Thursday, 10/2

We departed Porto in the morning and flew to Paris via Munich, arriving in time for dinner at Chez Michel, an old favorite of ours.

The prix-fixe menu is 48 euros for 3 courses. A few dishes carry supplements. Stanley started with pate de campagne, and I had soupe de poisson. Then I had grouse, as they always offer it in season and I always order it. He had coq au vin. For dessert we both had ris au lait (rice pudding). With a bottle wine for 30 euros, the bill was 144.

Afterward, we took an Uber to La Varenne, where we stayed

with our friends Ana and Bertrand.

Friday, 10/3

We started our day in Paris with lunch at Gemellus.

This 2-year old restaurant has gotten rave reviews, so we were expecting a lot, and it delivered. From the amuses-bouche to the mignardises, everything was excellent. We chose the 3-course lunch for 55 euros. The first course was morels with bread and egg in a delicious sauce. The second course offered 2 choices, so we had one of each and shared; iberian pork and rascasse. We preferred the fish but the pork was good too. For dessert I had a chocolate souffle and he had figs. Service was flawless.

With a bottle of cotes catalan for 60 and coffee, the total was 180.

After that we went to the Rodin museum.

Following that, we went to the Musee d’Orsay, where we saw a temporary exhibit of paintings by John Singer Sargent, including many of his best and most famous works.

Dinner was at Amarante, another old favorite, where we met 3 other people whose acquaintance I had made through Hungry Onion (all Americans no Parisians unfortunately), where we all participate in discussions of food and restaurants. Everyone enjoyed their meals and the company.

I had calf brains and guinea hen. Stanley had lentil soup and sweetbreads. We had 2 bottles of wine for the 5 of us, a white from the Savoie for the first course and a red from the Languedoc for the second. The total per person was 64 euros.

Saturday, 10/4

The first order of business was lunch at Maison.

This is another example of a restaurant in Paris run by a Japanese chef, creating dishes that are French with an Asian twist, very creative and delicious. We very much enjoyed our 5-course tasting.

With wine and coffee, the total was 229 euros.

After that we went to the Bourdelle museum.

Antoine Bourdelle was a major sculptor of the early 20th century. The museum was formerly his studio. Inside are displayed his castings for the sculptures, while outside in 3 gardens are bronze sculptures, not his originals which were commissioned for public spaces elsewhere, but reproductions made by later artists from his castings.

After the museum we went to the Marais, where we strolled for a while before heading to dinner at Le Servan.

Stanley started with corn ravioli and I had beef tartare. These were good. For the second course, we both had carre de cochon. Though tasty, uinfortunately mine was almost entirely fat and gristle. His was better, but still partially inedible. For dessert he had ice cream with figs and I had an almond tart with berries. These were also very good. The wine was 44 euros but the bill showed 50, so I had them correct it, a reason to always check the charges. The total was 167 euros.

Sunday, 10/5

We spent the day at home with Ana and Bertrand. Ana accompanied us to the farmers’ market in the morning, where we bought food that Stanley and I would cook. The afternoon meal consisted of smoked herring for appetizer and sausage-stuffed quails with a girolle mushroom sauce, haricots verts and mashed potatoes for the main course, and flan for dessert. For the evening meal I made sauteed rouget with herbs, garlic and mustard, and served it with carrots and noodles.

Monday, 10/6

We left for the airport in the early afternoon. Originally we had planned to leave on Wednesday, but we heard the past Thursday that a strike by air traffic controllers was planned for 10/7 to 10/10 and that it was very likely to happen, so I changed the flight to Monday rather than risk being stuck in Paris. As it turned out, they called off the strike on Sunday, but we were content to stick with the plan to leave on Monday. We had a lovely 3 and a half days in Paris so no regrets.

We got to the airport in the early afternoon so we could have lunch before our 5:00 flight. The only sit-down restaurant is Bistro Benoit, which has some vague connection to Alain Ducasse, but you’d never know it from the food. Not that it was bad, just overpriced and unexceptional.

I started with an heirloom tomato salad with tuna mayonnaise, which was quite good, and Stanley had cream of carrot soup, which was decent. We would have ordered chicken, but they didn’t have it, so we were stuck with orechiette pasta, which was poor. There were very few choices on the prix-fixe menu, and a la carte would be a lot more expensive. For dessert we both had poached peach with unripe strawberries and currants, topped with a lot of whipped cream and shortbread cookies. The wine, which was marked up a lot from retail at 30 euros, was excellent. With coffee, the total was 122 euros.

The flight was comfortable and we arrived on time.