It has been a bit quiet on the blog as of late, thanks to learning to navigate the French health care system and a higher than normal amount of “have-to-do” activities. I have a morning to myself where I don’t have to run out the door, as least not quickly, so I am taking a moment to post about something we have enjoyed here : Food.
Now, you are probably thinking I am talking about the cute cafés, bars, and restaurants that line every street of Paris, but I’m not. Yes the few places we have enjoyed dinner at have been mostly good, a few were excellent, but we honestly enjoy the food cooked at home. We are lucky enough to live down the street from a pedestrian market. The tiny little street is speckled with cheese shops, wine vendors, fruit & veggie markets, chocolatiers, and bread makers. There is even a fabulous butcher and a fish monger. I walk this street almost everyday on the way to the metro and often stop and look to see whats fresh and new. I do not always go to the individual vendors, there are a few grocery stores here if you want to remain anonymous, but I do like to go on a regular basis. Here are some of my favorite places:
The Fruit and Veggie shops
The fruits and vegetables taste so much better here, it is crazy. They are big on products grown in France and are always changing things with the seasons. It is not like an HEB, however, where you can get strawberries in the middle of winter, so we have had to adjust our menus. This was frustrating at times, but we really enjoy it now. You have not tasted heaven until you have had a french apricot in full season. DELICIOUS!
The Fish Monger
Walking past here is always a treat. We often stop to see what kinds of fish are available. Everything is flown in super fresh and looks incredibly enticing. Note, we have not purchased anything from here just yet ( need a little more French skills first), but we look forward to trying it!
The Breadmaker
This is one of the MANY boulangers on the street. They have been the nicest so far and that says something. They even put up with our french. However, this place is not our FAVORITE, it is the most convenient. There is a place down another street called Moulin that has the buttery-ist croissants you will ever have. The bread here is amazing, cheap, and delicious. I have no idea how we will cope when we get back to the US. No daily fresh bread???? In Geep’s words, we will die.
The Cheese Shop
This place is amazing. You can smell it from down the street on windy days, however. Someone once described this particular cheese shop as smelling like ” Da feet of Da Angels”. It’s appropriate. From a million different kinds of goat cheese to things I have never head of, it has everything. It is also were we get our eggs. They have eggs brought in daily from a farm just outside of Paris. Fresh eggs are about ten times better than the ones you get at the regular store.
Okay, so there is a lot more store, but I don’t like being “that girl” taking pictures with her phone in front of the vendors, so a little at a time.
But as a result of this little street, I get to cook with things that look like this..
And drink fabulous cheap wine like this..
And Make meals that look like this…
There will be tears when we return home. Tears over the broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, bread, and everything else. We need to start that garden we have been talking about when we get back!
Fezzik In Paris 