Food Checklist: Paris, France
Our first few posts here will cover the trip we just returned from, the first of hopefully a few during this sabbatical. We visited 4 countries and 5 cities over 21 days, which was as exhausting as it was rewarding.
When traveling to a new country or city, we like to set goals for ourselves. Those goals are usually (almost exclusively) food-based. Paris (our first stop) being a city known for its cuisine, particularly its breads (a weakness for us both), we knew we’d have our work cut out for us.
Macarons (5/10)
Presumably the primary appeal of these is their distinct look. The tidy presentation, the rainbow colors, and inventive flavors make these seem like they were designed for Instagram. The thing is, if you’re a dessert enthusiast, at the end of the day these cookies are largely just fine. Obviously we had to try them, and they are certainly unique, but the taste and texture just didn’t live up to the hype (or the cost) for us.
Frog Legs (5/10)
Some dishes are so unique you have to try them just to say you did. Sometimes they are the hidden delicacy that keeps you coming back for years to come. Other times they are a remnant of a bygone era that are tasty but not mind blowing. Cuisse de grenouilles, French for frog legs, fall into the latter category. They were a little bland, oily, and ended up more of a chore than a meal. I do not eat a lot of shellfish but that is a good parallel to the experience, scraping small amounts of meat off tiny bones while getting unnecessarily messy.
Crepes (7/10)
What’s not to like about a moist, thin pancake that you can wrap around various other confections? These were spot-on, and the options for what you could put in or on them seemed limited only by one’s own creativity. And watching someone make a crepe is its own (slightly stressful) treat.
French Onion Soup (7/10)
In the interest of transparency, it should be noted that we only tried a vegan version of this French classic while we were in town, so it’s certainly possible that some of the traditional heartiness was missing. Overall though, this dish delivers just what it promises — a whole lot of onion. The soup itself was rich and warm in a way that stayed with you, and the “cheese” topping and added vegetables gave it a level of substance that came about as close to the real thing as you could ask.
Crème Brûlée (7/10)
An incredibly simple dish that is always a crowd pleaser. Smooth, rich custard topped with caramelized sugar. No crust, no topping, no mixins, and no need for a garnish. We only tried it once and it was not freshly caramelized. The cream was cool like they had it prepared earlier and stored it for later. Even with that sub-optimal presentation it was the perfect light way to end a meal.
Baguettes (8/10)
We’ve all seen the pictures of the quintessential Parisian, walking around in a beret and carrying a baguette for snacking. And while the berets were few and far between (worn primarily by other tourists), the baguettes were omnipresent. They’re cheap, too — often costing not more than a euro or two.
This might sound like a recipe for mediocrity, but again the French baking magic comes through — every baguette we had was well baked with the perfect chew and air bubbles, often not even needing any butter or other accoutrement (although that didn’t stop us from slathering it in various spreads to see if it might be even better).
Pro tip: Get one fresh in the morning to keep in your hotel room or bag, and finish the night with a nice piece of bread in bed while you watch the French version of House Hunters. That’s what we did, anyway, which probably tells you something about how well we fit in in this city that prides itself on being classy.
Cheese (8.5/10)
Bringing a vegetarian to a steakhouse can be extremely hit or miss. Sometimes you have to scour the menu for even a salad or side vegetable that isn’t somehow meat infused, but other times you get lucky and they offer a full plate of French cheeses as an entree.
The Brie and Comte cheeses were standouts here, and even the “funkier” varieties were still absolutely delicious.
An honorable mention must also be made of the goat cheese (or chevre, as it’s known in France). The dish above is actually a “salad” from a restaurant near our hotel (no, really — there was a full house salad buried beneath the layer of goat cheese pods, garlic bread croutons, and potatoes). It was absolutely one of the best meals of the trip, and the creamy quality of the cheese played a huge part in that.
Steak (9.5/10)
When you find a restaurant that commits to perfecting one dish you are in for a treat. Many fancy steakhouses in the US focus on dry aging or super premium types of beef (e.g. wagyu), Sacred Flower’s secret ingredient is freshness. The ribeyes all come out of the kitchen still bleu (less cooked than rare) because that’s how they prefer it, but the father-son wait staff were more than happy to make sure it was cooked closer to my preference. I enjoyed it most with just a sprinkling of coarse salt, but every sauce (blue cheese, shallot, pepper) provided a new, well-balanced, flavor profile. The only reason it was not a perfect 10 for me was because the marbling did leave quite a bit of gristle to chew through, but that is a small inconvenience for the level of unctuousness experienced while each piece of meat melts in your mouth.
This was also the best deal for the budget conscious connoisseur. 29 euros includes the steak, three sauces, and potatoes.
Croissants (9.5/10)
Hype is a tricky thing. Everyone says that the croissants in Paris cannot be beaten by the croissants anywhere else, and that seems like a bold claim. Following intensive investigation, we have concluded that this claim is in fact… CORRECT.
This flaky, buttery treat has a touch of what I can only assume is magic when made by a Parisian baker. From the fancier bakeries to the grocery store grab and go box, the croissants were absolutely on point (and we made sure to eat at least one per day, for maximum data), every single time.
Aligot (9.5/10)
This is a regional French dish that we fortunately found at a restaurant in Paris. It is STRETCHY MASHED POTATOES. They’re stretchy because they contain cheese. Not sure how many more selling points are needed here, to be honest.
Up Next — the cuisine of Belgium!
