COEUR de LION CAMEMBERT

When I was 12 and living in Mimizan, France for the summer, we usually ate lunch outside at a simple table right outside next to the grill.  Often, an entire box of Camembert, still in its wooden box would be pushed in the cooling coals to wait while we ate.  When the blacked box was brought back onto the table, it held a melted, creamy goo.  We ate the goo with the bread we had left from lunch.

A few nights ago, I didn't have much for dinner and so popped into the petit marche across the street to see what I could find.  The store is the equivalent of the Korean grocer's in New York, except here in Paris the owners are Moroccan.  The bright red and gold label of the coeur de lion camembert looked modest but the wooden box promised "du bon lait de Normandie," so I handed over my 2.90 euros.  This cheese is both creamy and gooey, it brings back memories, it has a distinct flavor that as I child I found strong and now I love.  It is incredibly easy to eat.  I ate some straight from the box and also melted a wedge in a piece of tin foil to eat with my Bread and Roses baguette leftover from lunch.

There are many fancy cheese shops in Paris.  Androuet on Rue de Verneuil and Barthelemy on Rue de Grenelle have all sorts, including the best runny, stinky, I've died, I've died (Saint Felicitan) types that come in terracotta dishes.  But it's nice to know that if I need a fix for creamy comfort food, Coeur de Lion is there.