Before embarking on my 3 hour TGV ride to Paris for the long weekend, quite a few people mentioned that the food in Paris stinks compared to Grenoble (where the food is tastier, comes in much larger proportions and is, of course, much cheaper). Now that I’ve finally experienced Paris for myself, I must say that I agree. But, there are a few things Paris has that Grenoble doesn’t: Korean food and a Korean supermarket. Also, breakfast was quite nice around Place d’Italie. There is something about starting the day off with a French breakfast + people-watching at a café in Paris. I was lucky on most days for it to be warm enough to dine outside on the terrace in late October. Thanks to the recommendation of a fellow blogueuse, I finally had my first tasty, quality cheeseburger in France! Here are my Parisien dining highlights:
breakfast, place d’Italie
La Panfoulia, le Marais
The two above photos are at La Panfoulia, where I went to have a cheeseburger (recommended by Ella Coquine). It was delish; the fries too! Merci Ella!
grilled vegetable antipasti @ L’Estaminet, Rue Oberkampf
bone marrow and a mushroom risotto topped with roquette @ L’Estaminet
tiramisu @ L’Estaminet
So, the three above images are from L’Estaminet on Rue Oberkampf. Oberkampf is a hipster-like neighborhood between Belleville and le Marais. To me, it felt a little bit like Park Slope, Brooklyn. This was my favorite French dining experience in Paris. The food was good and not expensive. To top it off, we were seated outside on a sunny Halloween day. It’s the closest experience I had gotten to “humble Grenoble dining” while in Paris, except with a different variety of French food.
“bimbimbap” at a Korean restaurant near the Jardin du Palais Royal
“kimbap” to-go at the Korean-Mart on rue Sainte-Anne
The bimbimbap in Paris was AWESOME. I also ordered a side of kimchi. I went to school for 5 years next to NYC’s Korea Town where I had Korean food almost on a daily basis. Perhaps, subconsciously, I went to Paris for the Korean food! At the Korean Mart on rue Sainte-Anne (thanks to this blogger for getting the word out) I was able to find specific ingredients so that I could make kimchi at home (I did already and it is delicious and very spicy!).
Les Étages, le Marais
And another thanks to Ella Coquine for suggesting a visit to Les Étages. I enjoyed this bar. Very cool vibe, nice decor, good music and great location. Drinks can be expensive, so keep that in mind before you go out boozing in le Marais.
Paris is so large that I couldn’t go to that many places within the 4 days that I was there. I didn’t realize how big it is. There are so many fun going-out areas: le Marais, quartier Bastille (rue de Lappe), Quartier Latin, streets north of Les Halles (rue Montorgueil & rue Saint-Denis), and even this cute, funky neighborhood near my hotel in place d’Italie. So many places that I never knew existed. I also loved the covered passageways I found which felt like hidden gems, and I’m pretty sure that I walked through the one that was shot in the end scene of L’obscur objet du désir. Magical. There’s a lot to discover in Paris! I guess I’ll be back pretty soon!
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