Eating my way through Paris

Upon popular demand, I am finally starting a food blog. And what better time than after a trip to Paris? There are two cities in the world where I become a legitimate food tourist: Paris and New York. Sure, there are other things to see and do in both of them, but my schedule revolves entirely around filling the time between meals. I outline my food itinerary for the day, and then see what I can manage to cram in between. And man, does it pay off.

With that in mind, I submit to you my top five food items from my recent week in the City of Lights. Believe me when I say narrowing it down to only five was a struggle.... very different from a normal week when I'm lucky to get one or two memorable bites in between my pathetic cafeteria lunches and sad microwaved weeknight dinners when I'm too tired to cook.

In no particular order (except for #1), here's the countdown:

5. Paris-Brest pastry, Le Patisserie des Reves. This stunning jewel box of a pastry shop, nestled into a great shopping street on the 6th arrondissement, delivers a very different experience from the classic French patisserie. However, their rendition of a Paris classic was one of the best treats I had. Balls of flaky choux pastry, filled with a silky hazelnut cream and strung together like a necklace, had me licking my fingers. The packaging was so cute I almost didn't want to open it.... but I'm glad I did.

4. Apple tamarind "cappuccino" with ginger ice cream, Ze Kitchen Galerie. The restaurant was a reco from one of my chef buddies, so I went in with high hopes. Overall, I found the Asian-French fusion extremely impressive - the sauces and flavorings were unique and powerful. However, I wasn't wowed by the way my duck was cooked, and that ruined the entree experience for me a bit. The dessert, though, which was basically a custard, is where the bold flavor profiles came together into a truly amazing eating experience - spicy, rich, caramelly and smooth. I was thinking about this dish for hours after I finished it.

3. A simple sandwich with ham and cheese, Arnaud Delmontel. Before I left for Paris, I spent a lot of time talking about baguettes. As soon as I arrived at my hotel, I pulled out David Lebowitz's Paris Pastry app and figured out the nearest bakery he recommended - and it just happened to have won the Best Baguette in Paris award a couple of years ago. Perfect. We ended up eating there several times over the course of the week, and while Monsieur Delmontel's croissants and macarons were fabulous, his baguettes were worth the hype. We grabbed sandwiches for lunch and they were truly transcendent. A perfectly crusty baguette, salty ham (why can't we get something like this here, in between deli ham and prosciutto?), healthy slabs of Gruyere and a swipe of creamy French butter.... mmmmmm. Up there with anything else I ate all trip, and for 4 euros.

2. White bean soup with lardons, Le Contre Allee. I followed a coworker's reco to get to this delightful bistro, which, if I lived in Paris, would totally be my everyday go-to spot of choice. The prix-fixe menu was packed with goodies, and everything I ate was fabulous, but this soup was a standout. Rather than the broth with beans I expected, it came as a smooth, frothy pure white puree, topped with crispy salty bits of bacon and croutons. I wanted to lick the bowl.

1. Duck pot au feu, Spring Restaurant. Not only is this #1 for the trip, it is one of the single best dishes I've ever had in my life - right up there with the tuna ribbons from Jean Georges, the corn and truffle custard at Bacchanalia in Atlanta, and a select few others. More to come in a separate post focused entirely on Spring (how's that for suspense?)