Paris Journal 2010 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

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As we strolled along for an hour through the neighborhoods of the 15^th, 7^th, and 6^th to go meet our friends for dinner, I remarked at how much cooler and more pleasant the air was becoming, even if it was fairly cloudy. This morning it is beautiful – the air is cool and slightly crisp, and the skies are blue, blue, blue. So yesterday we joined Jim, Maddy, Ron and Elisabeth for a drink and then the six of us walked the very short distance to Le P’tit Fernand where Jim had made a reservation for dinner. This restaurant is petite indeed, so we were seated in the very back – just about the only space that can accommodate a table for six. Tom and I had been there once before, earlier this month, and liked the place a lot. Jim said that a friend of his had been there twice, and recommended it strongly. At dinner I asked if the friend was anyone I know – and indeed it was: Bob W., a great guy and mutual friend who is the former chairman of a big American insurance company. Bob W. is another Sanibel person. We do get around in the summertime, don’t we? It was fun to see Jim and Maddy getting to know Ron and Elisabeth – all such interesting people. The conversation at dinner was lively. I asked Jim to please tell the story about how he escaped from Teheran in 1979, and he graciously did so. Fascinating. Ron was feeling adventurous, so he and I shared the rabbit terrine as a starter course. It was delicious. Tom will not eat rabbits because they are too cute; so I was happy that Ron wanted to share the terrine with me. I really wanted the beef bourguignon, which is a specialty of Le P’tit Fernand, but it was not on the menu, probably because it is only made and served during non-summer months. I’ll just have to wait until September. The salmon is very good at Le P’tit Fernand, and that’s what Tom ordered. But I’d had salmon the night before at Oh! Duo, so I ordered the Piece de Boeuf au Foie Gras. The meat was as good as a French steak can be (which means it was very tasty, grilled the way I ordered it – a point – but slightly chewy) – yet it was the foie gras that was excellent. The steak came with those small, smooth, white round and oblong potatoes, of which I ate a few, and Tom consumed the majority because he was served only a big puddle of yummy puréed zucchini with his salmon. Tom and I shared a dessert – a rich, dark chocolate cake with a warm, soft chocolate center – very much like a fondant au chocolat but in a regular wedge-shaped slice instead of a self-contained round concoction. It came with a tasty scoop of almond sorbet. One reason the seating at this restaurant is so limited is that it has a big, American-style kitchen (according to this CityVox description) in the middle of its long, narrow shape. So reservations are a very good idea. Tom and I were impressed by the fact that both times when we’ve been in this restaurant, in this area that is just saturated with tourists, there have been almost entirely French people dining there. The place has the air of a casual bistrot, and the menu is entirely written on moveable blackboards. I haven’t really studied the wine list – I just turned it over to Jim last night, and we all shared a good Brouilly. The red-and-white checked tablecloths and smiling servers give the restaurant a cheerfulness and conviviality that was reflected in the lively conversations that I heard buzzing throughout the narrow length of the place. The six of us lingered over dinner, and had a good time. By the time we left the restaurant and finished our conversation on the street corner, it was too late for Tom and me to walk home, so we took the metro. I was surprised at how many people were on the metro at that hour. And for the first time, I noticed several people using cell phones in the metro car, so I wonder if cellular antennae have recently been added in the tunnels. I did sit out on the balcony when we arrived back home, but not for long – it was almost too chilly! Someone here recently asked me if I ever cook. I do cook, especially in my gorgeous, big kitchen in Sanibel. I don’t cook seriously here, because part of what we do is go out to eat, after working much of the day at the computers. And it depends on what you mean by “cooking.” I often cook an egg for each of us for breakfast – sunny side up, in a tiny bit of unsalted French butter. Why unsalted butter, I was asked. The reason, as Julia Child would have told you, is that salted butter tends to burn more in the pan. When cooking with butter, use unsalted, and add the salt to the food later, I say. And I prepare small nibblies like tomato slices with seeds removed, and pesto added. Or those wonderful French radishes with softened, salted butter to dip them in. During the day, we generally do not eat lunch but we will nibble on veggies like this, fresh fruit, a few nuts, and a bite of really good French cheese or saucisson. Once in a long while, if we didn’t have much of a dinner the night before, I might cook something for lunch, like sautéed onions and garlic alongside a hamburger made from very lean ground beef – but no bun. The burgers are served with a little French mustard on the side. Or I’ll buy an already roasted chicken at Ed, and we peck away at that for a couple days along with the fruits and veggies. Or I might use some of it make a chicken salad using the yummy tomatoes from the produce stand with high-quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That’s not really cooking, but we eat well, and life is good. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. Note: For addresses & phone numbers of restaurants in this journal, click here.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 After balancing the larger bicycle on his head, the cyclist clown balanced the miniature bike on his head. Below, the clown rides the miniature bike, peddling it by hand. What good balance he has! ← Previous Next →