Things I Ate in Paris: Day Four

Some people go bar hopping — I go bakery hopping in Paris. My travel research had included several notable places for baked goods and, after visiting Sacre Coeur, we wandered around the Montmartre neighborhood and hit up three of those places.

We started Grenier a Pain Abbesses, which had recently won best baguette in Paris for 2010.  We of course indulged in a wonderful baguette that had a perfectly crackly exterior crust and a light, airy bread inside. A short walk down the hill took us to Rose Bakery where we ogled the enticing loaves, but settled on a sparkling elderflower soda and an apple and peach juice. Across the way, we stopped in at Arnaud Delmontel and bought some treats for later: a raspberry sable and an earl gray chocolate tea cake.

Dinner later that evening was a chance to sample one of the small Parisian restaurants specializing in oysters, Huitrerie Regis.

 There's little else on the menu besides several varieties of raw oysters and the box of a room was filled with locals. The minimum is a dozen oysters per person and the entire table's order arrives on one giant tray.

 One of my dining companions ordered a set that came with crevettes (aka shrimp).

The oysters tasted extremely briny and refreshing. If you are a big eater, like myself though, you can expect to need a followup dinner, as oysters are not the most filling meal. I opted for a hearty plate of duck for my second dinner.

Unfortunately I must add a slight disclaimer. Eat the oysters at your own risk. They've always made me a little uneasy and this time, I found justification for why. Upon returning home, a few days later, one of my dining companions and I got sick and it turns out it was likely a bacteria from the oysters. So while, they were tasty and I'm sure it was the luck of the draw, I can say that oysters will likely be eliminated from my culinary horizon for a long while, if not permanently.