Tag Archives: France

A classic French lunch at Le Soufflé

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There is perhaps no dish more French than the soufflé. And one of the best places to have a soufflé at a reasonable price in Paris is Le Soufflé, an elegant dining room located a short walk from the Louvre and Tuileries Garden.

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We found Le Soufflé quite by accident, intending to have lunch at a recommended Asian restaurant just a few doors away. They were full, however, and we popped in at the upscale-looking Le Soufflé based on the charming exterior and the Zagat and other stickers posted by the front door.

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The young man greeting us was friendly and when we explained we had not reserved, he looked around the room and told us that if we could return in twenty minutes, he would have a table for us. After a short stroll around the block, we returned and were rewarded with a generously-sized table in the middle of the room.

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With a clientele that seems mostly made up of local office workers and older-school establishment types, I felt a little self-conscious. (“Look, the American!”) But the friendly and diverse staff made us feel welcome. In fact, the restaurant reminds me a bit of Cafe Jacqueline in San Francisco, in that the staff can seem a bit stern from the outside but they take good care of their guests.

The menu is relatively simple with a limited selection of soups and salads, a selection of savory soufflés and a selection of sweet soufflés. We ordered a set that included a salad and two soufflés.

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The soufflés (mine with a black olive tapenade and Tawn’s with smoked salmon) arrive relatively quickly. You sense that they must be preparing the choux base in advance and then folding in freshly-whipped egg whites. The size looks large, of course, impressively puffed up – but remember that a soufflé is largely air so a person can consume one relatively easily.

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For dessert, I opted for a rhubarb soufflé. This is one of my favorite fruits and was just in season so it appeared on many menus. The tartness of the rhubarb cut through the richness of the soufflé and made for a pleasant end to the meal.

The set lunch including a glass of wine and a coffee to follow was only EUR 28, about US$ 32. For the quality and quantity of food, it was quite a bargain. Le Soufflé is on my must-visit list for a quintessential French experience.

Le Soufflé
36 Rue du Mont Thabor
75001 Paris
+33 1 4260 2719
Closed Sundays

 

Mon retour à Paris

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Some fifteen years after my previous trip to Paris with Tawn, we are together here again. It wasn’t a planned trip for me. He was to be here as a tag-on to a work trip to Italy. In fact, I was supposed to be in Manila this week, delivering training. However, the fates intervened, my training was cancelled, and I decided to purchase an inexpensive ticket for five nights in Paris.

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Paris is different this time. I’ve lived abroad for more than a decade and have traveled much more, so am much more confident than on our first visit. That, combined with the twin miracles of Google maps and Google translate, combined with the convenience of smart phones, has made navigating so much easier.

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My French, which I thought completely lost, seems to be somewhat intact. A few days of cramming with the help of the Duolingo app restored enough of the synaptic connections to allow me to communicate in French to a passable degree. What shocked me, though, was how much more English-friendly Paris has become in fifteen years.

While my experiences had never confirmed the stereotype of the rude Parisians unwilling to speak English, fifteen years ago not speaking some French was a handicap. Today, though, I found that nearly everyone was tolerant of my shaky French and both willing and able to supplement with English when need be.

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The other difference I have observed is how much more diverse Paris has become. This is a city of color and it has been made all the more vibrant for it. Near our Air B-n-B rental across from Centre Pompidou, there are a number of great-smelling Middle Eastern restaurants. Asian and Asian-fusion restaurants are numerous. And the African diaspora is well-represented, too.

Funnily enough, two Parisian stereotypes were still in evidence aplenty: the horizontally-striped sailor shirts and the baguettes carried underarm on the way home at day’s end. These kept appearing with such frequency that I suspected we were victims of a ruse by central casting!

I will try to share more about the trip, along with my overnight stay in Istanbul on the way here, which was a magnificent experience.

 

Saturday Daytime

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There’s a little bit of repeat here since I didn’t have pictures ready to go a couple of entries ago.

Saturday morning Anita was still down in the South Bay so I woke up to an empty house.  After pulling on a sweatshirt I walked several blocks to Tartine, the Delfino-owned bakery and cafe at 18th and Guerrero.

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I previously mentioned about the French visitors who occupied a pair of tables next to me and helped my sympathize with Tawn.  The food was so good on the first visit that I made a second trip on Tuesday morning.  I’ll combine the pictures into this entry.

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The interior is always crowded and there is a large communal table that people – as the name implies – share.  Instead of numbers, they use letters.  Interesting, huh?

First dish: zucchini and tomato quiche

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Follow-up dish: morning bun on the left and bread pudding with peaches and olallieberries the size of your thumb on the right.  Remember – this was over two days, not at a single meal.

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Later in the morning I headed over to Oakland to meet Bruce and Howie for lunch.  The destination: Zachary’s Pizza.  Celebrating 25 years, Zachary’s deep-dish stuffed crust pizza is an amazing, amazing thing to eat.  Below, the College Avenue location, about two minutes away from Rockridge BART station.

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The pizza in question – double crust stuffed with spinach and mushrooms with a spicy tomato sauce on top.

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Moments before we dig in.  Bruce on the left and Howie on the right.

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Afterwards, we enjoyed the sunny afternoon for a bit before driving back over to the City.  What a treat!

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Next entry… Saturday evening and GAPA’s 20th Anniversary Runway show.

 

News from Tawn:

Tawn arrived in Paris Saturday morning and was enjoying his first day in the city of lights.  While Ryeroam was working Tawn explored the city and enjoyed a little petite dejuener at a sidewalk cafe.

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