Vegetarian Experiences in Paris » 17th Arrindissement

Chez Grand-Mère – Le Chablis in Paris

Ted — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:00:19 +0000

There’s a small restaurant around the corner from my office in Paris. It’s affectionately called “Chez Grand-Mère” as it is owned by the grand mother of a colleague. But there’s more than just a tangential relationship; as the warm reception makes everyone feel like her favorite grand child.

Even though I moved away from Paris a few months ago and returned this week, my Parisian grandmother didn’t miss a step. When it came time to order she remembered I was a vegetarian and suggested a wonderful spinach/cheese tart for an appetizer and mixed omelette with fries. Frankly, I was ready to change the fries to spinach as a customer was given their plate with a pile of great looking greens.

~~Chez Grand-Mère~~ Le Chablis has a small menu written on chalk boards hanging on the walls. You can expect at least one lacto/ovo vegetarian option. I especially enjoy their terrine with chevre and sun dried tomatoes.

They are open for lunch and you can expect to pay 12-16 euros for a two or three course meal. That includes a healthy dose of grandmotherly love.

Le Chablis: 12 rue Guillaime Tell (17°); Metro: Porte de Champerret, Pereire; 01 43 80 02 83; Wheelchair Friendly: Entrance and restaurant are a bit tight but it is manageable. No steps for entrance. I don’t know about the restroom

Overall: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Location: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Vegetarian Options: 3/5
Vegan Options: 2/5

Learn to Love: Spinach (fitsugar.com)
chablis & the art of eating (burgundy-report.com)

La Chope Champerret brasserie

Ted — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:04:36 +0000

What do you get when you cross a traditional French brasserie with excessive American portions? You’d get La Chope Champerret, a restaurant in the 17th arrindissement.

It was shocking to see these huge salads for the first time. Not that it stopped me from ordering them, mind you. There’s enough cheese on them to sink a battle ship! And my gut is a combination of a frigate and a destroyer!

But this is France and food is about quality over quantity. So I’m happy to report the salads are just as tasty as they are huge. I’ve had the Sequine with a poached egg and chevre tartines, as well as the Parisienne (without the ham). The Parisienne’s cheese count was downright obscene and I loved every minute of it.

I’m still on a damn diet so I haven’t tried the crème brûlée, but I’ve been told it is to die for. I’ve also seen someone with the cafe gourmande that looked decadent.

La Chope Champerret is right next to the Porte de Champerret metro exit (line 3). It has patio seating and only a small step to enter. I don’t know what the bathroom situation is like, but it seems pretty wheelchair friendly.

La Chope Champerret: 143, Avenue de Villiers (17°); 01 43 80 80 64; Metro: Porte de Champerret; Brasserie

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

Gustav’s a Good Choice for Lunch

Ted — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:51:53 +0000

Fortunately, it is pretty easy to find a healthy lunch in Paris. Sure there are dozens of bistros, cafes, Turkish fast food, and pizza joints in every part of the city. But keep your eye out for the small soup/salad/pasta shops that deliver great vegetarian food at a reasonable cost.

Gustav’ Good Choice is a small restaurant on Boulevard Pereire in the 17th. The location is central, but there is very little foot traffic in this part of the street. Gustav has to work even harder to keep bodies walking through the door. This hard work is evident in the small details.

The menu is small but well conceived. You have your choice of salad, soup, pasta, or the plate du jour. Fixed price menus may combine these choices with an optional dessert. Today’s choices were a vegetarian vegetable soup, a green salad, pasta with Gorgonzola and bacon, Eggplant Parmesan, and a chicken and rice dish.

The food is prepared in advance and heated upon ordering. This keeps the service quick and friendly. I had the eggplant dish with a fromage blanc and herbs combination for dessert. Gustav’ provides Eric Kayser bread; just one of the details that make this restaurant a step above.

Gustav is wheelchair friendly. There is a very small step to enter. However, there are no outdoor seats and the interior is rather cramped. I don’t know if they have a public bathroom. Most people take the food back to work or home to eat.

Similar Restaurants

Keep an eye out for these small restaurants. You’ll find a great lunch, fresh food, and friendly service.

Parisian Sweet Bar – near Bercy
Judicious Vegetarian Restaurant – near Bastille
Cocoon – around the corner from Gustav
Bubbles – near St. Paul/Marais
L’Epicerie Verte – near Thernes
Foody’s Soup and Salad – rue Montorguiel
La Ferme – near Opera
Gout Zen – behind Bibliotèque Francoise Mitterrand metro station

Gustav’ Good Choice: 154 Blvd Pereire (17°); 09 63 52 01 72; gustav-good-choice@orange.fr; Metro: Pereire, Porte de Champerret; Lunch restaurant; Wheelchair Friendly: very small step to enter, cramped interior

Overall: 4/5
Location: 3/5
Taste: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 4/5
Vegan Friendly: 3.5/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 4/5

l’Epicerie Verte – Organic groceries and lunch

Ted — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:24:19 +0000

L’Epicerie Verte is a popular, small shop behind the Ternes farmer’s market on rue Saussier Leroy. They sell high quality organic groceries and serve light meals from lunch to early dinner.

I discovered l’Epicerie Verte while returning to work from lunch at another restaurant. So I have not tried it yet. However, the reviews on several French web sites has been promising. Here’s a short review from Annuaire-Parisien.Com:

Cette boutique de produits biologiques devient le midi un snack où vous pourrez commander tartes et salades à des prix tout doux. Une unique table avec des tabourets hauts vous permettra de lier connaissance avec d’autres végétariens.

Restaurants végétariens Paris 17

Across the street is Etik, a store that sells global, ethical, bio-diverse gifts and merchandise. You can eat organic, shop organic, and support the independent workshops in one little block.

l’Epicerie Verte: 5 rue Saussier Leroy (17°); 01 47 64 19 65; Metro: Ternes; Organic groceries and light meals

Restaurant La Gazelle

Ted — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:03:07 +0000

“Be careful with this sauce, it’s hot” the waitress warned. Hah! I grew up on the border of Mexico, nothing in Paris could possibly be hot compared to what I grew up on. Well, let me tell you… respect the heat of the sauce placed next to a basket of bread sticks. We’re not talking salsa, we are talking gasoline. A Molotov cocktail exploded in my mouth after I piled the sauce onto a chunk of bread. I barely recovered by the end of the day.

Restaurant La Gazelle is a nice Cameroon restaurant in the 17th arrindissemont. I was hoping for a large selection of vegetarian food, ala Ethiopian cuisine. Unfortunately, the menu is filled with goat, chicken, and fish. The vegetarian options were very slim. However, the super-model waitress said they’d be happy to create a vegetarian menu option if you call in advance.

I ordered fried plantains and potatoes. The dishes were superb. They were tasty and satisfying, albeit more like side dishes than a meal.

Restaurant La Gazelle is a good choice for your meat eating friends. However, you should try to call in advance. The food is very good, the prices are reasonable, and the service was friendly and nice. Just be careful with the hot sauce. It’s a doozy!

Restaurant La Gazelle: 9, rue Rennequine (17°); 01 42 67 64 28; Metro: Pereire; African restaurant

Overall: 3.5/5
Location: 3/5
Taste: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 2/5
Vegan Friendly: 2/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 5/5

Imam Bayaldi [via Zemanta]
Adventures with Ethiopian food [via Zemanta]

Cocoon – a cozy vegetarian restaurant

Ted — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:27:30 +0000

This tiny restaurant hidden in the 17th arrindismont plays to the local lunch crowd. Just look for the small facade painted in an odd purplish hue with a line of anxious people out the door. There will equally be a stream of people leaving with bulging paper bags.

Cocoon is not your typical Parisian restaurant. It’s a throwback to the old cafeteria diners. Their menu is as small as their floorplan. You’ll walk in and see a display case of freshly made soups, drinks, and desserts. Grab what you like and make your way to the counter. There you will be greated by a friendly saladier who builds a unique salad to your desires. They also offer sandwhiches but everyone I saw had soup and salad.

To continue the small theme of this restaurant, your Meat Eating Friends can choose between tuna and tuna for their salads. Yes, this is a Vegetarian restaurant and that makes me happy. What’s even better? It’s cheap and just around the corner from my office.

Proximity is actually important for Cocoon as they have virtually no space to stay and eat. It’s also not easy to find. You’ll want to visit this place if you work or live in the 17th arrindissmont.

For lunch today, I had a very flavorful lentil soup, a small salad, perrier, and fromage blanc with raspberry confiture. This soup menu is 8,50 euros, tasted great, and is much healthier than most of the places in the area. Cocoon is open for lunch but don’t get there late. I arrived after 2 one day and they had already been cleaned out.

Cocoon: 3, rue Galvani (17°); 01.45.72.59.12; Pereirre; Fast and healthy

Overall: 4.5/5
Location: 3/5 stars
Taste: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 5/5
Vegan Friendly: 5/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 1/5