Day 3 was mon anniversaire, and the premier excuse for our trip in the first place. We had made reservations at Madame Boudin���s fine little restaurant, La Fontaine du Mars, at 129 rue St. Dominique, 75007, where we traditionally have celebrated either birthdays or our anniversary. Checkered table cloths dot the crowded main floor tables, which spill outside when weather permis. Upstairs is another level offering intimate dining, and lots of smoke. It is always crowded, with locals as well as tourists. The highlight of the evening, after a wonderful bottle of Bordeaux and a fabulous meal, was the incredible dessert, the Ile Flottante. Made with meringue which floats in a sea of creme anglais, neither of us had experienced this almost ethereal but fabulous delight of a dessert, and it is now one of our favorites. (We had it 2 more times during our stay in France!). What a meal!
���But I digress. Earlier that day, we paid a visit to the Musee Marmottan, an intimate but beautiful museum in the 16th, which houses a spectacular collection of Monet���s paintings, primarily of his waterlilies done while he was in Giverny. This is definitely one of the ���must-see��� sights if you are a Monet or museum lover. Afterwards, we strolled around a nice lake (Lac Superior) located in the Parc Bois du Boulogne, one of the largest parks in Paris. We had the place to ourselves, and it was very romantic. (Note: I am told the park changes its personality dramatically once the sun goes down. ) Then we had our most bizarre yet fascinating lunch. We were first drawn to the Le Flandrin Brasserie (80 Avenue Henri Martin, 01 45 04 34 69) because of the double parked limos out front with the tuxedoed parking attendants. ���Why not?���, we thought. So we were ushered to an outside table, and I thought we had just been time warped to Hollywood. Immaculately coifed Parisien men and women of all ages graced the tables of this upscale brasserie. We were sure there had to be a few famous people here somewhere. It was a dining experience like none other posted on this forum. Try it for yourself on a beautiful sunny Paris afternoon, surrounded by all the ���beautiful people��� of Paris. It is a feast for the eyes, as well as the stomach.
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Mind you,does meringue in English mean something different than in french? in French a Meringue is whipped egg white cooked very slowly at low temperature, which is different from the ile flottante which is whipped-hard egg white, which is not cooked and placed upon cr��me anglaise (kind of custard)
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Raphy,
I%26#39;m just a guy who likes to eat the stuff...not cook it! :) I thought meringue was the white fluffy stuff you get from mutilating some egg whites...didn%26#39;t know there was a difference. Send me your recipe and I%26#39;ll try it out! --%26gt; steve@navaro.com. My wife will kiss you.
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Well i didn%26#39;t say i had a recipe...But just wanted you to feel the true heart of french cuisine, knowing the difference so that Next time you come you don%26#39;t order a meringue...:) What you had in the ile flottante was blancs en neige, not meringue...
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I have stayed in the 7eme and decided on Restaurant Thoumieux many times. Close to Fontain de Mars and been so satisfied with the food and service--more classic with the finest waiters I have ever encountered. I mentioned to my American friends that you will not be asked for service because they will SEE what you need and when. I really enjoy Thoumieux and visit each time I%26#39;m in Paris----10 times now!
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Steve, that%26#39;s really funny, le Flandrin is right behind my house, i go there really often. Maybe we%26#39;ve got a dinner together without knowing it :-)
I scarcely recommend it here as it is quite far from the center of Paris - at least where the tourists gather. I like it very much, they have the best ravioles de homard (lobster raviolis) I%26#39;ve ever got.
As you%26#39;ve mentionned it, it%26#39;s pretty upscale and quite expensive, but of a high quality. I love it mainly when it%26#39;s hot in Paris, the terrasse is really nice - my favorite being to seat inside, on the most external row of tables, when they remove the windows so you can enjoy the freshness without being bothered by the cars.
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Denys,
Reminds me of Alex%26#39;s picture of dinner in April where a couple of TA posters were in the background having dinner at the same time. Some of my photos, including Le Flandrin are on my site, http://spaces.msn.com/members/snavaro1. You might want to see if you are in the background haha! Please note that the photos taken there were of course of my %26quot;beautiful people%26quot; - ma femme.
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Raphy, the egg whites on ile flottante ARE cooked. They%26#39;re poached in milk for a minute or two before being chilled. Otherwise, they would simply collapse.
Snavarro, if you don%26#39;t get a recipe from a genuine French person, I%26#39;ll send you mine. I jazz it up sometimes with a dribble of caramel or raspberry coulis, too.
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Merci beaucoup, Truffaut. Vous etes tres gentil. My wife is wanting to make this for a special dinner for some friends later this month.
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PATEstore, just a few meter from le thoumieux there is...le thoumieux lol, but the bar, and they have like 62 different perfumes of vodka shots, from melon to fraise tagada to mint to chocolate, milk chocolate everything. i don%26#39;t drink vodka but my friends enjoyed it.
and yes last time we were at 1728 with kelbel, i think it was moominek who was having dinner just the table next to us, so funny but we did not know that, moominek just asked me the day after, because she thought we were from tripadvisor but not sure, so did not dare to ask.
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Ok i%26#39;ve checked your pictures and i wasn%26#39;t at Le Flandrin this day so no regrets : )
By the way nice pictures, I hopeyou liked Rouen!
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