La Baguette Machines

My niece sent me this photo from a tiny village

near Bar le Duc in the Meuse area of France. 

It feels like a sign of the times. 

I thought maybe it was due to Covid 

but another friend saw my post about it on Instagram

and sent me this NYTimes article .  

Bakeries in France are closing at a sadly rapid rate

particularly in small villages. 

Young people aren't interested in the work's long hours

and many people are no longer eating as much bread. 

And when the boulangerie closes and people have to go elsewhere to shop for their bread, 

often the butcher (boucherie) or caterer (traiteur) next to them must close as well. 

As much as I hate this change, 

If I was in a hurry and had to drive miles to another village to buy bread

and one of these was within walking distance of my house,

guess where I'd sometimes get my bread. 

But also probably try to make sure I made errands in the next village 

and stopped at their bakery as often as possible. 

So many changes these days.

Another version of the Buy Locally idea. 

Have you shopped at your little neighborhood market lately?! 

(Photo credit: Victoria Delon)

 

Grenelle Market in the 15th

I can never get away from Paris 

without taking some photos of our 

fabulous Grenelle Market.

It's our favorite...

partly because it's close to home 

but also because it's large (several blocks long)

and runs under the metro so somewhat protected from the weather. 

And they tend to have a large array of fresh or cooked things to choose from. 

There are always colorful flowers in any season.

Fresh produce and dairy all times of the year

sometimes coming from nearby countries.

And containers filled with plenty of exquisite seafood. 

While I don't do much dairy anymore

I can't miss the cheese when in France. 

It is magnificent

even just to look at. 

I love the Christmas colors of these cheeses 

during the holidays. 

We didn't have as much time as we wanted this visit

to just wander through and people-watch.

We were usually in a hurry and on a mission.

But however you do it, 

it is a gift and a feast 

any way you look at it. 

Hope you enjoyed this Walk in Paris today. 

For more photos of the Grenelle Market,

Click HERE and HERE.

Grenelle Marché

Every Wed and Sun 7am-2pm

Boulevard de Grenelle under the #6 Metro Line

between stops LaMotte Picquet and Dupleix

(All photos copyright: Kirsten Steen

Please do not reproduce)

Restaurants in the 15th Arrondissement

One thing about visiting Paris during the holiday season

is the inevitable restaurant closures in our neighborhood. 

So this visit we returned to a place we haven't been in far too long:

Restaurant de la Tour.

Located close to the Tour Eiffel

(thus the name)

it is owned and run by Chef Cedric Robert

and his wife Carine Robert. 

We went for their lovely New Year's Eve dinner

and to say hello after too long away.

One of my favorite things in Paris is Foie Gras.

I know I shouldn't love it but...

can't help myself. 

We devoured our main courses. 

Not even time for pictures.

And the desserts were as divine as they looked. 

With one of the restaurants we wanted to go being closed,

we finally tried a small bistro close to home for lunch

that we've spent years walking past. 

The Bistro Dupleix is just steps from us

and, while basic traditional French food,

served a perfectly delicious lunch. 

Gotta love the French's idea of a salad,

like this one covered with potatoes, ham, egg and cheese. 

And there's nothing better than sitting and watching 

the French world go by. 

Restaurant de la Tour

6, rue Desaix

75015 Paris

+33 1. 43.06.04.24

Bistro Dupleix

62, Blvd de Grenelle

75015 Paris

+33 1.45.77.24.96

(All Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Paris Market Tarts and Spring Flowers

Missing these gorgeous tarts from our

Grenelle Open Air  Market in Paris. 

In fact, I'm missing just about everything about spring and Paris right now.

I am flat on my back with a disc issue and nerve pain

and scrolling/strolling through the many photos of

spring in Paris on Instagram. 

Everybody is posting stunning and tantalizing photos

of blooms in luscious colors all over Paris.

If you're on Instagram and interested in seeing them,

here is a list of a few of the Paris photogs I follow:

 a parisian moment

paris mon amour

wonderlust paris

vivre paris

girls guide to paris

paris online

a perfect day in paris

herve in paris

lily paris

Each of these, even if a few days back,

has some dazzling spring flower shots to share. 

You can also follow me on Instagram: @ steen.kirsten

Guess I should share a Paris spring shot here too.

Here's one with a little spring color in the background...

Hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are! 

(Photos copyright:Kirsten Steen)

Patisseries... and loved ones on my mind.

Missing Paris today... and my in-laws. 

We spent this past weekend at my mother-in-love's 

cleaning out the last of her furniture

as the house has now sold.

A sad task and the final round

of dividing up her belongings,

deciding who keeps what 

and making the last painful trips to the donation center. 

Remembering their visit to Paris 

at the end of our year of living there,

I couldn't help but think of the bustling little boulangerie/patisserie

that sat just across the street from us on the corner. 

When my In-Love's had tired of trekking through the streets of Paris

or long drives and cathedral and chateau visits in the Loire,

they LOVED sitting on the blue couch in my dining room

staring out the French window

watching the people coming and going

through the doors of the boulangerie.

Something tickled them about the number of people

emerging with baguettes or pretty-ribboned pink boxes 

filled with pastries and chocolates. 

Often there was a line out the door and a dog or two 

also waiting with their owners on the end of a leash. 

My father-in-love had a healthy sweet tooth

and nearly daily made his own trek across the street

to come home with a pink box and his favorite gateau.

He started with the smallest one

and worked his way up to the largest. 

Some days he suggested we skip lunch

and just have gateau.

The sweet little boulangerie on that corner is gone now...

as are my in-laws. 

On that corner now sits a(nother) bank. 

And in my home here in the Pacific Northwest

sit a few items that remind me of my mother-in-love

who just left us this year. 

But in my heart is the sweetness of the memory

of the two of them together, enjoying the view out the window, 

chuckling as they pointed things out to each other while they held hands.

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Nos Ancetres les Gaulois

When we first started coming to Paris many moons ago,

we were taken to a fun little place on the Ile St. Louis

called Nos Ancetres les Gaulois. 

By Paris standards, it would be called simple food

but it is fun for the buck (er...euro). 

The interior is a step back in time

to Our Gaul Ancestors.

You are led to bulky wooden tables and chairs

lined together and set family-style.

The floors and walls are rough stone,

ancient tools hanging nearby 

and timbered ceilings add to the medieval atmosphere. 

For a fixed price (now 40 euros),
you are given a small pitcher (pichet)
and directed to the wine cask
filled with a red Bordeaux
to refill as often and as much as you like. 

The starter is a basket of fresh veggies (crudites)
with a paring knife at your place setting...
and a small buffet holds several French salads
like the carrot rappee, julienned celeriac and piles of saucisson.

A waiter takes your meat order,
beef, lamb or chicken cooked in the nearby wood-fired, stone fireplace.
A cheese plate ends every French meal
as well as a seasonal fruit basket,
 dessert and coffee.

And while you eat,
a festive and raucous wandering troubadour
will produce any song requested,
for the price of a glass of wine from your pichet,
  and have the entire restaurant singing...in many different languages.

Started as a poetry and song club in 1969 in a medieval cellar,
the restaurant now includes 7 rooms and 300 seats
all situated in the very heart of where Paris began centuries ago.
Step back in time with a medieval experience
for the modern day traveler.


Click Here to see inside. 

Hover over the photo,

then left click and move around the room. 

Nos Ancetres les Gaulois

39, Rue Saint- Louis en I'lle

75004 Paris France

33.1.46.33.66.07

Open every day from 7pm-1am
Now also lunch 12-3.


(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Brasserie Suffren and Exhibit at the Musee Maillol

One of the things I'm looking forward to while in Paris 

(THIS TIME NEXT WEEK!!)

is hitting some of my favorite eateries

and a few ART exhibitions! 

The Brasserie Suffren sits right on the corner 

(of La Motte Picquet and Avenue de Suffren)

at one of the entrances to the park of the Champs de Mars, 

the break between the 15th and 7th arrondissements. 

It boasts a beautiful Fruits de Mer plateau (seafood platter)

and a mean Soupe a l'Oignon.

It's a short walk from home

and I'm looking forward to sitting in their rouge decor, 

sipping something bubbly with the same gentleman waiters who never leave

and watching the people go by while waiting for some fabulous food. 

And across the park in the 7th arrondissement at the Musee Maillol

is an exhibit on the art collection of the Borgias, 

from Michelangelo and Da Vinci to Bellini and Raphael.

I don't know about you but I watched every episode of 

The Borgias I could get my hands on. 

Interesting to see what they collected.

Will see if I can get photos. 

A tout a l'heure. 

*********

'Les Borgias et leur temps'

runs from Sept. 17, 2014 to Feb. 15, 2015.

 Musee Maillol 

61, rue de Grenelle

7th arrondissement

Metro: Rue de Bac

Open: Mon/Wed/Thurs/Sat/Sun 10:30am- last adm 6:15pm.

Friday 10:30am-9:30pm -(last adm 8:45)

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Food Writers Panel Discussion at The American Library in Paris

This Tuesday October 14th, 2014, at 19:30, Food Writers Clotilde Dusoulier and Alexander Lobrano will discuss writing about food in France, food trends and restaurant reviewing as well as their most recent books.

Clotilde Dusoulier's latest book, Edible French: Tasty Expressions and Cultural Bites, goes into the meaning behind fifty of the French's popular food-related expressions. It makes perfect sense to me that the French use food to express the idiosyncrasies of life and she delves into the history of many of them.  Dusolier is also a Travel Writer and Food Trend Consultant (Wait! What? I want that job!!) and the creator of the immensely popular food blog,  Chocolateandzucchini  which includes her books, Paris favorites, travels and recipes. And her September Favorites includes who makes the best Pain au chocolat in Paris. 

Alexander Lobrano is a food and travel writer for some of the biggest name publications out there, living in Paris since 1986. And from his website, I learned that in the early-morning hours after this discussion, he will depart Paris to launch his California book tour with his newest book: Hungry for France, hitting San Diego, LA, SF, Napa and Larkspur. I also learned (his opening webpage is blog-style) about what he calls 'The best new restaurant of La Rentree (Fall Season)' which happens to be just across the river from us in the 16th: Restaurant Pages. My mouth is still dewy from the photos and descriptions of the elegant and delectable dishes posted. Thank you, M. Lobrano! Can't wait to try this new restaurant. 

This is definitely one discussion at the ALP I wish I wasn't missing! 

***********************************************

The American Library in Paris  is located at:

10, rue du General Camou
(Just off the Champs de Mars and the Eiffel Tower)

75007 Paris, France

• Tel. +33 (0)1 53 59 12 60

http://www.americanlibraryinparis.org/ 

Tu-Sat: 10-19:00, Sun: 13:00-19:00