Monthly Archives: February 2012

Paris Gift Ideas for Writers

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Do you have a writer in your life that deserves a special gift from Paris? As a writer, I can give you some advice on this subject. For Christmas, my husband surprised me with two beautiful gifts that I would like to enthusiastically recommend:

 

Waterman Pen, image via the online pen company

A Waterman Paris Pen With a combination of design, innovation and quality, Waterman pens have been a sign of French Elegance since the company’s beginnings in 1883. It is said that former president François Mitterand carried two Waterman pens with him everywhere he went.

Available in a variety of colors from Glittering Gold to Infinite Blue in styles like Hemisphere and Serenity, Waterman pens present a personal yet elegant touch. The clip displays the iconic “W,” while the engraved nib glides easily along the page.

 

Classic Moleskine notebook, image via journalcraft.co.uk

A Moleskine notebook provides the perfect surface upon which to write with the Waterman pen. Descendant of the renowned notebooks used over the past two centuries by such artists and writers as Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemmingway, Moleskine notebooks possess the same smooth surface, rounded corners, secret pocket and page holder as the iconic original.

First produced for one hundred years by a French bookbinder who supplied all the stationary shops of Paris, the notebook prized by so many great thinkers had disappeared by the mid 1980’s. Thanks to the author Bruce Chatwin, who drew attention to its demise in his book The Songlines and first called it “moleskine,” the legendary notebook came to life again in 1997 through the work of a Milanese publisher.

Today Moleskines come in many different sizes, colors and prints. They can be painted, screen-printed or even embroidered to match each unique personality.

With all the style of a Waterman pen and the legend of the Moleskine notebook, your writer is sure to find themselves whisked away to Paris and inspired by the quality and elegance of their new tools.

You can find these gifts at:

 

Les Mille et une pages

72 rue Marx Dormoy

75018 Paris

Metro : Marx Dormoy

Moleskine notebooks can be purchased at most local papeteries (stationary stores) or libraries (bookstores) in Paris.

© 2012 Pasa’s Paris

 

Gandhizi Indian Restaurant

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Gandhizi restaurant. Pay no attention to the misspelled name

Whenever we are in the mood for a feast, my husband and I head to our neighborhood Indian restaurant, Ganghizi. Situated on the quai de Valmy facing Canal Saint Martin, the restaurant is oddly equipped with a sliding glass door for its main entrance.

The interior is simple: about 6 tables, some traditional Indian woodwork hung on the walls, and a framed image of Gandhi. The sole greeter and waiter, a kind Indian man, takes his station behind the counter to oversee the room whenever he is not serving customers.

We always, always order the menu at only 14 euros and 50 centimes for dinner. This includes three courses and a bottle of water or fruit juice. We also order a carafe of the house wine which is a steal at 5 euros and 50 centimes for 50 cl.

Weekday lunch menu: a real deal

For the entrée (appetizer) I recommend the pakora aubergine which is fried eggplant, or the samoussa viande, a savory puff pastry filled with beef. All appetizers come with your choice of plain or cheese naan fresh from the oven. For the main dish, the selection includes a curry, kourma or vindaloo sauce with beef, shrimp, fish or chicken and basmati rice. The shrimp curry is my favorite, while my husband prefers the chicken vindaloo.

Finally, for dessert, the mango sorbet or chocolate ice cream are both delicious. You can also try gulab jamun, a traditional Indian sweet made of fried dough soaked in sweet syrup and flavored with rose water. It closely resembles an American donut hole.

After this three course Indian feast with wine costing under 35 euros for 2 people, your stomach and your wallet are sure to be equally content.

 

Gandhizi

159 quai de Valmy

75010 Paris

Metro: Chateau Landon or Louis Blanc

© 2012 Pasa’s Paris

 

Ô Château Wine Tasting & Wine Bar

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La vinotheque at O Chateau

On Saturday night a few weeks ago, my husband said he had a special Valentine’s Day surprise for me. When we arrived at 68, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 1st arrondissement, I immediately recognized the Ô Chateau emblem in the window and could hardly contain my excitement. Originally built in the middle of the 17th century as a private residence, this building once served as a haunt of the French aristocracy. Later, as Hôtel Dupin, it was frequented by literary figures including Georges Sand and Jean-Jacques Rousseau himself. Currently, Ô Château is one of the top wine tasting bars in Paris.

We walked past the sleek marble bar to the host who confirmed our reservation. He led us to a room in the back of the restaurant called La Vinotheque. Behind the heavy wooden door the host revealed what looked like an English library with wood paneling, soft spotlights and high leather seats arranged around a large wooden table in the center of the room. Except that instead of books, the shelves were filled with wine bottles of all shapes, colors and sizes. In fact, there happened to be a couple of wine books, as well as Ô Château creator Olivier Magny’s new book Stuff Parisians Like. This was my kind of library!

This happened to be a group dinner and wine pairing in English, so we met the other Americans and Canadians seated around us. The sommelier, Rémy, went around the table pouring everyone a generous glass of champagne. As he did this he introduced himself as the son of a vintner who studied wine in Burgundy and Bordeaux before heading to Australia to work at Kamberra Winery, where he met his Australian wife.

Wine regions in France

The first course was then brought out: potato chestnut bisque served with fresh farmer’s cheese and chives, accompanied by baskets of fresh baguette of course. The wine was a crisp Alsatian white, whose acidity cut the creaminess of the soup quite nicely.

The chef who came out to explain this to us was the energetic and extroverted Campbell Whitman, a female American chef who trained at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. I was surprised that a French wine bar would have an American chef, but Rémy explained that Ô Château was looking for someone who would give traditional French food a modern edge. Indeed, she seemed to be just the person.

While we were waiting for our main course, our sommelier turned to a map of France with the wine regions clearly marked in different colors. Starting with the Champagne region, Rémy explained that “brut” was the driest champagne while “sec,” literally meaning “dry” actually designated a sweet champagne. That was news to me. He also mentioned that the borders of the Champagne region were going to be extended in order to fulfill the growing demand for champagne. I’m not sure what to think about this.

Next, we were served our main course: salmon filet with a strip of cream sauce accompanied by thin disks of sweet potato sandwiching a mushroom filling to create a sort of ravioli. Surprisingly, this was served with a light bodied red, but of course it went together perfectly as the chef and the sommelier knew exactly what they were doing.

Our wine tour

During the meal, we learned that light wines are generally made in the North while strong wines are typically produced in the South. I also was glad to find out which grapes grew in my favorite regions: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot in Bordeaux, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Bourgogne (Burgundy), and Shiraz and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Some of the best white is Sancerre from the Val de Loire and the best rosé from Provence.

Lastly, the group enjoyed a smooth Saint Emilion with a rich melting mi-cuit au chocolat topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and surrounded by crème anglaise. During the presentation of this luscious dessert, I had the feeling that Chef Whitman wanted us to jump up and down with joy. Although the experience had been heavenly, we were all too satiated to move more than our forks and our wine glasses.

For a birthday, an anniversary, or just because, Ô Château is a gastronomic treat any time of the year.

 

Ô Château

68, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau

75001 Paris

Metro: Louvre/Rivoli (1) or Etienne Marcel (4)

http://www.o-chateau.com/

© 2012 Pasa’s Paris

 

Hot Chocolate at L’Heure Gourmande

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l'Heure Gourmande tea salon

With winter temperatures reaching negative numbers recently, I’ve been seeking out the perfect salon de thé (tea salon) in which to enjoy a rich chocolat chaud, cozy and safe from the arctic chill in the streets.

I took line 7 to pont neuf, walking over the bridge with a lovely view of the Seine and a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the foggy distance. A dusting of snow surrounded the proud statue of Louis IV mounted on his horse. Continuing down rue Dauphine, I admired all the Thai restaurants, art galleries and chocolate shops along the way. I almost walked right past Passage Dauphiné, its entrance is so subtle.

Inside the passage, away from the bustling streets, everything was quiet. L’Heure Gourmande was situated just a few shops down, its cheerful façade decorated with plants and a few bright colored chairs and table outside.

Inside, surrounded by warmth, there was a quiet clatter of dishes and a whisper of conversations. I sat by the window lined with orchids and looked up at the people sitting at little tables on the mezzanine. The atmosphere was cozy and calm, perfect for teatime.

Chocolat chaud a l'ancienne

My friend arrived and we glanced at the menu. A table of cakes was displayed nearby, showcasing a tarte au chocolat, tarte aux pommes, a sponge cake, and little berry pies. While all of this was quite tempting, we settled on the chocolat chaud à l’ancienne, old fashioned hot chocolate, as le Figaro names it as one of the top ten hot chocolates in Paris.

The waitress brought over two antique tasses de thé and a carafe of water which we would definitely be needing. Next, she came back with a pot, a wooden churning mechanism sticking out of the top. She lifted the lid and slowly poured the thick chocolate into each of our mugs. Indeed, it was as thick as melted chocolate bars. I took a sip and was transported to heaven. However, the chocolate was so thick it was better to use a spoon to eat it. The texture was very smooth and the flavor not too sweet, though there was no need to add any sugar. Rich and velvety, we devoured the chocolate slowly, savoring each spoonful. Alas, neither of us could finish our mug, but we left more than satisfied.

 

L’Heure Gourmande

22, passage Dauphine

75006 Paris

 

http://scope.lefigaro.fr/restaurants/restauration/salons-de-the/l-r215511-l-heure-gourmande/static/

© 2012 Pasa’s Paris

Weekend trip from Paris: Top 5 things to do in Metz

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Capital of the Lorraine region, the city of Metz is located at the crossroads of France, Luxembourg and Germany. Only an hour and a half train ride from Paris, this central European city makes for the perfect weekend getaway. Here, five things to see when you go:

 

Cathedrale Saint Etienne de Metz

1. Cathedral Saint Etienne de Metz Built by joining two churches together in the 14th century, this gothic cathedral, also known as God’s Lantern, is the seat of the bishop of Metz and boasts both the highest nave (41 meters) and the greatest surface area of stained glass windows ( nearly 6500 square meters) in France.

Gothic glasswork dating from 1504 on the main wall of the northern side of the church provides an astonishing contrast with the renaissance windows on the main wall of the southern side, created only twenty years later.

 

In the crypt below the altar, you can see a 15th-century sculpture of the Graoully, a dragon that is said to have terrified pre-Christian Metz. From the 10th century until present day, the dragon remains one of the major symbols of Metz.

Additionally, a lovely fruit and vegetable market is held outside the cathedral in Place d’armes.

 

2. Quartier de la Gare This area around the train station, comprised of avenue Foch and rue Gambetta, was constructed in the years prior to World War I.  As Metz became an essential part of the second Reich after 1871, the city’s architecture was “Germanized” with neo-Renaissance and neo-Romanesque buildings made of dark granite, basalt and sandstone that still stand today.

Completed in 1908, the grey sandstone train station, decorated with Teutonic structures, is a substantial example of German Imperial Might: it could detrain 20,000 troops with their equipment in just one day.


3. The Esplanade Partial location of the 1861 World Fair, its gardens are bordered by the late 18th century Palais de Justice and the Arsenal Cultural Center. To the west lies a charming river bordered by a park with statues and a fountain, perfect for an afternoon stroll. In the warmer seasons there is also a boat rental on quai des Régates.

 

4. Place de la Comedie Bordering a channel of the Moselle river, this neoclassical square houses France’s oldest theatre still in use, the Opéra-Théâtre built between 1738 and 1753. During the revolution, the Place de l’Egalité (as it was called then) was the site of a guillotine that cut off dozens of heads of those considered to be “enemies of the people.”

 

 

Place Saint-Jacques

5. Place Saint-Jacques In the heart of the old town, characterized by its buildings made out of the local yellow stone, Place Saint-Jacques is a wonderful spot to go for an aperitif or a crêpe in the afternoon. Or, walk down the street to pâtisserie Claude Bourguignon at 31 rue de la tête d’or where you will find freshly made tarte aux mirabelles, a specialty of the Lorraine region.

© 2012 Pasa’s Paris