VANESSA EATS

Vanessa visited this weekend.  Here are the restaurant notes from our eats.  She took this picture of me (above) on the Pont de Alma getting lost for the millionth time in my attempt to only walk on the prettiest streets and avoid any routes that might have cars.  

----- Where does one take a Swiss Italian who loves Zuma?

L'Avenue, 8eme, Avenue Montaigne - Small, white clothed table situated along the large pane glass window that is one side of the restaurant.  I watched impeccably dressed strollers go by.  Over my shoulder, Vanessa checked out the diners entering the restaurant with their Piaget watches, small Chanel bags, and perfectly messy hair.  Vanessa's salade nicoise was three, fat perfectly seared triangles of tuna over butter lettuce, tiny, bright green haricot verts, eggs, and heirloom tomatoes.  Almost like an extension of her fork lifting to taste the fish, she splashed on balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  I ate cold mint pea soup served with a savory creme fraiche.  I want to go back.

Ralph's, 6eme, Boulevard Saint-Germaine - Glass, silver, candles, greenery, and large canvas umbrellas beckon from the street.  The setting is a bit Edgartown sailed into an old, carved secret Parisian courtyard and caught the attention of the international fashion set.  The seats are black wrought iron covered in comfy, navy striped cushions.  Everyone around us ate hamburgers and the brownie sundae for dessert.  We ate grilled chicken breast, tomato soup, watermelon and tomato salad, and fries.  An overflowing bowl of crackerjacks is served with the tea.  I would go back to sit on secluded two seater and eat the brownie, which is more like a warm flourless chocolate cake with walnuts.

Cafe de Flore, 6eme, Boulevard Saint-Germaine - We went to Cafe de Flore for verveine menthe tea after Ralph's.  I like sitting on the banquette facing the street.  Even though there are people all around, it feels private and once the waiter drops off the drinks, he never comes back.  Interesting sorts come and hang out.  Girl Alex says it's a combination of unemployed bankers and consultants, the famous, the eccentric regulars, and tourists.  If it's cold, sit upstairs.  

(Pipilotti Rist)

(Palais de Tokyo courtyard)

Tokyo Eats, 16eme, inside Palais de Tokyo, Avenue du President Wilson - Palais de Tokyo is worth a visit.  The basement is downright scary and like a larger, more studied version of a non-Williamsburg Brooklyn warehouse.  It is several flights of concrete stairs down into the depths of a large cavernous, unfinished space.  Belly dancing music drifts out of a dark tunnel, that once entered, curves into a dark empty room showing a film of two men dancing in a dark empty room (Jewel by Hassan Khan, incredible).  Next door at the Musee d'Art Moderne, I liked the the two drafts of Matisse's mural for Mr.Barnes and the The Electric Fairy (La Fee Elictricite) by Raoul Dufy.  Vanessa liked a purple Marc Chagall bunny.  At Tokyo Eats, we ate beneath red spaceship lights and large Onomatopoeia Lichenstein style (they are actually Christian Marclay) colored windows.  I was very happy with my orange-ginger juice and pesto dressed beef carpaccio encircling a pile of arugula, bufalo mozzarella, and parmesan.  Vanessa mostly poked at her mayo drenched chicken salad.  We both liked watching the beautiful French children eating Sunday lunch with their families.  I want to go back at night to see the art in a party setting and if the Chris Ofili paintings glow in the dark.

Coffee Shop, 7eme, Rue de Babylone close to Rue Vaneau - I love walking around the 7th in the evening, from 5:30-8:30PM.  The streets are quiet, narrow, and full of white formal government buildings and sootier white residences with white shutters.  We stopped by a coffee shop for bio green tea and citron sodas on our little walk home from the 16th. 

(Jackie's wrists, by Vanessa)

Midnight Snack, 6eme, Rue Notre Dame des Champs - Cookies are not really a French thing, but after scouring the Rue de Rennes Monoprix ailes we settled on Baiocchi (il nocciola e il cacao) cookies from Mulino Bianco and healthy looking bio museli pepites de chocolat.  We ate these in between all meals along with Mariage Freres rouge teas.

Moette Kigawa, 14eme, Rue Chateau -  The food is French and the chefs are Japanese.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the teeny tiny pale yellow space looked beautiful and special so we gave it a try.  The rest of the room spoke Japanese.  We stayed in our own little world eating salmon tartar, cod, and green tea gelee and mascarpone mousse with bright red strawberries.  

Epi Dupin, 6eme, Rue Dupin - The maitre'd at Epi Dupin is a live wire of a man who speaks perfect Japanese and English.  He prefers pastel colored shirts, took care of me, and started me off with a glass of dry red wine.  I like him.  I sat at the tiny bar and ate a pate (more like a rillettes) of tuna, roasted hazelnuts and fresh herbs as an entree and breaded lamb sweetbreads over a disk of strands of fennel and carrot as my main.  For dinner, there is only a set menu.  The dishes change daily and sound promising.  Vistors from all over come for the food.  I really wanted to like Epi Dupin and will go back to try it again since it's my local restaurant, but the food was a little heavy for me tonight and didn't really surprise me.

Hotel Costes, 1eme, Rue Saint-Honore - Vanessa went to lunch while I went to French class.  As she tells it, she was squeezed into one of the last tables on the veranda and had a good view of all the action: the models, fashion people, and power people.  The menu was the same as L'Avenue.  The area has Collette, Fouchon, and high end wagashi.  Next time, we'll have to leave the left bank and hang out in the land of luxury shops and small, fancy cafes.