Tuesday 30 July 2013

The Best Things I Ate (and Drank) in Paris

It's July 30 in Australia and so the last day of Paris in July for another year. As I struggle with the jet lag inherent in reentering the Southern Hemisphere I'm wondering how to wrap up my Paris in July. I was in Paris for much of this July. I have so many things to say about it, we went to so many amazing places, saw so many amazing things, and of course ate and drank so many amazing things. Every day was amazing, every day worth the long trip from Australia.

I've started to share some of the amazing places with you. Tour Saint Jacques. Parc Floral. Le Petit Palais. But I don't think I've shown you anything that I ate or drank in Paris, and boy did I eat and drink in Paris! Too much perhaps.

So what was the best of the best?

Every baguette and slice of bread we had.
Every bit of butter.
Every glass of champagne. 

Sweet


Lemonta Citron that magnificent orb on the left
La Patisserie des Reves
a hybrid pavlova/scotch egg of perfection
I think this was my absolute favourite patisserie

Berthillon- still the best glaces in Paris
Vanille, Framboise, Pistache

The incredible pates de fruits from Pierre Herme
(best website ever?)
I have already mentioned my newfound love for pistachio paste. Shhh, I have a jar in the cupboard, waiting.

The Absolutely Incredible Guimauve (marshmallows) from Hugo and Victor. Verveine (lemon verbena), citron vert and vanille. Rather astonishingly these remained unphotographed, despite the 18,500 photos that we came back from Europe with.

The Astonishing Caramels from Jean Paul Hevin. Perhaps also unphotographed, perhaps I just can't find it.

Savoury

Our foraged dinners at home
Sadly it wasn't Krug every night this was our last night supper of favourites

Wasabi pistachios!
Red curry lobster from Astrance
pretty much every course from that meal could make this list
but I totally wasn't expecting a lesson in red curry
 at a 3 star French restaurant

Liquid

Citron vert (lime) sorbet with vodka for lunch
at Seize Neuf 75009
makes the afternoon perfect
Pommery Louise 2002 

Hot Vanilla Milk at Le Cafe Marly at the Louvre

Possibly the best single thing I ate was savoury, not sweet.

Zucchini veloute with speck mousse
 from a magnificent lunch at L'Arpege
again pretty much every course could make it here
but that speck mousse was extraordinary- speck flavoured air

These memories, and a couple of goodies hidden in the pantry, will have to sustain me until the next trip to Paris, whenever that may be.

Paris in July 2013 cohosted by Thyme for Tea and Bookbath


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16 comments:

  1. Dvora30 July 2013 at 23:21

    Yum. And beautiful too. Some people may think it's hype or a myth, but the French really take their food seriously and bring it to the highest level. France is not a place to go if you want to stay on some sort of silly diet.

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  2. Jeanie31 July 2013 at 01:30

    Oh, my! It's lunchtime here in Michigan, USA, and I'm not only longing for Paris, I'd love to jump into this post and devour every last wonderful bit that you savored on your trip! It is art!

    Thanks for your wonderful comments on The Marmelade Gypsy -- I'm looking forward to visiting you even after we leave France!

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  3. Hannah31 July 2013 at 02:29

    Ohhhhhh this post hurts my heart but also makes me so very happy. x

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  4. Marg31 July 2013 at 07:13

    Oh my! Every post just makes me a little more jealous, but this one also made me just a little more hungry!

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  5. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 10:27

    You have certainly captured the wonderful food available in almost all parts of France. I am now lusting for the veloute!
    That was an incredible number of photos you came back with. Your screen saver will always have some new memory of your trip if you choose to use them as your screensaver.

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  6. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 10:27

    You have certainly captured the wonderful food available in almost all parts of France. I am now lusting for the veloute!
    That was an incredible number of photos you came back with. Your screen saver will always have some new memory of your trip if you choose to use them as your screensaver.

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  7. Parisbreakfasts31 July 2013 at 19:04

    Oh Lordie!
    At least I can still try the patisserie des Reves Granita thing..
    Berthillon is open in summer btw. Just closed Monday and Tuesday
    http://www.berthillon.fr/mag/fr/page-112620.htm

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  8. DoingDewey31 July 2013 at 22:02

    Wow, everything looks delicious! It makes me want to travel right now :)

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  9. Greg1 August 2013 at 03:15

    A month in Paris? How nice! I look forward to seeing your photos- and the food! Oh my...

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  10. Joy1 August 2013 at 08:35

    This post made me hungry. And made me want to go back to France.

    I'm so glad that you had such a wonderful trip!

    Joy's Book Blog

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  11. Teddyree1 August 2013 at 13:08

    Oh my! I'm drooling and jumping up and down at the same time lol and writing down your suggestions for our trip in 2014. That red curry lobster looks like a little piece of art.

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  12. Louise1 August 2013 at 21:23

    That's very true Dvora, they have a true passion for their foods, it's wonderful to see, although I did see more packaged and processed foods than I've seen before.

    If only we could share via photos Jeanie, I'd love to revisit too. It's been a week since I had a patisserie :-(

    Hannah, you will revisit once again, and I'm sure are having wonderful adventures whereever you are- actually I need to catch up on your activities.

    Marg it made me hungry making it, and just a tad sad that I wasn't in Paris anymore. There's plenty more to come of course.

    Suth2 that veloute was sensational, I do have a new screensaver made from our holiday photos, it's exciting to watch.

    Carol, there are many, many treats to have there- the JPH caramels, the HV guimauve (standout bests). Berthillon ice-cream is still available from the outlets over summer I think but the original store on Ile St Louis had a sign up saying that it is closed til Sept 4. We were quite desperately searching for passionfruit that day (one of the favourites, but it was finished for the season).

    Dewey- I want to travel back too, but then I always do.

    Greg-A month was fantastic. Can't wait to do it again.

    Thanks Joy.

    Teddyree, there will be plenty more suggestions coming. How wonderful to be planning a trip, I wish I was.

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  13. Anonymous4 August 2013 at 06:31

    The sweets especially look delicious! This past July, my husband and I were able to try some Filipino ones at a birthday party. We also experimented somewhat with seafood cuisine during our trip to the Great Northern Peninsula, in Newfoundland. Here are some of the foods we tried:
    http://allisonsbookbag.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/snapshot-meme-newfoundland-foods/

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  14. Paulita 5 August 2013 at 20:15

    Just catching up on your trip and suddenly so hungry for some reason. It looks like you didn't squander a single minute!

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  15. skiourophile10 August 2013 at 19:44

    I have loved your posts and photos so much! Oh, L'Arpege! Actually *everything* (wasabi pistachios!) on here is making me drool but I do have a dream of going to L'Arpege next time I'm in Paris.

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  16. Paulita 17 June 2014 at 03:44

    I love this post. Perfect to go with my own observations about food in France. Yours is much richer of course. I think even I could make lime sorbet and vodka drink though. Thanks for playing along today. Here’s my Dreaming of France meme

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