Give Me Some Food

I love nothing more than recommending a restaurant. I have lists that I check against other lists that I check against Zagat scores and local paper reviews and internet rants and raves. The dorkiest part of it is this huge hanging file system where I have clipped out restaurant articles from Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Gourmet for the last four years. It’s divided by state or country or section of the world. For example, California is one folder, but all of Africa is another. You’ll notice there are no labels on it because its all color coded and I know the colors by heart. The first yellow represents the southwest and the purple in the middle is New York. Duh. I know, what could be nerdier in the food world? No I don’t arrange my kitchen tools alphabetically. My dad and Felix are big business travelers and I’m always trying to set up a good food itinerary for them. Problem is, being on business means you are so tired and jet lagged that you're always about to fall asleep in your fois gras. Yet now, Adam, my food blogging friend, is off to Paris, not for business but to eat! I did this over the summer in London with my dad and I made a small mistake. We tried to visit too many rich muti-course meals in too little time. We went to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen and Tom Aikens and Moro and my liver was like pate by the time I came home. I went into detox and didn’t feel the need to eat for three days. So next time I’m going to devise a list that won’t put me at risk for a heart attack. Some lighter places maybe. But if I were going to Paris next week, this is where I’d want to eat, taking consideration of a budget, of course:

L’Ourcine-92 Rue Broca, 011-33-01-47-07-13-65 (13^th arrondissement)
Little bright bistro, menu chances daily, “gift to those on a budget”, piperade, cannelloni stuffed with lamb and eggplant, heard a rumor they have a $37 prix fix

Café Constant-139 rue Saint- Dominique, 011-33-1-47-53-73-34, (7^th arrondissement)
Gem of a neighborhood place, “low budget eating doesn’t have to be a let down”, menu written on a blackboard, classic bistro.

Pomze-  109 Boulevard Haussmann, 011-33-01-42-65-65-83 (8^th arrondissement)
A few restaurants have recently come out focusing on one ingredient: apples for pomze. You can have a tasting of ciders! www.pomze.com

Boulangerie Odeon-10 rue de l’Ancienne Commedie, (6^th arrondissement)
amazing bakery, breakfast or great midday snack. www.maison-kayser.com

La Cerisaie- 70 Boulevard Edgar-Quinet, 011-33-01-43-20-98-98, (9^th arrondissement)
Just 21 seats, no printed menu, no reservations, recent buzz, but a secret until now

Le Sot l’y Laisse-70 rue Alexandre Dumas, 011-330-01-40-09-79-20 (11^th arrondissement)
it’s noisy and smoky but it’s supposed to be the place to find out what they young avant-garde chefs are doing.