Barbra Austin

Of all the foods in the world to deconstruct, the galette complète, that perfect all-in-one meal of egg, ham, and cheese in a hot buckwheat envelope, seems like an unlikely candidate, and yet that’s exactly what I was faced with at La Compagnie de Bretagne, the new upscale crêperie in the Sixth.

My first meal here, in early May, was an utter pleasure, not least because of the good company, or that it began with a coupe of Lassaigne at the bar. We were seated in front of the pass at the open kitchen, radishes and butter arrived, and we required no coaxing to commit to the five-course menu.

If you’re at all interested in the Parisian dining landscape, chances are high that you read Mark Bittman’s recent piece for the New York Times, Four Paris Restaurants Worth a Metro Ride. His assumption — and it’s mostly fair — is that most tourists don’t make it to the 10th, 18th, 19th, and 20th arrondissements.

But, as someone who lives in the 10th, it’s actually the restaurants in the center of town — never mind the bistro wonderland of the 15th– that require a commute. One that surely merits a ticket is Les Bistronomes.

Q-Tea, an itty-bitty Chinese table in the ninth, has been on my list since the stellar reviews started rolling in early this year, but I only got around to trying it last weekend.

It’s a closet of a space, decorated in polka dots (q cute!) and colors my eleven year-old self would have very much liked to have had in her bedroom. The prices are low (10-13€ for mains), and the husband and wife team who preside over this little lavender domain are utterly kind. In other words, the place has its charms. Unfortunately, the food is not one of them.

I’m on the road now (more on that soon) but here are a few stand-out meals I’ve had recently in Paris.

I’d like to show you what I’ve been working on all this time I haven’t been blogging.

It’s possible that J’Go was once good. Indeed, when I revisited one positive review I remembered reading, there was ample evidence, both written and photographic, that this restaurant used to serve something that not only looked edible but appetizing and fresh.

What I ate was insipid and suspect.

Casse-Noix means “nutcracker” in French, and so I’ve pretty much had the Waltz of the Snowflakes in my head since reading about this restaurant a few weeks ago, reinforced by what has seemed like daily dropping of neige here in Paris. That is not a complaint. As of today I’m officially finished complaining about the weather, since it improves neither the weather nor my mood.

So yes, there’s a new bistro in the 15th called Le Casse-Noix and yes, there are actual nutcrackers involved, at the end of the meal when you’re presented with a bowl of walnuts still in their shells. There is no dancing.

It’s not even technically winter yet, but you wouldn’t know it in Paris these days. A cold snap worthy of deepest January settled in last week, and didn’t let up until Saturday during a substantial snowstorm, turning those pretty flakes into freezing wet drops.

Never mind that it comes from a very warm place: The Vietnamese noodle soup known simply as Pho, a beef and charred onion broth, aromatic with spices (yes, that is cinnamon you smell) is a perfect cold weather food.

It’s likely that the Brits invented brunch, and now two former Rose Bakery cooks are working on perfecting it at Le Bal Café.