Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Find me on Facebook 2012 Paris Journal ← Previous Next → Back to the Beginning

Thanks to Cynthia S., I now know about Lori Hinnant, who writes articles about France for the Associated Press. Cynthia sent me a link to an article by Lori about changes in the French restaurant world. It was excellent. And so was Lori’s latest article about the French government’s “rosy” economic predictions. The New York Times’ journalist who writes about France, Elaine Sciolino, is too prone to over-generalizations and her writing lacks depth. I prefer the way Lori Hinnant presents France to us. We tried a different brasserie for dinner last night; while it was good, it wasn’t great. We expect much more than mediocrity when we dine in Paris. I liked the décor of the place very much. And our server did an excellent job. But the food was a bit bland, and a little rough around the edges. The poulet suprême had only about a teaspoon of lackluster sauce, and the chicken was dry all around the edges. I suspect that it had been frozen, pre-prepared. The pomme purée maison that I’d read about online before we reserved were nowhere to be seen on the menu. All homemade puréed potatoes had been replaced by rice. And the rice was only mediocre. The worst thing about the place was its manager. He was a sort-of young man who was full of himself – a chanticleer, a coco-rico, a preening rooster. Tom said, “Too bad the place is run by rowdy children.” The food was excruciatingly slow to arrive at the table. The music played on the sound system was weird, but mercifully, not loud. Overall, the place was just a slightly uncomfortable, slightly off, mediocre experience. So the brasserie shall go unnamed in this journal. The reheating of outsourced ready-made meals is a frightening trend among French restaurants. It is such a problem that now, many of the better places make a point of announcing – on their front windows, on their web sites, on their printed menus – that all their food is made with fresh ingredients and is prepared on site, in the restaurant’s kitchen. The French National Assembly recently voted on a law that would require the words “fait maison” (home made, or made in-house) to be printed next to each item on the menu that is truly made in-house. The legislation will go on to the Senat this Fall. There is even harsher legislations that is promoted by some lawmakers. It would severely restrict the use of the names “restaurant” and “boulangerie.” Those who don’t measure up would have to call themselves something else, like “caterer,” according to Lori Hinnant’s article. This will be an interesting trend to watch. The war against culinary mediocrity is being waged in France! Find me on Facebook

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 An interesting business in the 4^th arrondissement – a place that sells books, and wine: La Belle Hortense. We stopped in briefly at the Paris historical library on the rue Pavée in the 4^th arrondissement the other day. It is housed in a former stately home, and actually still has an extensive card catalog! (Photos of the library’s exterior, above, below, and below, left.) ← Previous Next →