2008 May | Vegetarian Experiences in Paris

Monthly Archive for May, 2008

Foody’s soup and salad restaurant

Published

on May 24, 2008

in 1st Arrindissemont, Meat Eating Friends, cafe and salad

. 6 Comments

There’s a small street at the heart of Paris that has captured the “heart” of the city. Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian friendly street behind Église de Saint-Eustache and Chatalet – Les Halles. It’s perhaps best known by Monet‘s painting of a festival on June 30, 1878 to celebrate the end of the World’s Fair.

This street is home to the oldest pâtissier in Paris: La Maison Stohrer; creator of the Baba au Rhum. It’s also home to several famous and memorable restaurants, cafes, gelato stands, and much more. Needless to say, there’s some stiff competition in this area for restaurants.

Foody’s Salad Bar

Foody’s Salad Bar is a simple, comfortable restaurant that has found it’s calling amongst the more classical and/or tourist restaurants. It’s menu is simple, the food is fresh, the atmosphere is comfortable and unrushed.

I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and grabbed a bowl of vegetable soup and a much needed coffee. There were several small families enjoying the outdoor tables. The service is pretty simple, you walk in, grab a tray and start creating a salad. There’s also a small pasta bar and soup is available at the counter. You can also get sodas, juices, coffee, and more.

First off, coffee is not their specialty. It was hot, caffeinated, and hit the spot. But I wouldn’t go here for coffee as a rule. They do, however have a house specialty of hot chocolate that should be good.

More importantly, the soup was very good. It was a roughly pureed soup of market vegetables served in a large bowl. It was flavorful and satisfying. They also had a Tomato soup and a Gezpacho with tomato and basil. They cost only 4.50 euros.

The salad bar features a variety of fresh vegetables and prepared salads. You can choose either a small (5.50 Euros) or large (7 Euros) plate to fill. The pasta bar is also quite affordable.

I didn’t see any meat on the menu, although there may have been some tuna on the salad bar. This shouldn’t deter your Meat Eating Friends. This restaurant has more than enough variety to satisfy anyones cravings.

Foody’s also sits next to Naturalia, an organic store, an organic sandwich shop, and a juice bar. I guess you could call this section of the street “the heart of veggies in the heart of the city on the street that captures the heart of the city”. All in all, it’s good for the cœur.

Foody’s: 26, rue Montorgueil (1°); 01 40 13 02 53; Metro: Les Halles; Soup and Salad cafe

Overall: 4.5/5
Location: 5/5
Taste: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 5/5
Vegan Friendly: 5/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 4/5

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Judicious Vegetarian Restaurant

Published

Ted

on May 5, 2008

in 12th Arrindissement, Vegan Friendly, organic, restaurant, salad, soup and vegetarian-friendly

. 1 Comment

The vegetarian restaurant is dead! Long live the vegetarian restaurant!

I came across Judicious while looking for “Four T’s” a vegetarian restaurant on rue de Charenton. Judicious looked interesting, it’s a basic, no-frills juice bar and organic cafe. The interior is sparse and looks comfortable. The exterior has plenty of signs for the daily muffins, juices, salads, soups, etc.

But where was the other restaurant? Eventually, I gave up and headed home. Sure enough, the Four T’s restaurant has closed. However, Judicious has taken its place. Unfortunately it was closed for vacation today so I haven’t had a chance to sample the food. Judicious looks promising and I’ll return another day.

Judicious is open 7 days a week and offers free wi-fi. It’s near Ledru-Rollin metro station. Don’t miss the nearby market at Bastille on Sunday mornings.

Judicious: 53 rue de Charenton (12°); 01 44 73 40 21; Metro: Ledru-Rollin; Vegetarian/Organic Restaurant; Free Wi-Fi

Chez Lili et Marcel – A great salad in Paris

Published

Ted

on May 4, 2008

in 13th Arrindissement, popular, restaurant and salad

. 1 Comment

Chez Lili et Marcel is the sister restaurant to Chez Prosper and Cafe Panis. Both are popular restaurants that serve classic French cuisine. The portions are large, the staff is friendly, and the value is great.

Chez Lili et Marcel is located next to Metro: Quai de la Gare, a stone’s throw to the Seine. It’s a very convenient location in the 13th arrindissemont. Unlike Chez Prosper, Lili et Marcel is quiet, comfortable, and you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy your meal.

Vegetarian options

To quote Henry Ford: you have a great choice of meals. There’s the salad Marceillaise and the salad Marceillaise. Yes, there’s really only one vegetarian dish and no vegan dishes. However, this salad is wonderful.

It features a layer of greens, tomatoes and cucumbers. On top is a layer of sauteed potatoes and then a tartine with thinly sliced pears, honey, and cheese. It’s a hearty meal for about 12 euros.

I visit Lili et Marcel often. It’s a great place to meet friends when you actually want to hear each other. Parking is fairly easy to find at night. It’s great for your meat eating friends, but not so great for your vegan friends.

Chez Lili et Marcel: 1, Quai d’Austerlitz (13°); 08 26 10 09 17; Metro: Quai de la Gare; French Restaurant

Overall: 3.5/5
Location: 4/5
Taste: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 2/5
Vegan Friendly: 1/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 5/5

Reine Du Kashmir – Indian restaurant for the adventurous

Published

Ted

on May 4, 2008

in 10th Arrindissement, Ethnic, Indian, Vegan Friendly, restaurant and vegetarian-friendly

. 0 Comments

Ask me for a good taco shop in California and I’ll point to the one that has 15 layers of glossy orange and yellow paint encrusted on the walls. Within those coats of paint could be remnants of tacos, cockroaches, and who knows what else. In short, I’m not afraid of a restaurant with questionable hygiene. “It adds protein” is my standard reply to the occasional hair or fly.

Dirty restaurants do not make the food better, it’s just part of the taco shop environment in Southern California. Clean taco shops usually sell “healthy” burritos and who wants that?

Passage Brady in Paris

I discovered Passage Brady in Paris recently. It’s not far from Strasbourg St. Denis, tucked between streets filled with Turkish kabob stands. This covered, narrow alley is the closest I’ve seen to “Little India” in Paris. I’m a huge Indian food fan and was looking forward to eating an authentic dish. This has been hard to find in Paris; could England actually make something tastier than the French?

Let me set the scene for Passage Brady. At night, the majority of the shop fronts are closed and small restaurants light up the street. It’s narrow, with a fairly high glass ceiling. It’s dirty but not stinky. In some ways, it reminds me of Tijuana, Mexico; when you move off of Avenida Revolucion. The Indian restaurants all look pretty similar. Some are larger and have more clients, others resemble street-side joints.

I finally decided on Reine du Kashmir for two reasons:

It had a prominent sign advertising vegetarian Thali.
It had a sign saying it won some kind of Indian cuisine award.

I didn’t need to see a menu, as I knew that I wanted the Thali (a selection of curry, vegetables, rice, and naan). These usually give the restaurant the opportunity to specialize in regional dishes, they are inexpensive, and tasty (emphasis on “usually”).

The food at Reine du Kashmir

The thali had the standard ingredients. The naan was ok, the rice was good, the vegetable korma was forgettable, the samosa and fried dumpling were good, and the curry was mediocre. I asked for a carafe of water and was nicely surprised to see a sprig of mint in the glass.

Overall, the food was average. It wasn’t bad, but not worth the 12 euros. I could get a better meal for that price at many other places.

The thrill of eating in Passage Brady

So, why does this restaurant stand out and deserve mentioning on this site? I’ve eaten at many mediocre places and haven’t bothered to highlight them. The memorable part of the meal was not the restaurant, but the passage.

A pigeon began flying over my head about five minutes after I sat down. Pigeon poop, feathers, and dust is part of nature, but what would it do for the water and food about to arrive. I watched one feather slowly float from the glass ceiling towards my table. A breeze luckily pushed it away when it began hovering 5 feet above the water glass. Yummy…fun to watch…I’m game so far.

RAT-a-tweeee tweeee tweeee

I survived the pigeon unscathed and began relaxing. The food arrived a few minutes later and I began sizing up the dish and taking the requisite photographs. Just then, an enormous rat ran from one side of the passage to a pile of garbage on the other side.

This rat was huge and was on a mission. His path was about 5 meters from my table. Far enough to not have to lift my legs and scream like a child, but close enough to get a really good view. Pigeons flying and rats running; Passage Brady is going to be an adventure alright.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. I don’t know what the rat was doing, but the garbage heap became a cacophony of rat squealing for the next 30 minutes or until I finished the meal and left. I’d like to think the rat found a friend and enjoyed the romantic atmosphere of Paris. I couldn’t help worrying that my little buddy had ended up on the wrong side of a trap and was not screaming out of pleasure.

Either way, my little Indian Thali was more of an Indian Therror! Naturally, I photographed everything and sent emails to friends describing the scene and wondered if I’d meet the Paris/Indian equivalent of Montezuma’s Revenge.

I declined the waiter’s invitation for coffee or dessert. No thank you, I think I’m ready for the road.

Summary

Passage Brady looks like it has some nicer restaurants. Reine du Kashmir was a mediocre place and wasn’t particularly affordable. Every restaurant area in Paris has rat problems, so I don’t hold that against the place. However, it would be nice if the shop owners didn’t leave stacks of garbage in this tiny passage. I won’t be returning to this restaurant, but I might try another venue in the future.

One of these days I’ll find a really good, authentic Indian restaurant in Paris. It will feature a wide selection of vegetarian cuisine, no beef, and lots of flavor. Do you know of a place? If so, leave a comment.