French Tapas Plate

Last night we had a few people over for diner and my girlfriend had asked me if I could put a little french diner together I agreed to took this mission seriously.

The morning of the diner I wasn't quite sure what I was going to make. We had talked about starting with a cheese fondue but the "Pizza hut dinner box" we shared during the poker night I went to the night before had left a dent in my stomach and I wanted to start with something a little healthier. I had to go to the doctor before my trip to the grocery. There are a few ways to use your time wisely in the waiting room while you wait for your name to be called: you can catch up on the celebrity gossips by picking up "Entertainment Weekly", you can pretend to care by gazing at the TV screen playing CNN with closed captions, or you can stare at the ceiling while envisioning the best diner ever.

So that's what I did, I started thinking of a fun plate of tasty but somewhat healthy french treats. It ended up becoming a Mediterranean plate but here what the plate was made of:

- Ratatouille topped with Gruyère cheese

- Skewer of Tomatoes and Mozzarella with Basil leaves

- Skewer of Merguez and Mushrooms with green peppers

- Bread with Radishes and salted butter

And that was our appetizer....I then made an olive and lemon chicken but I was too stoned and too inebriated with the delicious wine the guests had brought to take a picture of it. I was also a little tired from peeling and cutting vegetables all day long and just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night without thinking about my stupid blog. It was quite yummy though!

"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/