Meanwhile, the local hotelscape has also evolved as unremarkable small hotels are increasingly upgrading to boutique, even spa, status.

The classic Paris culinary education

The mainsail for culinary explorations in this area is La Fontaine de Mars, the ultra-traditional, southwest-leading Parisian bistro, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, duck confit, watchful matron and all.

If a pedestrian food market street (in this neighborhood that means rue Cler) can be considered step one in the traveler’s culinary education, then lunch or dinner a fresh-fare bistro such as La Fontaine de Mars is step two. Like Paris itself, the restaurant almost feels like it’s living in the past except that here you are, enjoying it, so it’s very much a part of the present.

The restaurant is named for an early 19th-century fountain just outside. Mars, the Roman god of war, stands in relief on the fountain alongside Hygieia, goddess of health and hygiene. The fountain recalls the presence nearby of a military hospital that was torn down at the end of the 19th century. The buildings that now surround the fountain were then built, and the original restaurant opened here in 1908.

Christiane and Jacques Boudon purchased the restaurant in 1991. Within six months they restored it to its 1908 roots and brought in chef Pierre Saugrain, who has been there ever since. Such single-restaurant longevity is a rarity for a hired chef in Paris.

The restaurant offers hearty, delicious reliability: warm goat cheese, foie gras, snails; duck confit, dover sole, cassoulet; crème brûlée, mousse au chocolat, millefeuille. Southwest comfort food. The wine list, heavy on the reds, covers the basics while also allowing for a splurge à la Lafitte-Rothschild, Petrus or Haut Brion.

In October La Fontaine de Mars came out with a cookbook “Un Bistrot Parisien: La Fontaine de Mars en 50 recettes,” featuring 50 recipes (in French) of southwestern cuisine.

Echoes of the Obama buzz

La Fontaine de Mars has long been a local institution, on the map for both Parisians and visitors. It was enlarged in 2007. Its reputation grew stronger across the Atlantic when Barack and Michelle Obama dined here on June 6, 2009, the 65th anniversary of D-Day. The president and his wife had come to Paris following the commemorations in Normandy and were looking for a traditional French meal.

The American ambassador and his wife had dined at the restaurant before, Christiane Boudon told me, so it was likely on their recommendation (and the green light of the secret service) that the Obamas came. As an admired and recently installed American president and as a couple known for their interest in quality meals, the buzz of their choice of La Fontaine de Mars quickly spread. That the buzz echoes ten years on is a testimony to both the Obamas and La Fontaine de Mars.

The Obamas dined in the second of the small rooms upstairs, as the plaque by the entrance to that room indicates, but better to opt for the atmosphere on the ground floor or, weather permitting, on the side terrace.

There’s another Obama and primarily Bush connection nearby: Philippe Excoffier, chef at residence of the American ambassador to France from 2001 to 2010, has operated his self-named restaurant just up the street since 2011.

La Fontaine de Mars
129 rue Saint Dominique, 7th arrondissement
Metro Ecole Militaire, RER Pont de l’Alma
Open daily, for lunch noon to 3pm, for dinner 7:30 (7:15 on Sun.)-11pm.
Tel: 01 47 05 46 44

© 2019, Gary Lee Kraut

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Until recently I had never bedded down in the 7th arrondissement. You know the 7th, right?, that district with the Dome of the Invalides at its center, extending from the Eiffel Tower to just past the Orsay Museum and from the river to rue de Sèvres. Home to the prime minister, high functionaries, government ministries, the National Assembly, UNESCO and the Rodin Museum, it rhymes with power, deliberation and monumental tourism, none of which is particularly sexy to me when it comes to sleeping around.

But I’m available, so when a public relations agent invited me get to know the Hotel Thoumieux by spending the night “with the person of your choice” I immediately accepted. In fact, I was flattered, not so much by the invitation (I receive them often) but by the bit about “with the person of your choice.” It made it sound as though I could snap my fingers and a chosen person would show up to spend the night with me at a 4-star boutique hotel. I snapped, but no one answered, so I made a few phone calls, and still no one answered, then I sent out a few texts made a few swipes on an app, and finally “the person of my choice” agreed to be chosen.

I packed an overnight bag, promisingly known in French as a baise-en-ville, and set out across the city on foot to get myself in the mindset of a traveler from afar in search of the unknown. I entered the 7th arrondissement by crossing the unguarded border from the 6th along boulevard Saint Germain, then proceeded east-west along rue Saint-Dominique. Eventually I caught sight of the Eiffel Tower peeking out from above the buildings. The tower disappeared and reappeared again as the vertical sign of the Thoumieux also came into view.

An inconspicuous door beside the Brasserie Thoumieux opens to a steep staircase that leads to the small hotel reception area upstairs. There’s an elevator, somewhere, but I appreciated the stairs because they reminded me of climbing to upstairs pensions in Italy and Spain during my backpacking days. How far I’ve come, I thought, somewhat sadly.

But my room perked me up. The 15 rooms at the Thoumieux have been delightfully decorated by India Mahdavi with fluid curves, playful contrasts, leopard print throws and busy bathroom marble and tiles. The eye won’t rest until you go to sleep. Facing either the narrow street or the narrow courtyard, the rooms go from tiny to cozy to room for jumping jacks to nearly space for a cartwheel, 130-355 square feet, maximum 325-505€ but often priced less. Even the smallest room (mine, photo) feels welcoming, lively and charming.

This is indeed a hotel for romance and intimacy. And the neighborhood lends itself to rewarding culinary explorations for any couple (or more if you’re into that kind of thing). The Thoumieux itself houses two worthy restaurants: its elegant brasserie with the red velour banquettes on the ground floor and Sylvestre Wahid’s upstairs den of high gastronomy.

Only come with someone you like, I mean really like, as I hoped that I would, while I waited by the entrance.

Hotel Thoumieux
79 rue Saint-Dominique, 7th arr.
Metro La Tour-Maubourg, RER Pont de l’Alma
Tel. +33 (0)1 47 05 79 00

A Beaumarly / Costes establishment

The Thoumieux is among the collection of stylish cafés, restaurants, bars and hotels within the Beaumarly/Costes group. See here for the complete list. Gilbert and Thierry Costes have been on the Paris scene since the late 1990s, with much success. Years ago, I was put off at several of their establishments by the condescending attitude of their staff; it was as though friends and I weren’t worthy of having a drink or a meal there but would be tolerated if we stayed out of view. I steered myself and visitors elsewhere. The staff at Thoumieux appears to take a more welcoming view at both the hotel and the brasserie—not warm and fuzzy, mind you, but proper, comme il faut. Genuine warmth, however, is found in encounters with Sylvestre Wahid, eponymous chef of the stellar upstairs restaurant (article coming soon) at the Thoumieux. Wahid treats every curious diners like an honored guest.

Eating and drinking on and around rue Saint Dominique

For culinary explorations, you’ll have little reason to leave your neighborhood when staying at the Thoumieux. Brasserie Thoumieux is an excellent place to start, as is the ultra-traditional bistro La Fontaine de Mars down the street, and there are many other worthy options within a 10-minute walk. Closer still:

Your 5-minute radius guide to the Hotel Thoumieux

Your local bakery: Boulangerie Douceurs et Traditions (Nelly Julien), runner-up in the Paris region’s 2019 Best Chocolate Éclair competition.
Your local food market street: Rue Cler.
Your next-door Irish pub: O’Brien’s.
Your local bistro with the easy-priced menu: Chez France.
Your local Greek restaurant and take-out gyro shop: Apollon.
Along with Sylvestre Wahid, your other local high gastronomic restaurant: David Toutain.
Your local caviar shop and restaurant: Petrossian.
Your local foie gras boutique, where you can purchase vacuum-packed liver to enjoy at home: Dubernet.
Your local Argentinian beef restaurant: Unico.

Also, your local 19th-century Catholic church with an elegant barrel ceiling and organ that no tourist other than you has ever visited: Saint Pierre du Gros Caillou, 92 rue Saint-Dominique.

© 2019, Gary Lee Kraut

The post A Night at Hotel Thoumieux, Rue Saint-Dominique, Paris appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.

In Paris, haute couture extends all the way to the dessert trolley. Even a venerable let-them-eat-cake institution like Angelina, founded in 1903, has to keep up with the trifle trends.

On April 29, with the accompanying pops of pink champagne, Angelina unveiled the dernier cri on the calorie chart with its spring-summer 2014 pastry collection. Dark chocolate and truffles are beating a retreat, and sunny color combinations—raspberry with ecru-tinted Earl Gray cream; mellow peach with casual crumble accents—are on the rise.

Even the ultra-classic mont blanc, the Hermès scarf of the Angelina empire chocking up 600 sales a day, gets a summer makeover. It’s keeping its famous sugar-dusted toupée of chestnut spaghetti cream… but adding a light, bright strawberry center to its Chantilly/meringue base.

Angelina has a history of adopting new food-stuffs from outside Europe. (Think of how it perfected the chocolat chaud adored by the French royal family since the early 17th century.) This season, Angelina has looked even farther afield for rare and unusual ingredients…

… Eastern Pennsylvania.

Yes, this summer Angelina débuts its first cheesecake and the fromage in question comes from Philadelphia. However, Angelina’s Chef Christophe Appert is quick to deny any undue American influence. ”American cheesecakes are always baked,” he explains. ”Ours consists of an uncooked cheese froth served on a bed of confit d’abricot and madeleine-inspired sablé crust.”

(Apparently, soggy graham crackers just don’t make the cut.)

These treats – rounded out with other ephemeral Angelina creations like peach/vanilla tarts, raspberry/macaroon courtisanes, and strawberry/whipped cream/hazlenut éclairs – can be sampled for under 7€/each at Angelina’s nine French locations in Paris, Versailles and Lyon.

Angelina. 226 rue de Rivoli (75001), 108 rue du Bac (75007), 19 rue de vaugirard (75006), Chateau de Versailles, and other locations.

© 2014, Corinne LaBalme

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But of course… there’s a lot of duck… and where’s there’s duck, there’s foie gras. You can buy it and bring it home, or you can sink into a comfy chair during lunchtime, order a big glass of Basque wine, and set about devouring a generous 16€ platter of two home-made regional terrines, rillettes au foie gras, duck sausage, and a little magret séché for good measure. Purists opt for a hefty slab of duck or goose liver without any trimmings except for toast.

The Basque region is also known for its seafood, so there’s southwestern style cod-potato brandade, 10€, or smoked-salmon/tarama platter, 20 €, for the non- birdwatcher. But we were there for duck, and although it was difficult to pass up a deep dish of scrambled eggs smothered with cèpe mushrooms, 10€, we chose the old-fashioned duck stew, 12€. After Chef Laurie Cleradin simmers it for two days in a lush broth (with added carrots and onions), the lean meat simply melts in the mouth. It makes boeuf bourguignon seem to taste like yesterday’s news.

All the produce is “imported” from the region and that includes a variety of wines by the glass from 3 to 6 €. We liked the Cuvée Heïta, a golden white from the Domaine de Moncaut in the Pyranées Atlantiques that’s rich enough to stand up to the stew. And of course, there’s Izarra, Armagnac….

But before the digestive save room for dessert. Céline Castellan serves one of southwest France’s truly mythical desserts, the gateau russe cream cake that Adrien Artigarrède invented in the hamlet of Sainte-Marie-Oléron (30 Kilometers south west of Pau) in 1925. She gets the cake directly from that original bakery. (For homesick Basques, this is akin to having a direct line on butter beer for Hogwart’s alums.)

What’s so Russian about gateau russe? One of the key ingredients for the cake’s crust is almond powder which, in the 1920s, it had to be imported from Crimea. The rest of the ingredient list? That’s been a jealously guarded secret for four generations.

Canard & Co. 192 rue de Grenelle, 7th arrondissement. Tel: 01 45 5194 73. Metro Latour Maubourg or Ecole Militaire. Lunch Monday through Friday; grocery open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7:30 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 2:30 pm.

Note: Canard and Co. will soon be giving classes in preparing foie gras! Call the shop for details.

© 2013, Corinne LaBalme

The post Canard & Co: Duck Season in Paris, Year-Round appeared first on France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France.