Things I Ate In Paris: Day One

I arrived in Paris midday on my first day hungry (what else is new?) and ready to eat. I came prepared with many eating guides, including a special Paris issue of Gourmet magazine from a couple of years ago and a copy of Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris (Clotilde is the author of a blog I occasionally read, Chocolate & Zucchini.) Browsing through these, I sought out something near the hotel and settled upon La Gazzetta, which had also recently been written about in a New York Times article about good prix-fixe deals in Paris. Testing out the veracity of such write-ups is fun and I was glad to find that indeed this was a good deal. Our two-course meal started with a cold fava bean, almond, cucumber soup that was a bit too grassy and green for us; a white pizza with anchovy, light and salty; and white lentils served with thinly sliced pork, which was deliciously refreshing.

We each had a choice for the main course. We tried the Pyrenees lamb loin, the Beef Bourguignon and a fish dish (it was unclear because of a language issue exactly what this was).

The lamb was excellent — mild in flavor but tender and juicy. The beef was a tad on the overcooked side. The fish was cooked well and paired with the green onion mashed potatoes nicely.

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An afternoon snack at Pierre Herme (which was preceded by a stop at competing macaron shop, Laduree). I'd never been a big fan of these french treats until I tried them here. They converted me, but at the same time made it even harder to like any of the far inferior versions proliferating at cafes in New York City. On this day, I chose vanilla and olive oil; peach, apricot and saffron; and chocolate passionfruit, which turned out to be my favorite.