Monthly Archives: October 2011

In Praise of Small Shops in France

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Befriend your local Fromagère

It’s tempting to do all of your grocery shopping in France the way it’s done in the US, the “one stop shop,” because that’s what many Americans are used to. It is possible to do here in Paris as there are chain supermarkets everywhere you look- Franprix, Monoprix, G20, etc. It’s easy and fairly quick, even if mamie cuts in front of you in line and you have to bag your own groceries while the checkout person sits in their swivel chair and rings up your items. You don’t have to talk to anyone, you can stand in the isle and compare prices and products at your leisure, and you can look at the cash register screen to see the total instead of listening for it in French.

However, I have purchased the “poulet roti” in a bag from Franprix for 7 euros: dry, old and salty. There are boucheries all over the place with their own spits, slow roasting chickens, ducks and the like. You can smell the delicious aroma from down the street. Here you have your selection of size- a couple thighs for one person, a medium size chicken for two, or a large one for a family. You can pick out the bird yourself, and a medium-sized poulet roti costs about 6 euros. So, a poulet roti from a butcher is fresher, tastier, cheaper, and you have access to the butcher’s expertise. He or she can suggest accompaniments, like roasted potatoes (pommes sautés), which they can sell you as well, or can recommend a size if you are uncertain how big of a chicken to buy. If you are curious about other meats, go ahead and ask! You may end up discovering new cuts of meat and ways to cook it that you never thought of before.

Buying a couple salmon filets from Monoprix will cost around 10 euros. They will be small and they certainly won’t be freshly caught. At your local poissonnerie you will have a vast choice of fish (unlike at the supermarket where the selection is very limited) and they too can suggest a quantity based on the number of people, the best way to cook the fish, and what it would go best with. The fish will be fresh, the fishmonger friendly, and two salmon filets will cost around 8 euros instead of 10.

Cheese. Ah, le fromage. The supermarket does no justice to this exquisite dairy product. It is all wrapped in plastic here and you can’t smell it nor see its texture. At a fromagerie, you will be exposed to all sorts of colors, odors and consistencies. You can taste a sample, or ask the fromager to recommend something very runny – coulant or creamy, crémeux. You can also pick how much you want by showing them or by saying un petit bout (a small piece) or un grand morceau (a large piece).

Don’t even think of buying produce from the supermarket. It came from far away, it’s expensive, and it’s going bad. There are fruit and vegetable stands on every corner that carry local, fresh produce for a similar or cheaper price than Franprix. Of course, there are also the covered and open air markets in each neighborhood that offer the best shopping experience (see blog posts “Markets of the 18th” and “Place Charles Bernard”).

Luckily, most foreigners have the natural instinct to go inside a boulangerie and order a baguette or a pain au chocolat, tempted by the mouthwatering objects beckoning through the glass. Needless to say, don’t buy bread from the grocery store’s “boulangerie.” It will not be as good, I promise. You may notice the words “Artisan Boulanger” written on the facade of boulangeries. This means that bread making is an art, and that each bread maker has undergone intensive training to bring you delectable treats comme il faut: the right flour, the exact temperature of the oven, the proper ratio of ingredients, etc. Because in France, there is often only one right way to things.

To sum it up, independent shops propose fresher, cheaper, local products and offer a richer, friendlier, more natural shopping experience. Not only are you getting higher quality food, but you are also developing relationships with neighborhood shopkeepers and enriching your knowledge about French language, culture, and gastronomy. Have you kissed your boulangère today?

© 2011 Pasa’s Paris

 

Chez Omar

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Chez Omar, photo credit: Vingt Paris

A little over two years ago I was sitting in a café in the Marais having a drink with my fellow French Studies students and Professor Herrick Chapman. We were preparing for the masters exam and asking Professor Chapman as many questions as we could think of so we would be sure to pass. While he did his best to reassure us, some people were just freaking out.

Luckily someone changed the subject and asked Professor Chapman for restaurant recommendations. He came to Paris most every year to do research, so surely he would have some tips. For authentic Moroccan food, he gave us the address of Chez Omar in the 3rd arrondissement on rue de Bretagne at the corner of le Square du Temple. Little did I know that this restaurant would become a favorite spot to meet friends for a true North African feast.

That night some friends and I decided to give it a try. The restaurant is a large, open room with high ceilings, mustard colored walls and dark wood furniture. You are greeted by a friendly waiter, often Moroccan, who shakes your hand and shows you to your table. All around, groups are laughing and chatting. The atmosphere is convivial and relaxed, heaping bowls of couscous and stewed vegetables on every table. Waiters joke around with each other and the regulars; everyone seems to be having a great time.

We ordered the standard carafe of red wine (50 cl of Bordeaux for 12 euros) and the couscous. Each person ordered a different meat: chicken, beef, merguez sausage, for 16 euros each. When everyone at the table orders couscous, you are presented with a family size bowl of couscous and another of steaming vegetables. Each protein is served on its own silver platter. You can keep eating all you want, but you’ll never reach the bottom of the bowl.

For dessert, a giant platter of Moroccan pastries is passed around: piles of baklava, powdered white crescents, and almond honey cake. Take your pick, and don’t forget to order a glass of Moroccan mint tea to finish off the meal.

بالهناء والشفاء / بالهنا والشفا (bil-hanā’ wa ash-shifā’)
~May you have your meal with gladness and health~

Thanks Professor Chapman!

Chez Omar

47, rue de Bretagne, 75003 / 01 42 72 36 26

Metro : Temple or Arts et Metiers / Cash only

© 2011 Pasa’s Paris

Tipping in France

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Should you leave an extra tip for the waitor?

In the states, tipping is quite automatic: order a beer, leave a dollar. Dinner with friends: add 15-20% to the final bill. The good news about service in France is that sales tax (called TVA en français) and a 15% tip are already included in the check. On the menu you may see the words “service compris,” which means that the tip is included. Even if you don’t see it written anywhere, tax and tip are always included at cafés and restaurants in France.

So, should you leave anything extra? The French seem to have varying opinions about this. One person from a small town insists that he never leaves anything for drinks unless they close the place down. For a meal, he tips a couple euros when he feels that the meal and service were of good quality. A Parisian explained that although it’s not obligatory, he always leaves something. He also added that it depends on your personal situation: if you are a poor student, you shouldn’t feel obliged to leave anything. For adults that make decent money, they usually tip because it makes them feel good. What does all this mean? If you want to tip like the French, do whatever feels right to you.

But, if you’d prefer to have some guidelines, voilà:

  • Extra tipping is never mandatory, especially if service is (very) slow or the waiter is (extremely) rude.
  • If you had good service and you want to leave a tip, just round up:
    • At a café, if your coffee was 1€80, leave 2€.
    • For a meal at a normal restaurant or café, you can leave about 1€ per 20€ on the bill.
    • At a nice restaurant, 5-10% extra is fairly normal. If there is a coat check, 1€ per coat.
  • If you decide to leave something extra, don’t add it to your credit card. Leave it in cash on the tray.

Other services:

  • For taxis, concierges, and porters, a couple euros will do.
  • For a haircut, 10%.

Check Please! L’addition, s’il vous plait!

References:

David Lebovitz, “Tipping in France and Paris”:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/04/tipping-in-fran-1/

About.com, “Restaurant Tips in France and Paris”:

http://gofrance.about.com/od/travelplanning/a/tippinginfrance.htm

© 2011 Pasa’s Paris

Hemingway’s Paris

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Hemingway in Paris 1924 John F Kennedy Library

After reading The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, I became addicted to thinking about Paris in the ‘20s. For Americans at the time, Paris was a city of freedom: the dollar was strong so living was cheap, and of course there was no prohibition in France so the wine still flowed like water. The Latin Quarter buzzed with artists and writers talking, writing and of course drinking in the cafes and brasseries on Boulevards Saint-Germain, Saint-Michel and Montparnasse.

Here are some important addresses that compose a little walk through Hemingway’s Paris. Come along with me:

74 rue Cardinal Lemoine

Take the line 10 metro to Cardinal Lemoine. Walk uphill on rue Cardinal Lemoine, and at number 74 on the left you will see a plaque with Hemingway’s name on it. He lived here with his first wife Hadley on the third floor (fourth American floor) from 1922-1923. At the time this was a working class area, and a dance hall occupied the ground floor. When Hemingway lived here there was no sewage system, the toilet was out on the landing, and coal bricks were brought up for heat and cooking. Rent was 60 dollars a month.

39 rue Descartes

Continue on to Place de la Contrescarpe, once the home of Café des Amateurs, which Hemingway describes as “the cesspool of the rue Mouffetard.” Today this is a charming area with leafy trees, cobblestone streets and bars and cafes circling the place. Make a right on rue Mouffetard which turns into rue Descartes. At number 39 at the top floor, Hemingway rented a room where he would go to write. Here he would light a fire to keep warm in the winter, eat tangerines and burn their peels.

Place Saint-Michel

Make a left on Rue Clovis just as Hemingway did after a day of writing and pass the majestic Pantheon and the renowned Sorbonne. This is the heart of the Latin Quarter. Students and teachers alike are dressed up in black, puffing on cigarettes, discussing their lovers or Proust in the same hushed voices. Admire the scenery until you reach boulevard St Michel. Hemingway used to walk north to Place Saint-Michel, where he would go to a café that unfortunately doesn’t exist anymore. Here he would drink rum St. James and dine on oysters with white wine as he tells us in “A Good Café on the Place Saint-Michel” from A Moveable Feast.

12 rue de l’Odéon

Instead of walking up to Place Saint-Michel, take a left on Boulevard Saint-Germain. This area has become very commercial, so the FNAC and Sephora may prevent you from imagining the old days. Make a left on rue de l’Odéon. This street is quiet, with old book shops and designer clothing stores. At number 12 on the right is where Shakespeare and Company, the Anglophone bookstore run by Sylvia Beach, used to be located. Hemingway used to borrow books from the lending library here when he had no money: “On a cold windswept street, this was a warm, cheerful place with a big stove in winter, tables and shelves of books, new books in the window, and photographs on the wall of famous writers both dead and living.” A Moveable Feast, p. 35

Jardin de Luxembourg

Walk south on rue de l’Odeon until you reach the jardin de Luxembourg. Hemingway would often walk here to think or go to the museum where he was deeply influenced by Cezanne’s paintings. They taught him to write simple, true sentences. Walk west through the park or along rue de Vaugirard, as Hemingway did in order to avoid seeing cafes when he had no money for food.

27 rue de Fleurus

Make a left on rue d’Assas and then right on rue de Fleurus. At number 27 Gertrude Stein lived with Alice Toklas. Hemingway loved to stop by Gertrude’s for some raspberry liquor and to discuss her Picasso paintings. Stein introduced Hemingway to the bullfights in Spain and encouraged him to give up journalism to write full time for himself. She criticized much of his early work and helped him evolve as a writer before their falling out in 1926.

171 Boulevard Montparnasse

Head back the way you came to rue d’Assas and take a right. Follow the road all the way down to Boulevard Montparnasse. At 171 is the Closerie des Lilas, a Hemingway favorite:

“The Closerie des Lilas was the nearest good café when we lived in the flat over the sawmill at 113 rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, and it was one of the first best cafés in Paris. It was warm inside in the winter and in the spring and fall it was very fine outside with the tables under the shade of the trees on the side where the statue of Marshal Ney was, and the square, regular tables under the big awnings along the boulevard.” A Moveable Feast, p. 81

Open since 1847, the Closerie des Lilas is much changed since the ‘20s and the menu, with its oysters and lobster, is quite a bit pricier. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop in for a pint here back when it only cost a few francs?

Resources:

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway:

http://www.amazon.com/Moveable-Feast-Ernest-Hemingway/dp/068482499X

Hemingway’s Paris, A Moveable Feast. Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=104312832461889189288.00047f97b9b42e4c57e09

Slow Travel in France, Hemingway’s Steps Through Paris:

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/paris/rl_hemingway.htm

© 2011 Pasa’s Paris

 

The Trials and Tribulations of Finding a Long Term Apartment in Paris

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We had about two and a half months. Two and a half long summer months to find a long term apartment in Paris. In the meantime, we had rented a temporary apartment through the agency Lodgis to give us some time to find something more suitable for a longer period of time (see previous blog post: “How to Find a Temporary Apartment in Paris”).

In August, I went into a local agency and asked the agent there if it was too early to start looking for an apartment for October. He looked at me with wide eyes like I was crazy and replied with the blunt honesty that I have only yet encountered in France:

“Why of course, it is much too early. Come back in September.”

Although I half-believed him, I casually kept an eye out online for other possibilities. A couple places didn’t work out because the current tenants decided to extend, but one place we were able to visit on September 1st right around the corner from our current apartment that seemed to be exactly what we needed. It was a little more expensive, but seemed worth it. After the visit, we asked the owner if utilities were included in the price. They were not. Our hearts sunk: it was even more expensive than we thought, and we unhappily resigned to the fact that we could not afford the place.

I communicated this information to our agent at Lodgis and asked her if we could extend our current lease for several months. My husband was in a trial period at work which we learned makes renting very difficult, so we thought we should buy ourselves some more time.

I did not hear from our agent for several days. I finally decided to call her, which is how I learned that our landlords had already rented out our apartment to other tenants at the end of our rental period without telling us or asking if we wanted to extend. I was angry first at our agent for not responding to us, and second at our landlords for not asking us if we wanted to extend before renting to other people.

The agent said that the place we thought was too expensive was actually a good deal and that we should ask if it was still available. I panicked of course and wrote right away to the owner, saying we would take it. Unfortunately, it looked like there was another client interested, but he asked us to send our file anyway to be considered. After repeated requests that our agent forward our file to the landlord, I was horrified to see that in her email to him, she wrote that we had thought that the place was too expensive.

Needless to say, we didn’t get the place. Why did this agent seem to hate us? I tried talking to a different agent at Lodgis, but they always referred me back to this horrible woman since we has already worked with her. I would have gone through a different agency, but this one was the only one that had places we could afford, and it was the only one that would accept our file while my husband was in his trial period. Drat.

I started looking everywhere else anyway. I went to every agency on our block, but no one would help someone during their trial period. I felt as if I had an infectious disease each time the door closed in front of me. Pas possible, pas possible, pas possible. And not even ONE desolé. If one person had even acted like they felt sorry for me it would have made me feel much better.

I tried PAP (particulier à particulier) but even places for rent directly through the owners required guarantors, and parents living in another country might as well not exist to them. Basically, to rent a regular long term apartment in Paris, you have to be French.

That’s when I turned to FUSAC, a paper for Anglophones in France that includes housing ads. These people actually wanted to rent to foreigners, probably because many of them were foreigners themselves. For a long time I found nothing in our price and size range, but then one popped up. I called the number immediately, as I had no time to waste. We were going to be kicked out of our rental at the end of the month, which was in just over three weeks. The woman picked up and said I was the first person to call. That must count for something, right? She told me she was arranging visits on Wednesday and I could come in the morning with all my documents.

My husband took the morning off work and we went as early as we could. We were the first people there and talked to her for about 45 minutes. She was a Canadian sculpture artist, pregnant with her second child. They had a house in the suburbs but wanted to keep their Paris studio (yes, we were down to studios). It was a great space in the Marais that got lots of light and had a separate kitchen. We gave her our very complete file and told her we were very eager to move in. Then the next visitor arrived. We should have got our checkbook out right then and there, but we didn’t. We left. You learn a lot in retrospect.

She called that night to tell us that she had rented to someone else who somehow wanted to rent for longer than us. I suppose one year with the possibility to extend was not long enough. Then, she strangely offered me her neighbor’s apartment, which she said was the same price but needed to be completely redone and repainted and they had no idea how long it would take. Apparently the woman’s boyfriend was dying so they were moving to the countryside. Wouldn’t it be just great to swoop in on this chance? I hung up.

We were hopelessly depressed. We were going to be SDFs (homeless) on the street with our 12 pieces of luggage, sitting outside our favorite boulangerie listlessly consuming baguettes. We tried FUSAC one more time, my husband taking time off work again, only to be repulsed by a decaying frat boy crash pad deceptively hidden behind the stone walls of a beautiful street, again, painfully, in the Marais. The owner acted like it was a real gem. We got away as fast as we could.

Like a beaten dog going back to its abusive owner, we crawled back to the horrible Lodgis. Quickly, we located something in our price range that looked decent in the photos and asked for the papers to be drawn up right away. With only two weeks left until our lease was up, we knew from experience that visiting the place would just be a waste of time and someone might take it out from under us if we didn’t act immediately.

It is October now and we have been in our new place for two weeks. It’s a nice space within our budget, a little smaller than we would have liked, but it has a balcony and a cave (storage unit below). We are no longer in the 18th, but our new neighborhood in the 10th is right next to Canal St. Martin and within walking distance to a great covered market as well as parc Buttes Chaumont.  In any case, we have bought ourselves a whole year to forget about the nightmare of apartment hunting and enjoy discovering our new home.

Our studio in the 10th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Parisian Balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2011 Pasa’s Paris