1: Hotel des Academies et des Art

15, Rue de la Grande Chaumière, 75006 6ème Arrondissement, Paris, France   [+33 (01) 43 26 66 44]    website

A three-star Boutique Hotel 200 metres from the Luxembourg Gardens and the Place Saint Sulpice, 20 rooms with Free Wifi and Internet access, Air conditioning, Wellness room, Conciergerie service. Non-smoking hotel

2: Le Comptoir du Relais Saint-Germain

Carrefour de l'Odéon, 75006 6ème Arrondissement, Paris, France   [+33 (0)1 44 27 07 97 ]    website

You can find it right off the main square of Odeon in Saint German. Le Comptoir is a bistro that is great anytime from noon to six for a light snack or lunch. Reservations for dinner are hard to come by as the bistro only seats 20, however stop by for a lunch and it is 1st to arrive. At night the bistro spruces up with more haute fare. Lunch is until 18:00 / 6:00pm.

3: L'Epi Dupin

11, Rue Dupin, 75006 6ème Arrondissement, Paris, France   [+33 1 42 22 64 56]

Highly rated and popular. Closed on weekends. No lunch on Monday.

4: Au Pere Fouettard

9, Rue Pierre Lescot, 75001 1er Arrondissement, Paris, France   [+33 1 42 33 74 17]

Just around the corner from the Museum of Modern Art. Brunch on the weekend for Euro 17.90.

5: Vins des Pyrénées (Aux)

25, Rue Beautreillis, 75004 4ème Arrondissement, Paris, France   [+33 (01) 42 72 64 94]

Dimly lit and cozy (i.e. a little cramped) restaurant. Closed between lunch and dinner between 15:00 and 20:00 (3 and 8pm).

Hello Travelers,

Sarah, one of our resident foodies takes us on a culinary tour or Paris. If you are looking for a little upscale places perfect for a romantic dinner full of delicious French food, consider these excellent recommendations. Plus, she recommends a fantastic boutique hotel that has only been open for the last year, which although small (i.e. cozy) is decorated by a famous artist and has a warm and knowledgeable reception staff that was more then willing to help whenever necessary.

Take it from here Sarah!

Hello Foodies!

Last week, January 7, 2008, I had the opportunity to travel to Paris for work. It was a great chance to meet some new people and sample some fantastic food! Of the establishments visited some were familiar and some of them were new. All in all my experiences were satisfactory and I am happy to pass these recommendations along to you to help make your next trip to Paris more fulfilling.

Paris in January is not ideal in terms of weather, but if you are a shopper it is a great time to go. France has sales two times per year and the day that we arrived was the first day for the winter sales season. Another great reason to come in January is that overall it isn’t that crowded with other tourists.

Now let’s eat:

Meal One: Le Comptoir- Hôtel Relais Saint-Germain, 9 Carrefour de l’Odéon, Paris 6th.

Located right off the main square of Odeon in Saint German, Le Comptoir is a bistro that is great anytime from noon to six for a light snack or lunch. We ordered a ½ litre of the house wine (one in red and one in white- what can I say we are thirsty!). For the meal we had three common but delicious French dishes:

• To start we had a pot of the house country pate that was served with a few pieces of bread, cornichon (little pickles), and little onions.
  
• Next was escargot – a sampling of 6 of them that was served in a lovely pesto garlic sauce.
  
• The final addition to our light (who am I kidding) after plane snack was foie gras on toasted bread that was served with a small endive salad.
  
• The bill came in at 75,00 Euro.
  

This meal was a wonderful way to get back into the swing of the Parisian culture. The best time to be at Le Comptoir is when it is warm enough to be outside – this time around it was almost warm enough so we sat under a heater and used the blankets provided. This is a great location to have a wonderful meal and watch the Parisians walk by.

After a mid-afternoon nap to catch up for the red eye flight I took my friend, Chris, to one of my favorite set price restaurants. Many Parisian restaurants offer what is called a ‘prix fixe’ menu, which means that for a set price you can choose 2-3 courses from a list of items.

Meal Two: Restaurant L’Epi Dupin, 11, rue Dupin, Paris 6th.

L’Epi is only open during the week and it is normally full so make your reservations in advance. The entire meal was excellent, but the winners were a scallop soup for the appetizer and a rabbit, sweet potato, and cheese gratin main course. The dessert that still makes my mouth water was the cheese plate. Bill for two: 75,00 Euro

After a long week at work (or maybe only two days) I was ready to go for some culture in Paris. An afternoon at the Centre Pompidou reviewing some of the world’s best modern art I had worked up a good appetite.

Meal Three: Au Pere Fouettard, 9 Rue Peirre Lescot, Paris 1st.

This side walk bistro was full of Parisians so it looked like a safe bet to me and I wasn’t let down. The French around me were eating wonderful fish dishes and a particular good looking steak tartar. Chris and I ordered an appetizer and two main dishes, and of course we added some wine to the tab! The appetizer was a sumptuous meat plate that has a ham, spicy sausage, and tuna. The plate was served with cornichon (if you aren’t aware by now I love the little pickles they serve in France!!) and a REALLY spicy Dijon mustard. Only a couple of minutes in to the meal we realized that our eyes had been bigger than our stomachs and we asked our waiter to cancel the other dishes, so unfortunately we were unable to sample the other great looking plates at this bistro but I would love to go back again! Bill: 30,00 Euro  iKangaroo

TIP:  Space out ordering between main appetizers and main course, until you see the appetizer because sometimes it will be enough.

The meal gave us the strength to head up to one of the other places that I always love to visit when I am in Paris, Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. Some claim that it a tourist trap but I enjoy sitting in front of the beautiful white church on the stairs at dusk and watching the city lights turn on.

For the last evening in Paris I wanted to try something new and typical French so we asked for a recommendation from the hotel concierge for a location in the Marais. She happened to live in the Marais and had a great suggestion.

Meal Four: Vins des Pyrennees, 25 Rue Beautreillis, Paris 4th.

Although it was closer to the Bastille than the Marais it was as our concierge said, full of local color. We started the meal with a foie gras starter that was rich and creamy. I had another typical French meal, a steak and fries. And Chris had the steak tar-tar, which was delicious. Bill: 75,00 Euro.

Generally we loved all the food that we sampled and I am looking forward to returning to continue my love affair with French cuisine. I really hope that you take me up on these recommendations and we would love to hear about any other that you might have so I can try them when I return.

Where I stayed: Hotel des Academies et des Art, Paris 6th

www.hotel-des-academies.com

Overall it is an intimate hotel with only about 22 rooms. The staff is warm and helpful. Although small, the room itself was designed to accommodate every traveler’s needs. Trendy, comfortable and centrally located it was a great place to stay. The hotel has extremely interesting paintings and sculptures of white bodies and that were done by the painter Jerome Mesnager. This picture is of the lobby, which includes free internet access and unlimited cafe a laits.

Thanks for reading and happy travels,

Sarah