blog.

Since it was way too early for lunch, I headed off to the area of Les Halles in the 1st arrondisement where the central wholesale food market used to be located to the culinary shops that are in that area. I was very happy to see that my hotel was just a few steps from the Vavin Metro station

Vavin Metro station is on line 4 which takes you directly to the Les Halles area without having to change metro lines. Besides being a relatively cheap and easy way to get around Paris, my favorite thing about the Paris Metro, is the musicians performing in the stations. This group was very good!



I spent the morning in foodie heaven, wandering in and out of Mora, La Bovida, and E. Dehillerin. There is every pot, pan, knife and culinary gadget imaginable for sale in these stores. Nearby G. Detou is stacked, literally floor to ceiling with everything a cook or baker could want.

I see many things I would buy if I could figure out how to get them home to California or to our house in Sablet. Since it seems to be more trouble than its worth right now, I limit my purchases to a tall Peugeot pepper mill for the Bistro and a smaller one for home.

When I walk out of the last store, its just before noon and time for lunch. I decide to walk to Allard since its a nice fall day in Paris and not too far away on Rue Saint-André des Arts in the 6th arrondisement.



Allard is one of Paris' oldest and one of its most beloved bistros (according to the Saveur article), established in 1931. You enter the bistro into what appears to be a tiny kitchen. You are not actually in the kitchen but you do have to dodge servers as you walk back to the dining room.



The server brings me a menu and list of the chef's daily additions. Since the 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau was released the day before (the wine is always released the third Thursday of November no matter when the grapes were harvested), I get a glass to accompany lunch. For once, the Beaujolais Nouveau is pretty good.

For my entrée - starter, I choose a roasted beet and mâche salad dressed with a creamy vinaigrette. The salad is brought out in a bowl with enough salad for two people.



For my plat - main course, I decide on the côtes de veau forestière, veal chop served with roasted potatoes and girolles mushrooms.



To finish, I decide I want to compare Allard's apple tarte tatin to the one we serve at Bistro Des Copains. The tarte was brought to the table with a little pot of crème fraiche.



I think the apple tarte tatin made with Gravenstein apples we serve at Bistro Des Copains is much better; you be the judge.



The meal was OK, certainly not the best one I had in Paris last weekend as I would find out. In part 2, I will tell you about a much better meal.

Roundabouts - Roaix

We are fascinated by the roundabouts in the Vaucluse. Many are beautifully designed, have some type of art form and reflect something important about the town or village where they are located.

There are many pretty roundabouts in the Vaucluse Department of Provence where we live. For the next few weeks, I am posting pictures of different roundabouts in the Vaucluse. Today's roundabout is near Roaix.



A close up view of the roundabout; note the sign pointing in the counter clockwise direction that cars must go.



Check back to see other roundabouts that catch my eye in the Vaucluse. I will post these between my usual posts about our dining experiences, visits to interesting places and reflections on life in Provence.

Le Girocèdre Restaurant, Puyméras

As I told you in my last post, the reason we went to Puyméras in the first place was because after multiple attempts, we finally were able to secure reservations for lunch at Le Girocèdre Restaurant.

We found Le Girocèdre Restaurant after a short walk up the hill from where we parked near the fountain and wash house.



After walking through the red iron gate, we entered into the beautiful tended garden of this restaurant in the heart of Puyméras.



The restaurant's exterior wall is covered with ivy.



The garden is planted with trees and ornamental and vegetable plants. There are many nice touches such as this pretty wrought iron bench.



There are tomatoes in the garden



and herbs for the kitchen.



The restaurant has an "open kitchen" where chef Sébastien can keep his eye on what is going on in the "dining room" under the trees.



It was a beautiful sunny day and we were shown to a table shaded by the many trees in the beautiful garden.



We were not seated very long before a server brought bread and a dish of olives for us to nibble on while we looked over the menu.

We decided that a glass of nicely chilled rosé wine would be the perfect accompaniment to our lunch in this beautiful setting.



For her lunch, Shirley chose a combination platter consisting of melon, a yummy eggplant flan with fresh tomato sauce, rice, sliced tomatoes from the garden and a green salad. She loved her lunch.



For my first course, I chose the eggplant flan with tomato sauce accompanied by green salad.



For my plat - main course, I decided on the sauteed veal served with rice and purple carrots.



For dessert, Shirley finished with the chocolate mousse.



I chose the café gourmand which consisted of chocolate mousse, panna cotta, cookies and espresso.



When asked what I love most about Provence, I generally answer leisurely lunches on sunny days seated at a table shaded by trees. Le Girocèdre Restaurant is my idea of the quintessential place to have lunch in Provence.

If you go, you should know this is not Michelin star food and thankfully so as far as I am concerned. It is delicious, simply prepared from very fresh, local ingredients.

We will return many times I am sure.

Puyméras, a Pretty Village in the Northern Vaucluse

I have tried to reserve a table at Le Girocèdre restaurant in Puyméras several times but it never worked out because they were complet - all tables were reserved, the restaurant was on fermeture annuelle - annual vacation or it was fermeture hebdomadaire - the day the restaurant closes during the week.

Because we had not been able to reserve a table, we had never visited Puyméras. Our perseverence was finally rewarded and we got a table for lunch one Tuesday a few weeks ago. After spending the morning wandering through the various stalls at the market in Vaison la Romaine, we headed up the road to Puyméras.

Puyméras is located just a few km northeast of Vaison-la-Romaine, so it is a convenient spot for lunch after the Tuesday morning market or from our home in Sablet. It turns out that Puyméras is a pretty village at the northern tip of the Vaucluse near the border of the Department of the Drôme.

The village was built on a rocky outcrop surrounded by beautiful countryside dotted with homes, vineyards and lavender fields. The appearance of a few olive trees and fruit trees among the vineyards is what remains of what used to be a diversified farming area which suffered a devastating frost in 1956 so only the vineyards remain.

One of the pretty views from Puyméras.



As I said, it is a small village with a little over 600 Puymérassiens - the people who live in Puyméras.



The Romanesque church of Saint-Michel et Saint-Barthélemy with its distinctive belfry in Puyméras.



A pretty water spout we spotted as we walked around Puyméras.



As you walk around the village, you will spot beautiful old homes.



Even the post office is pretty.



Another view of the belfry of the Saint-Michel et Saint-Barthélemy church.



If you climb to the very top of the village like wife Shirley, you will get to the clock tower.



The front side of the clock tower.



The mairie - town hall of Puyméras.



Me standing near the church looking out over the surrounding countryside.



Shirley standing near the fountain and lavoir - wash house.



I will tell you about our wonderful lunch at Le Girocèdre restaurant in my next post. Regardless of whether or not you eat at Le Girocèdre restaurant, it is worth the drive to come and take a leisurely stroll through Puyméras.

Another reason to come to Puyméras are the red wines which are classified as Côtes du Rhône Villages. These wines which are a base of Grenache and Syrah and/or Mouvedre grapes are grown on stony terraces spread out over 5 hilly communities in the Drôme and northern Vaucluse.

Enjoy your visit.