The 5 best things I ate in Paris: October 2012

In this series, I round up the five best things I ate in a particular city or country. Each month on the 15th, I feature a destination from my past travels; on the last day I recap the best of the month in Paris. 

Somehow, after returning from Azerbaijan, I became quite fond of life in Paris. I don’t know if it was the sudden change of weather (I love autumn) or feeling like I had a fresh start after spending four weeks in a country so different to France. Maybe it was just knowing I was going to see my fiancé soon after five months apart. Regardless, I took that energy and invested it in good food with good friends. It was a good month indeed.

1. Steak and frites, Le Relais de L’Entrecôte

It’s such a simple concept: a restaurant that only serves steak and frites. You sit down, the waitress asks how you’d like your steak, she writes your order down on the tablecloth, and that’s it. The fries are skinny and crisp, the sauce has hints of mustard and goes perfectly with the steak — and the best part is, after you’re finished with your first helping, they come around WITH SECONDS. Simple, delicious, done. A must do in Paris.
(Thanks to Lindsey for bringing me here.)

2. Laotian platter, Lao Lane Xang

A tiny but busy restaurant in the 13th, Lao Lane Xang is the place to go for Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese food. After spontaneously deciding one night that we wanted to try Laotian cuisine, my friend Danielle and I came here and ordered a mixed platter of Laotian specialties and a plate of small rice cakes. I couldn’t tell you what specifically came in the mixed platter — there was a coconut curry, some warm meat jerky, and an incredibly spicy pickled vegetable section — but my favorite was the salty-and-sour beef that tasted a little bit like beef tartare, and looked like it might possibly have been made of tripe (not that it mattered, we demolished it all).

3. Pumpkin gelato, Pozzetto

Pozzetto, the Italian gelateria in the Marais, often features special flavors in addition to their usual offerings. Obviously with Halloween coming up, this month that special flavor was potiron, or pumpkin gelato. It was every bit as delicious as you’d expect from Pozzetto, especially when mixed with a large helping of stracciatella gelato. With November on the doorstep, I’m missing potiron already.

4. Cheesecake, Merci

It took me ten months to finally get to Merci, and now I’m kicking myself for it. This cheesecake is basically pure cream cheese. Like a tub of cream cheese got together with a stalk of vanilla bean and decided to rest on a bed of oats. That’s this cheesecake. (Plus the decor is old cinema, and the place is generally pretty cool. Thanks to Diane for finally introducing me to Merci — and blogging about it here.)

5. Pancake bavarois, Claus

The pancake bavarois pomme amandes (Bavarian pancake with apples and almonds) was a mouthful to order and the menu warned it would take at least fifteen minutes to prepare. It was mostly worth the wait, especially the crusted almond edges (at first I wished the portion had been bigger — but it actually surprisingly filled me up for lunch). It reminded me of kaiserschmarrn except in whole pancake form, and it will probably be perfect comfort food in the cold winter months ahead.

Next month: There will be a lot of chocolate involved…and hopefully a little turkey too.