Le Dauphin

"J'ai deux amours" - Madeleine Peyroux (An Education soundtrack)

The main objective whilst in Paris was to experience Le Chateaubriand, Inaki Aizpitarte's gastronomic eatery that is so highly applauded by foodies and chefs all around the world. Prior to our departure, we set our alarm clocks for 6am every morning in an attempt to call the reservationist as soon as the restaurant opened. What we got as a result was a long voicemail message on the other end of the line saying that Le Chateaubriand would be closed for renovation for the entire week that we'd be there. ...WHAT?!?!?!?!

Enter Le Dauphin. Le Dauphin is Aizpitarte's sister restaurant next door to Le Chateaubriand. While men hammered away at the construction zone that was Le Chateaubriand, we noshed on a light and delicious prix-fixe lunch next door at the modern minimally decorated Le Dauphin. Very delicious, but hopefully next time we'll be able to try Le Chateaubriand.

Le vin

Rouget, Pois chiche, fenouil & olive noire de Kalamata

Gigot d'agneau, pois chiche, fenouil & olive noire de Kalamata

Foie de veau, tabouleh de celeri, & pommes

Maquereau, betterave, & graines

The French and I really see eye to eye on dessert. All of my favorite things.

1. Coffee

2. Cheese and butter and bread for dessert. Hell yes.

3. Strawberries and creme fraiche.

Fin.

Paris Randoms

Le Comptoir

Le Comptoir. Also known as thebestmeali'veeatenin2011sofar. Situated on the left bank in the 6th arrondissement, we heard about this spot from Anthony Bourdain's 100th episode of "No Reservations." Also heavily written about in GQ, NY Times, blahblahblah.

Expecting to either wait for hours or grab a sandwich at its deli next door, we were surprised to be seated within 15 minutes! Score.

Every restaurant with a pig logo is a winner.

Scallops in butter sauce, with caviar and toasted onion.

Escargot.

Plump lobster ravioli.

My favorite: penne pasta with braised pork and foie gras.

Coffee Creme Brulee.

Eating in Paris was a challenge that we prepared for as much as we could. The 2 main obstacles when eating in Paris are 1) the chalkboard menus in tiny handwritten French, and 2) reservations. To overcome the language barrier, we memorized a long list of French foodie vocab, everything from paillard to veau. The reservations on the other hand, were quite another feat. We had a lofty list of dining destinations, and less than 2 weeks to go. If we were getting in anywhere, it wouldn't be through reservations; it would be through luck and persistence.

The back up strategy: Try to dine at the tail end of lunch or early dinner. And? It worked! We got into most of the restaurants we aimed for, except for Le Chateaubriand which was closed for renovations.

Hang on. More Paris food coming.

Hotel Amour

Yay! Finally a chance to post some photos from Paris. We stayed at Hotel Amour, graffiti artist Andre's painfully hip boutique hotel in the 9th arrondissement. Think Terry Richardson photography in the hallways, The Strokes' new album blasting through the lobby, Justice having dinner in the restaurant, served by uber good looking hipsters. Ground zero for the Parisian style set.

There are about 20 or so rooms, all different themed. Not sure what the theme of our room was, maybe a "no shower only French bathtub" theme? Because we sure as hell did not have a shower stall. Bubble baths all week? Fine by me.