Cynthia Lou.

There are such rejuvenating powers to the full sensory experience of fine dining in Paris.

Left to my own devices, I’m a pretty functional eater. Protein? check. Whole grain or non-processed carb? check. Veggies? check. And there is a complete meal, with little regard to flavor, color, texture or any of those “extras”. It works, right?? It’s nutritious, dammit, and that’s what matters!

Sometimes…

I have learned much about the art of living and enjoying life in my recent trips to Europe. Below are three restaurants you must enjoy if you visit Paris. Take it from this formerly “just functional” eater.

You will notice that I use references to God and heaven a lot in these descriptions. It is simply because I could not comprehend how beautiful and sweet life could be. Such goodness was just not possible within my inexperienced mind. Like aboriginal tribes in Africa seeing a Coke bottle for the first time and thinking it was a gift from the Gods (“surely this is not of man!”) because they could not understand that a glass Coke bottle was even possible.

The genius of the creative mind, and simply knowing where to find and enjoy this genius.

Bread & Roses

25 Rue Boissy d’Anglas, 75008 Paris, France

The clouds parted, the sun shined brightly, and God Himself came down to reward my hard work…

I absolutely adore this restaurant!

• It is situated in a very, very lovely part of Paris
• The people in this neighborhood are beautiful, and dress so spectacularly
• The food is THE BEST – I have eaten a lot of steak tartare (my favorite!!) but Bread & Roses is one of the best versions I’ve experienced of it

Last year, after a very stressful and tiring job of covering Le Tour, I had to pleasure of experiencing this restaurant for the first time. It was as if God himself smiled upon me and said, “Bravo to your hard work. Here, please enjoy Bread & Roses.” All of the stress and frustrations of weeks past melted away. I felt so at ease, so at home, and SO HAPPY, just to eat at this lovely restaurant, with it’s lovely food, as lovely people streamed by.

I wondered whether my love and fond memories of this restaurant were a result of the sharp contrast between the beauty of this part of Paris and the tiny, one-star hotels I’d had to stay in during the Tour.

This year was a far less stressful experience for me covering Le Tour. I was excited to visit my favorite restaurant again, hoping I wouldn’t be disappointed. After all, I had such high expectations of it in my mind.

I was not disappointed. Again I felt a huge, uplifting wave of inspiration carry me to a happy place.

There are two Bread & Roses locations – one that shows up on Google Maps, and one that does not. You want to be sure to visit the address listed above (which does NOT show up on Google Maps!).

Ladurée

75 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris, France

(photo courtesy linniekim)

Heaven in a Pastry, a.k.a. The Best Freakin’ Macaroons ever

The mind cannot even begin to imagine how good something can be, if there are no other reference points. We can imagine how great it would feel or be to have a certain level of imagined success. But the imagining of a dream realized could be completely different than the realization of said dream.

Before trying a macaroon from Ladurée, I could not fathom that something so good, so heavenly could possibly exist. It was not within anything I have ever experienced in my life, and I now have a new standard for pastry excellence.

Visually, the macaroons are presented in beautiful display cases. When you order one, two, or a box of macaroons, each is wrapped and treated with precise and delicate care. Perfect rows of beautiful colors. Ribbons that match each style of box. Tissue to wrap each macaroon individually if you need to pack and carry your treasures to go.

Biting into a macaroon is heaven. The outer shell of a Ladurée macaroon is perfectly crisp and thin. The inner cream is light and fluffy, but rich and decadent at the same time. One bite yields a perfect blend of crisp delicious texture with sweet cream filling.

And the flavor! Oh, the flavor! I only tried the guava flavor, and the rose flavor, and both were so deliciously exquisite. I was reluctant to try the rose flavor (a rose is a plant not a flavor!), but I am so happy I did because I learned that rose is indeed a flavor, a heavenly one at that.

In Chinese, we describe both foods and scents as ”fragrant“ – a soap or candle is fragrant through the sense of smell, and a piece of fruit, candy, or savory dish is fragrant through the sense of taste. With these macaroons, I was reminded that the best experiences are ones that are pleasingly saturated through many different senses.

Le “Relais de l’Entrecote”

15 Rue Marbeuf, 75008 Paris, France

(Image courtesy eightfivezero)
Melt in your mouth goodness

This very crowded restaurant serves only one thing: entrecote, which is a cut of beef from the rib area that is super tender and delicious.

The entrecote is served sliced in its special green sauce unique to this restaurant, with a side of delicious, skinny, flavored fries. And, they come around to your table to offer second servings of both meat and fries!

Because this restaurant specializes in one thing, patrons are served quickly and tables can be quick to turn, which makes it popular for business lunches.

Bonus: People-watching – well-dressed professionals wearing great shoes and finely tailored clothing.