Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

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The Champ de Mars was completely free of illegal vendors and their associates yesterday evening. The police must have been methodically working away at clearing them out all week – not just on Monday. It was a warm, summery evening, and more regular people were out enjoying this grand park by the Eiffel Tower. I think more people are using it now because the illegal vendors (and pickpockets and scammers) are gone. Unfortunately, the malefactors had diminished the regular person’s ability to enjoy being there. But now all is well again. And the People are Back. After walking around there for about an hour, we called La Gitane. Yes, they would have a table for us when we arrive in ten minutes, Corinne said. There it was, a fine corner table for two. I talked Tom into sharing the carpaccio of artichoke hearts as an appetizer. He normally turns up his nose at artichokes, but I said, “Look, these are the artichoke hearts, and I think you’ll really like them.” When the plate arrived, even I was amazed. It really was a carpaccio! Individual leaves of the artichoke hearts were separated and spread out flat, and they were marinated in and served with a fantastic flavored olive oil, thin slices of Parmesan cheese, and some finely chopped herbs that I think even included some bits of parma ham. I was so excited about it that I forgot to take a photograph of it. Sorry about that. This dish could make an artichoke lover out of the most hardened hater of vegetables. It was outstandingly good. I wish I’d started ordering it when we first dined at La Gitane. For his main course, Tom had the special of the day: lamb shank, served with softly cooked carrots and a light brown, savory sauce. I had the dorade (sea bream) filet served with a light, creamy tomato sauce and homemade tagliatelle pasta and extremely long, thin slivers of carrots and zucchini. Both of these main courses were superb. Tom said the lamb could not have been better – very moist and tender. Tom ordered the dessert of the day – emotion au chocolat et caramel – a rich cube of dark chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate/caramel sauce in it, served with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a dash of finely chopped pistachios. One of the things that strikes me about our dining experiences this summer in particular is how very colorful so much of the food has been. I think this is a trend. And we’re pleased that there are new restaurants appearing with young chefs and that these are French restaurants, not all Italian trattoria. These young chefs are taking traditional dishes and putting a new twist on them, often resulting in more color as well as more flavor. The lamb shank that Tom ordered last night is a very good example of this. There is a school that we’ve visited on Heritage Days called the École Superieure de la Cuisine Française. It is a post-secondary school run by the Chamber of Commerce, and it is one of the places turning out young chefs with colorful ideas. Now the Chamber of Commerce has a new post-secondary school, this one for training future entrepreneurs. It is at 3 rue Armand-Moisant, in that Montparnasse corner of the 15^th that I always think of as the 14^th, near the Musée de la Poste. We haven’t seen it yet, but according to Le Parisien the building is controversial because it is very modern, and very colorful (see photo). The director of the school, Anne Stéfanini, explains, “We wanted to connect the old building, constructed in 1908, and this new modern building.” The school takes students up to the Masters level, five years beyond high school. Tom says, “I hope they have lots of ethics courses.” The neighbors are somewhat surprised by the new architecture. “It is like a sculpture in the middle of the place,” says Jean-Michel, who has a degree from the Paris Decorative Arts School. “It is horrible and pretentious,” says Beatrice. “At the beginning there was shock. Now all the colors soothe the heart,” say the employees of a business just across the street from the new structure. “It is extremely original and light, with the shutters that open themselves,” says Juliette, an 81-year-old neighbor. The two buildings that comprise Advancia, this business school of 1,000 students – one old brick, the other contemporary – include a vast atrium that is a “veritable piazza” where colloquia and meetings can happen. On November 9, the Chamber of Commerce will host an inauguration ceremony for the new building, which cost 34 million euros. The ceremony will also celebrate the combination of Advancia, which was created in 2004 for young entrepreneurs, and Négocia, created in 1992 to train negotiators and salespersons. I think we’ll walk down there later today and take a look. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook.

Saturday, September 3, 2011 View from our table at La Gitane. Lamb shank with carrots and savory sauce. Dorade, or sea bream, in a light creamy tomato sauce, homemade tagliatelle pasta, and very thin, long strips of carrots and zucchini. A chocolate and caramel emotion. The night sky looking up from the rue Palatine, next to the Saint Sulpice church. ← Previous Next →