Bon Appétit

I know I wrote a post about the two restaurants I didn't like while in London and Paris as well as the bakeries and street vendors I did like but I think the restaurants we liked and loved deserve a post.  How I didn't gain a pound while on vacation I'm not sure because I ate and I mean ATE!

While we did go to three different French restaurants Le Bistro du Perigord was the first. The restaurant was very unassuming but the food was delectable.  We started with escargot and onion soup.  Both were amazing! I have never liked French onion soup before but this we delicious. For dinner I had duck confit and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.  Dessert might have just been my favorite though.  While it doesn't look like much it was a to die for caramel covered dessert.  There were was puffy pastry, baked apples, and vanilla ice cream, does dessert get much better than that?

My favorite French restaurant that we went to was La Bulle.  Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a fan of meat based meals.  Actually, I can go weeks without eating meat and won't miss it.  I'm not a fan of the taste or texture of meat, especially red meat.  La Bulle is a traditional French restaurant and meat is the star of the plate.  When we walked in I fell in love with the feel of the restaurant.  It is on a corner and there are large glass windows overlooking both streets, a people watchers dream.  There was exposed brick, glassware stored in a decorative way, and lots of little lights.  There was a modern but comfortable feel to the place.  The waitress and waiter were both very polite.  While not overly warm they were friendly and even politely provided a menu with descriptions in English after hearing our poor French accents. The menu changes frequently based on what is in season which also means we didn't get to look at the menu before hand.  My heart quickly sank while reading the menu.  Nothing sounded appealing to me.  I ended up ordering a cut of beef served over mashed parsnips and potatoes. When it came out it was presented beautifully but there was so much meat.  I feared I would need 2 or maybe 3 crepes to fill me up that night but I was quickly proven wrong after just one bite.  I cut off a piece of beef and scooped up a little of the mashed parsnip and potato and the flavors instantly danced across my tongue. It was like the scene from Disney's Ratatouille when Remy closes his eyes while trying different foods and there are colors swirling around.  Each item on my plate tasted wonderful but together it was a unique flavor that even this non-meat lover loved! I wish I had brought the camera because the food was plated beautifully.

I think I will leave our favorite restaurant in Paris for another time...