Archive for the 'popular' Category

The Best Miso Soup in Paris

Published
by
Ted
on June 6, 2009
in 2nd Arrindissement, Asian, Ethnic, Vegan Friendly, organic, popular, restaurant, salad, soup and vegetarian-friendly
. 2 Comments

Miso soup restaurant in ParisYou’ll find a small collection of Asian restaurants between the Opera and the Tuilleries. Centered around rue Sainte-Anne, the neighborhood has become a magnet for Asian tourists. You’ll find pho, sushi, noodles, and soup restaurants that range from the quick and cheap to trendy and bustling.

Taisho Ken – Miso Soup Bar

In the center is a small Japanese miso soup restaurant that I’ve been finding myself eating at more and more. It’s a simple place with an open kitchen, large pots of boiling miso broth, and a friendly, bustling atmosphere. This is a simple place that may remind you more of a roadside diner than a French bistro.

Miso soup normally brings to mind a small bowl of broth with a few small chunks of tofu floating amongst green herbs. I was greatly surprised when I ordered the vegetarian soup bowl and was presented with a Texas sized spoon and a big bowl of broth with fresh vegetables and noodles. This is a meal by itself, you won’t need any rice or dumplings.

Miso soupParis is a great place to have a big lunch with friends and a simple dinner of soup or salad. I’ve added this place to my list of regular stops. It’s especially nice on a cold rainy night when the windows fog up and you are surrounded by the smell of the broth.

Taisho Ken
40 rue Sainte-Anne (2°)
Metro: Pyramides, Opera
01 42 61 11 59
Wheelchair Friendly: It’s a small, tight restaurant with a small step to enter
  • Overall: 4/5
  • Vegetarian Options: 3/5
  • Vegan Options: 3/5
  • Value: 4/5
  • Location: 3.5/5

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La Chope Champerret brasserie

Published
by
Ted
on March 18, 2009
in 17th Arrindissement, Meat Eating Friends, brasserie, popular, restaurant, salad and wheelchair friendly
. 1 Comment

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!
Chevre salad in Paris
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

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Enjoy a stress-free dinner at the No Stress Cafe

Published
by
Ted
on January 31, 2009
in 9th Arrindissemont, Asian, French cuisine, Mediteranean, Vegan Friendly, cafe, popular, restaurant, salad, soup and vegetarian-friendly
. 5 Comments

No Stress Cafe in ParisThe 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

No Stress Cafe in Paris
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.
Vegetarian Tapas at No Stress Cafe in Paris

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

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Restaurant Tibetain Dolma in Rennes

Published
by
Ted
on January 9, 2009
in Asian, Outside Paris, Vegan Friendly, popular, restaurant and vegetarian-friendly
. 1 Comment

Rennes buildingsCrêpes 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.

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma
36 rue St. Melaine, Rennes 35000
Metro: St. Anne
02 99 36 84 63
  • Overall: 5/5
  • Vegetarian Options: 4.5/5
  • Vegan Options: 4/5
  • Value: 5/5
  • Location: 4/5

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l’Epicerie Verte – Organic groceries and lunch

Published
by
Ted
on December 1, 2008
in 17th Arrindissement, Groceries, Vegan Friendly, organic, popular, salad, soup and vegetarian-friendly
. 0 Comments

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.
L'epicerie Vert - organic groceries and restaurant in the 17th.
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
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