2009 January | Vegetarian Experiences in Paris

Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Enjoy a stress-free dinner at the No Stress Cafe

Published

on January 31, 2009

in 9th Arrindissemont, Asian, cafe, French cuisine, Mediteranean, popular, restaurant, salad, soup, Vegan Friendly and vegetarian-friendly

. 5 Comments

The No Stress Cafe received international attention for combining fortune telling, massages, and food in a simple Paris cafe. It sits down the hill from the sin-soaked Pigalle area facing a pleasant terrasse fronted by restaurants.

The cafe has matured over the years. The massage chairs have been replaced with more dining tables and an increased attention towards dining instead of dozing. However you can still get your fortune told and enjoy a no stress dinner.

Chef Dean to the Rescue

I’ve mentioned my favorite chef in Paris, Jacques. What I may not have mentioned enough was his partner and sous chef Dean. The two of them created a menu that kept the No Stress Cafe from becoming a one line joke, “hey did you hear about the cafe with back rubs near Pigalle…”. Jacques has moved on to other restaurants and Dean is now the chef of the No Stress Cafe.

I can tell you from experience that Dean is a masterful chef. He has an international approach from his Asian heritage and years of cooking in Paris. His menu at No Stress is a fusion of Mediterranean, French, and Asian recipes.

Vegetarian Options

The standard menu features several vegetarian and vegan options.

Lasagna Vegetarienne
Salad La Vegetarienne
Salad La Chevre Chaud
Wok Vegetarienne

However, you can also request the Tapas menu to be vegetarian. This is what I had the other night and it was excellent! Dean gave me a bit extra but you can expect an assortment of tempura, pickled vegetables, lasagna, and other seasonal vegetables.

Dean also makes a killer bowl of vegetarian french onion soup. He uses white wine instead of stock and it blows away the french onion soup at Potager du Marais. It’s not on the menu, but he’ll make it the soup of the day if you make your reservation a few days in advance. Tell them Ted sent you.

Eating at No Stress cafe reminded me of sharing a dinner at chez Jacques and Dean. Ample portions of food from around the globe served family style with great affection.

No Stress Cafe: 24 rue Clauzel (9°); 01 48 78 00 27; Metro: Pigalle, St. Georges; Cafe

Overall: 4.5/5
Location: 3/5
Taste: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 5/5
Vegan Friendly: 4/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 5/5

Bistro Jeanty’s Tomato Soup

Published

Ted

on January 19, 2009

in Outside Paris and soup

. 1 Comment

I’ve been in California for the past month. i’ll be returning to Paris on Thursday. it’s been a great trip and I’m looking forward to returning. Especially with lots of cheque dejeuner tickets waiting for me in the Paris office.

I’ve also been working on a new site: Insider Food. It’s a regional food search engine. I’ll post more about that later.

This is a wonderful tomato soup at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville, CA. Yountville is one of the towns in Napa Valley and has become the center of gourmet restaurants for the area. You can purchase the recipe for about 3 euros, or download it from their web site: Bistro Jeanty Tomato Soup (.pdf)

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma in Rennes

Published

Ted

on January 9, 2009

in Asian, Outside Paris, popular, restaurant, Vegan Friendly and vegetarian-friendly

. 1 Comment

Crêpes filled with cheese, crêpes filled with ham, crêpes filled with potatoes drenched in a cream sauce, crêpes, crêpes, crêpes. This is what I expected to see in Rennes. And while there were certainly crêperies on every street; the city also features a wide variety of ethnic restaurants. You’ll find Indian, American, and luckily a Tibetan restaurant in the city center.

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma provided one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. It’s a small, intimate restaurant filled with charm… and that includes the people. The menu is a cross between Asian and Indian food; the flavors of India with the preparation of China.

I found the restaurant after walking around the city for hours and needed a place to plop down and eat something warm. I hardly got a chance to plop as the service was so warm and the food so interesting.

I started with a large pot of Chai tea. This is the real stuff, not the frappe-sweet version from Starbucks. It’s spicy, hot, and not too sweet. It was the second best chai I’ve ever had. The first was in the lunchroom of Yahoo! in Bangalore. The third was in a tea shop behind Pikes Place in Seattle.

The entree sounded like a curry. The menu described it as potatoes and peas in a curry flavor. What arrived were two racquetball sized, fried dumplings filled with potatoes and peas and seasoned with curry and other spices.

On the side was a home made chutney. Watch the chutney, there are some hard spices that could break a tooth. They look like raisins but are more like solid pepper seeds. Just don’t chomp down on them.

This was followed by two steamer baskets of spinach and cheese dumplings with another custom pepper sauce. The dumplings were great and quite filling. The waitress probably guessed I was American and thought I’d enjoy some chili sauce. After asking, she brought over some thicker pepper sauce. While I like the heat, the first one was more complex and tasted better with the dumplings.

The final course was home made yogurt with honey. This was the perfect finish to a fairly light lunch in a city filled with heavy crêpes. I planned on returning the next day but got sidetracked by a trip to Mont St. Michel. Which was definately a good idea.

Don’t miss this restaurant when you travel to Rennes. You’ll find warm service, great food, and a memorable meal.