The Last Piece on Paris...
Well, probably not. But for now at least. A great Paris menu. And a memorable croissant.
I’ve just finished book tour and am, reluctantly, going to stop talking about Paris.
But one last hurrah. In 2008, with the recession looming, we decided to do a second Paris issue at Gourmet. The first one, in 2000, was the best-selling issue of all time and we hoped to repeat it.
But times had changed; people weren’t travelling in the same way. And so we decided to do Paris on a budget.
“That’s a great gig,” said Larry Karol glumly. Our Managing Editor was the realist in our group. “Find me a writer who wants to go to Paris to stay in cheap hotels and eat in bargain restaurants.”
A pall fell over the room; nobody could think of anyone who’d want the job.
“I’ll do it!” I surprised myself. I turned to our travel editor Bill Sertl. “Come with me?”
Much later he told me that he had no choice; he could hardly say no to the boss. But all I thought was that he’d be a great traveling companion; I hope he had as much fun as I did.
It was, for me, a memorable trip. And many of these places are still there. I stayed at Hotel L’Esperance last fall (it’s undergone a bit of an upgrade), but sadly I’ve never again been able to get into the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles - it is always booked. While Christophe Philippe no longer has his eponymous restaurant, his L’Amarante is a fine substitute. Le Beurre Noisette now has a Michelin star. Laperouse continues to hold on; if you go, please tell me how you like it. And both L’Ami Jean and Chez Robert et Louise remain serious favorites.
One more thing; many people have asked about Stella’s hotel in Paris; it’s the one-star Esmeralda, a hotel I loved in the seventies and eighties. I haven’t been back, but only because I have such wonderful memories.
Incidentally, if you want some background on the meals behind the meals in the book, Laurie Ochoa gives you the inside story.
Not old, actually. This is a menu from lunch in October at Pierre Gagnaire.
The great croissant. A couple of months ago I did a croissant crawl with Londyn Crenshaw of Cherry Bombe Magazine. We had lots of spectacular croissants, morning buns, cronuts…. But for my money the best plain croissant - and there was a lot of competition - was this buttery beauty at Dominique Ansel. More please.
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I will forever miss Gourmet. I still have almost a decade of issues stacked in my home offices bookshelves including the Paris issue. What a fun trip that must have been, even on a budget. That croissant looks perfect. Simple is usually best when it comes to these things; I don’t even want to think about the chocolate chip cookie croissant that’s trending out there…
I just finished The Paris Novel. Scrumptious. I couldn’t wait it sit down and savor every word. Thanks Ruth!