Dear French Bakery

Dear French Bakery,

You never know how much you miss someone until they're gone....and I miss you.

You were there when I was a child, tempting me with your displays full of colorful candies and salivating chocolate croissants. I remember your crunchy baguettes waiting for me after school next to the jar of Nutella. I remember the sound of the slicing machine cutting up the loaf of bread previously picked by the gorgeous cashier. I remember staring at the rows of Kinder Eggs on the counter, wondering which one I would buy when I saved enough money to purchase one.

You were there when I was a teenager, helping me learn about life by offering me one of my first job as a cashier. You rescued me from my first hungover mornings with your fluffy croissants and strong espressos.
You fed me cheap and decent lunches with your savory sandwiches, allowing me to save money to buy important things like basketball cards and CDs.

You've been there throughout my adult life, luring me into your store with your  homemade desserts. You've comforted me during the rainy days with your tasty quiches. You've saved me from dehydration during the sunny days.  You've indulged my munchies with your filling pastries and you've managed to make my belly look a lot bigger than it's supposed to. 

You've helped me through my tough times and enhanced some of my good times. You've seen me grow up and become a man. Sometimes you're closed, but you've never been the jealous type and you never held a grudge against me for going to another bakery.

I can't wait to see you again next time I go to France and hope you will continue to surprise me with delicious creative treats.

Sincerely,

Me.

"La Romantica" - Clichy

Paris is full of surprises. I was recently treatd to one of the best meals I had this year. At the end of the most dreaded subway line 13,  in a prestine location in the heart of Clichy, lies an Italian restaurant full of charm. Who knew they had fancy restaurants there?

We left early to get to the restaurant because taking the awful line 13 in the subway can be quite an adventure....especially during rush hours. It is the only line in Paris where people are paid to stand on the platform all day to help push people in the packed trains before the doors close on them (just like in Japan). It also usually breaks down at least once between two stations where the air conditioning stops working for a few minutes and the the temperature rises quickly. You will most likely be touched inappropriately, you will have to hold on to everything you slightly care about (like your wallet, cell phone, Ipad), and you might not even  be able to get out the train at your preferred stop if the train is packed with douchebags. But the ride was well worth it that night.

Needless to say, if you can avoid taking this line to get to the restaurant, I would highly recommend taking a cab. Then again, if you can afford this restaurant you can probably afford the cab ride there. Note: They even have valet parking is you decide to drive.

Once we reached our destination we stopped by my sister's place to enjoy a perfectly rolled spliff before meeting the rest of our group at the Restaurant. A much needed break after the subway nightmare.

The restaurant is located inside the courtyard of a residential building. There is an outdoor patio that is covered in the unlikely event of a downpour from the sky and the staff makes you feel like a thousand bucks the minute you walk in (probably because you're about to spend that much in the restaurant). The staff was fairly young, the waiters all sounded Italian, and the atmosphere was upscale. After we sat down and ordered our drinks the waiter managed to tell us what the specials were for the evening. When he was done listing the mouth watering items, he looked at our confused faces and asked us politely if he had talked too fast. I simply answered that it wasn't his fault and that we were probably thinking too slow. Our uptight waiter looked at me and my sister, stared at our eyes, and realized what we had done a few minutes earlier.....all of a sudden he turned from overly polite to very casual, even telling jokes and goofing around.

The friend who was treating us ordered the pasta tasting for the entire table which included an appetizer, four plates of pasta, and a dessert. He also ordered a delicious wine: Gregoletto Rosso. Since it was a blind tasting I couldn't write down the items and the waiter would tell us what he was bringing every time but I was too busy eating to listen to his shenanigans. However I did manage to take a few pictures.

Mango Purée with Asparagus Cream

Caprese Salad with Tapenade

Ravioli  dello scrittoe all' astice europeo

Tagliolini with Zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic

Rigatoni with eggplant, fresh tomatoes, smoked cheese, pine nuts

The last pasta dish was the main reason we went to this restaurant. Their specialty dish is the Leggera di taglioni "Romantica" (pasta with sage cream flambéed in a wheel of parmesan). Many people had ordered it before us around our table and we had had the chance to witness the ritual a few times before this dish reached our table. We got to know a little more about our waiter as he mixed the fresh pasta around in the melting cheese and even though it tasted a little bit like "fettuccine Alfredo" it was a great way to end the pasta tasting. 

But it wasn't over yet.

  

Fruit salad, Strawberries soaked in balsamic, Raspberry sherbet and chocolate mousse

Coffee and sweet treats

After almost four hours at the table, we were the last guests to leave the restaurant with a full stomach and great memories. 

www.laromantica.fr

"Les Piétons" - Paris

It seems like every year I have to travel to France for a wedding. It's always a good excuse to see my family and my friends, while binge eating along the way in some of my favorite restaurants.

There are a lot of things I look forward to when I go to France during the summer: The longer days (the sun isn't as lazy as it is in California), the bakeries, hanging out with my sister, riding my mother's scooter in the sun, the cheeses, getting home cooked meal from my pampering mother, laughing with old friends, the authentic restaurants, the Hash, the beautiful old buildings and the yogurt section in the supermarket.

There are also a few things I don't look forward to when I go back to France such as the Subway, the price of the beer in bars, Riding my mother's scooter in the rain, the smell of the subway, the exchange rate for my crappy dollars, the lack of good weed, Parisians in the subway, and of course, the "Zero tolerance" policy on Marijuana in a country where wine is served to Kids and Grogs (Rhum, lemon and warm water) are used to cure a cold....or anything you might want to cure if a bottle of liquor is laying around the kitchen.

There is nothing like waking up in the morning and smelling the scent of bread being baked in the next door bakery. I usually walk around the streets of Paris in my sandals and my hoodie, which can get tricky when the weather changes and rain starts to pour, but it allows me to bring a little bit of my Californian spirit back to Paris. Thanks to some of my good friends, there is always at least one joint waiting for me on the day of my arrival and there's usually more inhaled afterwards. The sunglasses are a great tool when going out in public after a toke, but they do look a little douchy when worn in the dark subway. But one thing is sure: Paris feels like paradise for gourmet stoners.

If you ever visit Paris, you will most likely end up walking by the famous museum known as "Beaubourg" (located in the center of Paris in the 4th quarter) at some point or another. No matter what time of the day you visit this neighborhood, you need to stop by this excellent Bar/Restaurant called "Les Piétons" serving original Spanish Tapas and a delicious Sangria at a reasonable price. They have an amazing lunch menu including three Tapas of your choice, one Dessert and one Glass of Sangria for 12.50 euros which is a perfect option if you have more than one person at the table because you will get to try a variety of Tapas.

My father and I ordered Chorizo cooked in Cider, Empanadas, Cheese, Charcuterie, Fried fish, and Potatoes with aioli. The portions were actually quite big and if the desserts hadn't looked so good I would have stopped after Tapas but when my Crème Brûlée came, I devoured it in less time than it took the waiter to bring it from the kitchen to our table. The staff is very friendly, which is somewhat of a rare occurrence in Paris and we got the chance to chat with the owner for a few minutes on our way out. It's harder to get a table at night because the restaurant is usually packed with a young crowd but it's located in a small street filled with cool shops where you can buy souvenirs while you wait for a table to clear.

http://www.lespietons.com/