Croque Camille
Blogger Buzz: Le Bambou
Aug 18th
Since moving to France, Nick and I have been having lots of fun with language. We blatantly use and abuse franglais, translating and mistranslating with abandon. One such misuse, which gets more play than one might expect, is bambooing. (You see, because the French word for shampoo is shampooing, any word that ends in -oo now gets an -ooing. It’s fun! Ok, we’re huge dorks. I don’t even know why I’m explaining this. Now I’ve gone and started off with a huge digression. It’s probably only going downhill from here.)
So we headed down to the 13th for some Asian grub last weekend. We really wanted to try Sukhothai, but alas, it was closed for congé annuel. Fortunately, I had a backup, which I had telephoned in advance: Le Bambou. Or as it immediately became known to Nick and me, Le Bambooing. It’s a well-known and well-reviewed spot for casual Vietnamese cuisine. When we arrived (following a rain-soaked Vélib’ ride from the Place d’Italie), there appeared to be a line out the door, but poking my head in the door and inquiring whether they had room for two proved to be beneficial – we were seated right away.
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Blogger Buzz: Worthwhile French Beers – Le P’tit Klintz
Aug 9th
Despite the long interval since my last Worthwhile French Beer post, I seem to have found the most similar possible beer to write about this time.
As you can see, this one is also organic, also from Brasserie Uberach, and also has “Klintz” in the name. But if La Klintz blonde is the mama bear, and Le Klintz brune is the papa bear, then this little honeyed number is the baby bear of the family.
The bottle had been sitting in our fridge for quite a while, and a noticeable layer of sediment had accrued at the bottom. When Nick opened the beer, it foamed vigorously and for some time, even though it was cold and relatively undisturbed. Strange.
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Blogger Buzz: Zoe Bouillon
Jul 20th
It’s too bad they’re closing next week for summer vacation, because Zoe Bouillon is serving up an ideal summer lunch. I’ve walked past the cute canteen on rue Rébéval many times, but today was the first time I’d eaten there. I doubt it will be the last.
A soup joint might not seem like the best place to eat on a warm July afternoon, but Zoe is cooking up (or mixing, rather) some delicious chilled soups, perfect for summer. I met my friend Celine there for lunch on Monday, and we were delighted with the fresh, seasonal offerings. The soups and salads are available à la carte or as part of a formule: from 9 euros for soup and a sandwich, salad, or slices of savory cake, to 11 euros for soup, sandwich or salad, cake and dessert. We went with the simplest menu, though both of the freshly baked cakes looked so good, we both had to ask for a slice of each.
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Blogger Buzz: Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine & My New Favorite Fromagerie
Jul 18th
Admittedly, one of the reasons this is a favorite is that it’s less than half a block from my apartment. Even so, I’m a little sad that I didn’t know about Julhès before moving to the rue du Faubourg St. Denis. Yes, it’s a cheese shop. It’s also a wine cave. With an impressive selection of liquor. And select charcuterie. Plus bulk free-range eggs and fresh dairy products like yogurt, milk, and butter. Not to mention the snacks – Tyrell’s chips, bars of Valrhona and Zaabar chcoclate - and condiments – a truly mouthwatering array of mustards, sauces, and jams. It’s a one-stop shop for a picnic if I ever saw one.
But the best part is that the cheeses (and wines…) are good. The service is friendly, too. One time I saw them make a camembert sandwich for a customer. And they’re open seven days a week, though they close for lunch on weekdays, as well as on Sunday afternoons. Pretty good for Paris. The cheese/wine shop (a category that gave me some trouble when I was adding it to my map because my current color-coding scheme doesn’t allow for such a thing), however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
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Blogger Buzz: Around Paris – Les Funambules
Jul 15th
If you do any amount of reading about the food scene in Paris these days, chances are you’ve heard of the rue Paul Bert. Tucked away on the outskirts of the 11th arrondissement, this tiny street is home to the much-lauded Bistrot Paul Bert, its seafood-oriented sibling L’Écailler du Bistrot, and the nearly impossible to book Temps au Temps. Nick and I found ourselves in the neighborhood during a recent soccer match, and since the bar where we were watching the game had illogically closed their kitchen, we decided to step out at halftime to find some dinner.
Despite having called the 11th home for two years, I’d never actually been to this part of it before. But I knew that we were in the vicinity of the rue Paul Bert, and that good eats had to be nearby. Looking more for a quick bite than a full-on dining experience, we crossed the foodie destination restaurants off our list. In our wanderings, we passed by this fun-looking restaurant on the corner of Paul Bert and rue Faidherbe. Everyone was eating out of huge, brightly-colored ceramic bowls, which intrigued us, so we walked closer to get a better look.
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Blogger Buzz: Fribourg d’Alpage
Apr 12th
I believe I promised you all a cheese post featuring the most delicious cheese at the Coulommiers festival. It wasn’t a Coulommiers or Brie-type cheese that stole my heart that day. No, it was a huge wheel of mountain-grown Gruyère-style cheese named Fribourg d’Alpage.
It seems that I have inadvertently packed up the notebook containing my tasting notes for this cheese, but I suppose that’s just as well for two reasons: one, it gives me an excuse to eat some more right now; and two, it’s such a complex cheese that every time I taste something different. While previous tastings focused on the nutty, rich characteristics, this time it almost tasted piquant. Also, the longer I keep it, the more pronounced the crunchy flavor crystals become (you know, like in an aged Parmigiano-Reggiano).
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Blogger Buzz: Around Paris – Jacques Genin
Apr 2nd
I’ve been trying to write this post forever. Like since early 2009, shortly after the place opened. I went as soon as I had a chance, and tried not to touch anything in the pristine shop. I bought a sleek brushed steel box of nine chocolates for ten euros, and of course gobbled them up savored them all before thinking to take any pictures. (For the record, though, their pralinés are some of the most amazingly smooth I’ve ever tasted, and I find the tea ganaches a tad too subtle for my tastes, but are very obviously of the highest quality.)
Jacques Genin’s unassuming storefront on rue de Turenne, in the northern Marais, belies the modern luxury on the inside. The shop is one enormous room, with a staircase spiraling up to the workshop. Behind the stairs are several tables, at which you can sit and enjoy house-made pastries like the sublime lemon tart or made-to-order millefeuille with a pot of exotic or vintage tea. Along
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Blogger Buzz: Around Paris – Wadja
Mar 12th
On a quiet street just off the busy boulevard Montparnasse, around the corner from such grandiose eateries as Le Dôme, La Coupole, and La Rotonde, sits the laid-back bistro Wadja.
Nick and I met here for lunch on a sunny day last week, and despite the long list of more expensive offerings, we thoroughly enjoyed the 14-euro, two-course lunch menu. As we do in these situations, we split a starter and dessert, so as to make up a three-course lunch that doesn’t put us into a postprandial coma.
After ordering beers, we started off with the lentil salad. It was good, with nice firm lentils and big chunks of meaty sausage. The lentils were dressed with a punchy red wine vinaigrette that really helped take the edge off the richness of the dish.
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Blogger Buzz: Worthwhile French Beers – La Klintz
Mar 8th
I had last week off work, and while I didn’t manage to stockpile blog posts as I had hoped, I did manage to stockpile material for blog posts, which is almost as good. I also spent a lot of fruitless time looking for a new apartment, about which I won’t bore you further, until I move and I inevitably hate my new kitchen, at which point I will bitch and moan. But this post is about beer. Specifically, La Klintz, an organic blonde from Brasserie Uberach.
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Blogger Buzz: Around Paris (8th) La Maison Du Chocolat
Mar 5th
In the block or two that I walked between the FDR Métro stop and La Maison du Chocolat, I passed Dior, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Chloé, and a number of other shops with security guards and salespeople better dressed than I was. Fortunately, all this scenery makes chocolate look like a positively affordable luxury, and paying 5 euros for an éclair seems like a bargain. (Really, though, when it’s hands-down the best éclair I’ve had in Paris, 5 euros IS a bargain. Caramel éclair fans, get yourselves to La Maison du Chocolat ASAP.)
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Blogger Buzz: Around Paris (18th) Chez Virginie
Mar 2nd
Chez Virginie is a charmingly packed cheese shop on the less-touristy side of the Butte Montmartre. Mountains of artisan cheeses are flanked by bottles of wine, cured hams, cookies, and other cheese-friendly treats.
The salesgirl was enthusiastic and helpful. When I was curious about a cheese, she offered me a taste immediately. I managed to limit myself to three cheeses, but was very tempted by the four-cheese flight for 7.50. Next time. This would be a perfect place to build a picnic, because about half a block down the street lies Arnaud Delmontel’s famed boulangerie, as well as Arnaud Larher’s chocolate and macaron shop. Make sure to take a peek at the Montmartre Cemetery before you go too far – at the very least, do what I did, and snap some photos through the trellis on rue Caulaincourt.
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