Things I Ate in Paris: Day Three (con't)

Another day, another stop at Pierre Herme. It seems impossible to come to Paris and visit here only once. And it seems that Paris rivals New York for things that people wait in long lines for. Pierre Herme, being a narrow sliver of a shop, seems to have a line constantly snaking out the door.

This day we sampled the famous signature Ispahan macaron, a giant masterfully crafted delight of rose, raspberry, lychee and cream.

This almost-too-beautiful-to-eat macaron is so rich with fruity flavor yet light. The lychee, hidden in the middle is a refreshing surprise and the mild watery quality of the fruit plays off the tangy sweetness of the raspberry.



Dinner at Ze Kitchen Galerie

 Asian fusion is a bad description for a restaurant. It conjures up negative notions of American food with some soy sauce tossed in or just amateurish food in general. But Ze Kitchen artfully produces modern French food with an Asian influence.

We started with the Thai pistou with gnocchi, artichoke condiment and Mimolette cheese. The dish was a seamless melding of flavors — fresh broad beans, peas and basil and garlic. Though the dish was not actually gnocchi as we know it, but rather shells, it didn't detract from the wonderful summery quality of it all.

The grilled scampi and soft shell crab tempura with citrus-ginger sauce was an immediate standout on the menu, so much so that we ordered two of these. The langoustines were incredibly tender, likely butter poached. And the soft shell crab was salty, light and brought much happiness to our table.

The grilled Red Mullet with a Mizuna aioli was fresh and paired really nicely together and served over strips of green onion. The bite-sized grilled potato halves were topped with a dollop of tasty pesto.

We ordered a la carte here and it was a little pricier than some of our other meals, but it allowed us to order relatively light (no dessert). And luckily we managed to choose some really wonderful plates.