There’s a Marché des Producteurs de Pays scheduled for May 22 and 23 in the 12th arr. It’s conveniently located between metros Daumesnil and Dugommier.

Keep an eye out for socks and blankets from angora sheep, dandelion wine, sheep’s milk soap, regional cheese and cookies, and buy a hunk of bread from the 3 feet wide circles.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Local Dirt Helps You Buy and Eat Local Food (appscout.com)
• Morsels, macarons and 17 hours of Paris eats (nationalpost.com)
• Les Producteurs Bio (daysontheclaise.blogspot.com)

Marché des Producteurs de Pays

I especially like the angora socks, aligot, candles, and specialty baked goods. You’ll also find great deals on holiday presents, such as local wine, cheeses, and hand-crafted goods.

The next market will be November 21 and 22 in the 12th arr. on Boulevard de Reuilly. This is a good sized market and you should find plenty of goodies to eat and enjoy.

Related articles by Zemanta

• A pesto pasta with Alsatian Riesling (themanfrommoselriver.wordpress.com)

Aligot is a stringy white cheese that is laboriously stirred with potatoes to create a heavenly, yet very filling dish. It’s a rich mashed potato dish that makes even the sturdiest potluck bowls of Alabama pale in contrast. After all, the region is known for its hardy, rustic cuisine.

This is also a great time to sample and purchase confiture, honey, and other local products. I always keep an eye out for socks and other items made from the Angora goats. These regional festivals are perfect for tourists in Paris that are looking for a quick shopping/eating excursion. Wine lovers can find wonderful bottles that are impossible to find back home. They are free to join and you can expect ample samples and smiles.

Just try to look past the fois gras, sausages, and other meaty products.

Related articles by Zemanta

• In France, an Artist’s Retreat (nytimes.com)
• Meryl Streep on the Joy of Julia Child (abcnews.go.com)

• Jacques new restaurant: La Bélière. I’ve already written about my favorite chef. He’s got a new restaurant and Jazz bar. I’m planning on going this week to see his latest creations. review coming soon
• Rungis market, the largest market in Europe. It’s a massive distribution center for all kinds of produce, cheese, meat, and fish from around the world. This is where restaurants, market sellers, and stores go to get their supplies. It’s open to the public, but fruits and vegetables are only sold on week days.I will be visiting Rungis soon with the owner of Paris Sweet Bar cafe as a guide.
• Dans Le Noir: the restaurant where you eat in total darkness.
• L’Atlantide: supposedly the best couscous in Paris. I’ve been told they have good vegetarian options.
• I’ve been holding on to an old Air France magazine filled with addresses for Indian restaurants and shops in Paris. Dishny and Krishna Bhavan on rue Cail both sound inviting. New Review: Petite Mumbai de Paris
• I also have an old Gourmet Magazine (September 2008) with some great ideas: 11/12th arrindissements, 19th/20th arrindissements, 10th arrindissement by Alexander Lobrano

Related articles by Zemanta

• An appetite for Paris (boston.com)

Markets

You’ll find a great variety of locally produced and manufactured items at the daily markets. Here are some of the better options:

• Bastille market on Sunday: You’ll find not only food but hand crafts from around France, North Africa, and other regions. Just go to metro: Bastille, you can’t miss it from about 9 a.m. to about 2 p.m. for the best choices
• Visit one of the Marchés des Producteurs de Pays . These markets are filled with vendors from around the country. You can purchase wine and spirits directly from the producers, honey, wax, and wool items. Personally, I love the socks. They are great gifts for your friends with diabetes. You can also taste fresh made Aligot, a mixture of potatoes and regional stringy cheese, which is hard to find. Here are some upcoming events:
  • November 22-23, Boulevard de Reuilly, 12th arrondissement (metro Daumesnil).
  • December 5-7, St. Paul village court. This is a bit harder to find. Take the St. Paul metro and go behind the St. Paul church.
• Honey and Confiture: Nothing brings back local taste than regional honey and preserves. David Lebovitz has a great article about Honey in Paris. For confiture, check out your local markets, the Marchés des Producteurs de Pays, and also stop by a nice fromagerie to see if they offer a confiture de la maison. I buy my coffee and confiture from Pascal Guiraud, in the 12th Arrondissement on Blvd de Reuilly.
• Macarons: It’s hard to go wrong with a great box of macarons from Pierre Hermé or Ladurée.
• Flea Markets: Everyone has heard about the famous Paris Marché aux Puce. It’s enormous and sits in the north border of the city. Frankly, it’s overpriced and you could spend all day looking and not buy anything.

  However, there are several smaller flea markets that are more promising. I personally prefer the one at Porte de Vanves. It is every Saturday and Sunday from about 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Dress warmly for the winter shopping, some areas are always in the shade and it can get chilly. Look for inexpensive art (etchings and prints), glassware, jewelry, and household items.

  You’ll find your best bargains at a Vide Grenier (community garage sale). Keep an eye out for fliers around the city for the local sale. They are not always available.

This is just a short list of places to get gifts for friends and coworkers before heading home. Look for the locally produced and regional cuisines wherever you travel. They’ll be more memorable than the standard souvenirs.

Pascal Guiraud – Torréfacteur

21, boulevard de Reuilly (12°)

01 43 43 93 27

Metro: Daumesnil, Dugommier

Coffee, Tea, Confiture, and Fine Groceries

Related articles by Zemanta

• Restaurant is the Jewel of Eiffel Tower
• The coolest quartier in Paris
• Eco-Friendly Paris

However, I also work long hours and can’t always make it to my local markets in the morning. This leaves Saturday or Sunday for markets that are a few metro stops away. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an organic produce market come to you?

This is the concept behind Le Campanier, a company delivers a weekly bag filled with seasonal, organic vegetables or fruit to your local organic grocery store. You simply subscribe to the service on their web site and pick up your bag on Tuesday afternoon. The bags also feature recipes and information about the farmers and food.

Sample Deliveries

Vegetable Bag

• Fresh Corn (France)
• Carrots (Italy)
• Cucumber (Spain)
• Tomato (Spain)
• Lettuce (France – Manche)

Fruit Bag

• Melon (Vergeze)
• Peaches (Italy)
• Mini Watermelons (Spain)

It’s worth noting that the produce included in the bags are often times hard to find in the markets. For instance, I have been looking for fresh corn in the markets without any success. They also tend to include some of the ignored vegetables of yesteryear.

Clotilde Dusoulier has a nice description of the vegetables she received one week:

I was really happy to get parsnips : they belong to what is sometimes referred to as “les légumes oubliés” (forgotten vegetables), those vegetables we used to eat a lot in the past, but which have been more or less abandoned : panais, rutabagas, salsifis, pâtissons, crosnes…

I have read that most of these were what people had to live on during the second world war, so they were promptly pushed aside after the war, because of the bad memories they brought back. Nowadays these vegetables aren’t very widely cultivated and can seldom be found at produce stands. Of course, I find the idea of forgetting a vegetable heart-breaking and cruel and terrible and saddening, it makes me want to save the vegetable and bring it back home and give it love and affection and decorate a little room for it with a little bed it can sleep in. Ahem. Anyway, I was glad to welcome those parsnips into my vegetable drawer.
Le Campanier – A lucky bag of produce

Prices are reasonable, but not super cheap. Vegetable bags are 8-12 Euros and Fruit bags are 10 Euros. However, it’s important to remember that you are supporting sustainable, organic farming and enjoying the convenience of fresh food delivered to your closest organic store.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Buy Local Food – It Pays More Than Once
• Eating Better Than Organic
• A guide to food labelling
• Queens of green
• Tips: Save On Organic Food Shopping
• Britain awaits the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra
• Farmers Market Roundup!: Shopping On A Budget

I purchased a bunch and made artichoke/white asparagus withe eggs for dinner. The artichokes tasted as good as they looked.

Today’s lunch special at Parisian Sweet Bar – Artichoke pasta

The Parisian Sweet Bar sits about 50 yards from that table of artichokes. I was pleasantly surprised to see today’s special of artichoke pasta. This pasta was great and at 6 euros a bargain to boot. These were not the marinated artichokes of cheaper pasta dishes. These were fresh baby artichokes from the market.

That’s the beauty of food in France. You don’t have to be a fancy restaurant to offer fresh, seasonal food and the prices are not inflated. Parisian Sweet Bar boasts regular specials based on the farmers market. Soups, pastas, and salads are based on what’s available for the season.