First Taste of Paris

This is Hugo Desnoyer, the celebrity butcher of Paris, hand-chopping steak tartare. He just won Le Figaro's contest for best tartare in the city.

And no wonder.

His pristine shop out by the Bois de Boulogne is a lively place; when someone comes in for a large order, one of the butchers brings out whole sides of meat and cuts off what is ordered. The cases are filled with all manner of prepared foods - from meat-stuffed peppers to sausages and salads. They even have their own gorgeous line of caviar.

You can watch the action from one of the twelve seats at the tall tables in front, while you sip wine and eat that amazing tartare.  Perhaps you'd prefer your hand-chopped meat to be veal:

Or perhaps this carpaccio of beef: I've never had better.

If cooked meat is your pleasure, there are many choices.  This ribeye (for 2), was mine:

The meat was great - the fat even better.  And those bones!

I went to Desnoyer right from the airport (well, I did drop my luggage off first).  It was quite a start to a marathon few days of eating.

Up next: a great wine bar, and one of the best (and best bargain) meals I've ever had in Paris.