Paris Journal 2015 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Patricia, a Parisian friend who reads this journal, pointed out to me that the “Maison des Journalistes” I mentioned in yesterday’s entry is a place of refuge for foreign journalists who have been forced to leave their countries because of their dedication to freedom of the press. The “maison” is located in a former brush factory in the 15th, near the Parc André Citroën. That’s the building where we saw the photographic display featuring images from Syria. These refugee journalists need help in rebuilding their lives. Many do not speak French or English. Some have physical injuries as well as psychological scars due to the persecution and hardships they’ve endured. The Maison des Journalistes offers 14 bedrooms on three floors, to provide living quarters and a “safe and welcoming environment where men and women from diverse backgrounds can meet and make their voices heard.” There is more information about this worthy non-profit organization on the web at http://www.maisondesjournalistes.org/ . The photographs on display on the exterior of the Maison des Journalistes are by exiled Syrian photojournalist Muzaffar Salman. *** We enjoyed a much cooler evening yesterday as we strolled up into the 7th arrondissement, where we’d made a reservation at the Bistrot Belhara on the rue Duvivier. We’d walked by it about ten days ago, when we were on an errand to the nearby American University of Paris. The menu was intriguing enough that I’d stopped to photograph it; the chef came up behind us and encouraged us to come there for dinner sometime. And so we did, last night. After a few dinners in such quiet places, we were a bit surprised at the hubbub and busy character of the Bistrot Belhara. Because we arrived early, we had a good table. But the tables are packed in tightly at this bistro, as they often are in Paris. The two servers were both comical, and both were working frenetically to keep up with the evening’s demands. We felt a bit rushed by them. The food came out of the kitchen very quickly. Usually that’s a bad sign. However, the food was exceptionally good. Beginning with a mis en bouche of puréed peas and thin crisps, all the way through to the desserts (soufflé for Tom and a liegois for me), it was a delicious and beautiful dinner. My starter course was the fricassée gourmande: artichauts, chistorra, foie gras, et pouples de roche a l’olive noire (a fricassee of artichokes, Basque sausage, foie gras, and rock octopus, with black olives and a couple mussels).
Tom’s was tomates anciennes/mozzarella di Buffala & basilica accompagné de son velouté a l’huile d’olive (old-fashioned tomatoes and mozzarella de Buffala with basil surrounded by a chilled tomato soup).
We each shared our main course with the other. One was a mijote de veau a la sauge servi en cocotte, pommes de terre grenaille rissoles au jambon de Bayonne (veal stewed in sage, served in a pot, with grenaille potatoes and a thin slice of Bayonne ham).
The other was cote de cochon Duroc Pata Negra au sautoir, marmalade de cerises fraiche acidulées, sucrine croquante (a thick Pata Negra [high-quality] pork chop with a cherry marmalade, cherries, and bacon).
Tom’s dessert was a passion fruit soufflé, and mine was a coupe chocolat liégeois/caramel au parfum de vanilla Bourbon (chocolate ice cream with caramel and vanilla cream).
We would not normally have had three courses each. However, the pricing at Bistrot Belhara is such that it would have been more expensive for us to each have only two courses, because that would have been a la carte, and the 3-course menu at 38 euros was less expensive. Although the portions were reasonably small, this still resulted in us ordering more food than we would have liked to order. This will be a disincentive for us to return to Bistrot Belhara very often; however, the quality is definitely there. And people knew it. The place filled up as we were dining. People without reservations were turned away at the door. The small dining room grew noisy with chatter. The clientele was a mix of locals and foreigners. The foreigners were not touristy types, but rather people who seemed to be staying in Paris for some length of time. One adorable table was a college student with her visiting grandparents from the U.S. She was showing them Paris, and she’d picked a good restaurant. I predict that she’ll do well in life. |
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Statue
at the dead-end of a street called Square de la Tour Maubourg,
off the rue de Grenelle.
Salamander
door hardware from another building by the architect Jules Lavirotte. This
one is on the rue de Grenelle, and was built in
1898, when Lavirotte was only 24 years old. The other building I showed you, at 29
Avenue Rapp, was built in 1901 (see http://bjoycooley.home.comcast.net/~bjoycooley/7-23-15.htm
).
The
Saint Jean protestant church off of the rue de Grenelle
is set in a little park called Square Denys Bülher. Behind the church is a building that houses
the offices of the American University of Paris; it is a somewhat obscure
location.
Poster
for a marionette show remains, even though the show was weeks ago. In the background, one of the “Fat Tire
Tour” groups of bicycles makes its way up the avenue de la Motte Picquet as an intolerant
motorist blasts his horn at them. By
the way, as we’ve watched the Tour de France on TV, we’ve seen a series of
“share the road” public service commercials, trying to get French drivers to
improve their behavior toward bicyclists.
A
glorious piece of furniture in the Musée de Sevres. |
