April in Paris: Celebrating the bounty of the City of Lights
Apr. 11—Bienvenue à Paris!
Oh, wait .... We can't go to Paris now, can we?
The city, along with the rest of France, is still under a third lockdown that began on April 3, with restrictions upon residents intended to curb a surge of the coronavirus. Visitors must show a compelling reason to be traveling (business, emergency, health), or else they will not be permitted entry.
Oh, mon dieu. Quel dommage!
But don't worry, mes amis. We can still dream, can't we?
A new book — John Donohue's A Table in Paris: The Cafés, Bistros, and Brasseries of the World's Most Romantic City — is the perfect guide to help with planning for your next (or, perhaps, an exciting first?) adventure in the City of Lights.
An illustrator and author, Mr. Donohue traveled in 2019 to what he calls "the culinary capital of the world" to sketch a "dining scene [which] was in full, glorious bloom" before the pandemic struck.
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As he describes his work, he "captures something essential and ineffable about a place" and memorializes "a brief moment of lost time."
Although we've all seemingly been caught in our own version of lost time, with a year of social distancing and staying at home, never fear: The restaurants of Paris — that strikingly beautiful city filled with history, art, and passion, and with an incomparable reputation for la grande cuisine — will still be waiting for us when we can return.
To facilitate planning your itinerary, A Table in Paris is divided into chapters by neighborhoods and landmarks.
From the Eiffel Tower to Les Invalides, the Latin Quarter, Le Marais, Montmartre, la Place de l'Opéra, and the Louvre, Mr. Donohue will help you find the perfect place to dine no matter where your tour takes you.
His book features mentions and memories of classic French locales — Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie, established in 1894; Les Deux Magots, "once a favorite of Bertolt Brecht, Albert Camus, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and countless other writers;" Café Tournon, "popular with African American expatriates" such as Duke Ellington and James Baldwin, and Café des Deux Moulins, which was "made famous by the 2001 movie Amélie."
You'll find a breadth of other culinary options for every taste, as well.
Candelaria, "Paris's first authentic Mexican taqueria." Chez Omar, offering North African "Couscous, couscous, and more couscous." L'As du Fallafel. Au Coin des Gourmets, featuring Laotian, Vietnamese, and the owner's native Cambodian dishes. Arpège, considered by many to be "the best vegetarian restaurant in the world" (and also "among the most expensive").
"I hope these pages and my drawings inspire a journey to Paris, whether real or imagined," Mr. Donohue writes, "and sooner rather than later."
They have, most certainly, we assure you.
We've already got visions of macarons, croissants, quiches, pâté served with a baguette and cornichons, soufflés, indulgent pastries, exceptional wines, and more swirling through our heads.
And so, until we can eat our way through the city's legendary restaurants ourselves again, let's take our taste buds on a Parisian holiday prompted by Mr. Donohue's utterly charming work.
We wish you, "Bon appétit!"
Potato Chip and Chive Omelet
This dish has been served at Café Lazare — a "classic French restaurant," writes Clotilde DuSoulier, that's owned by Michelin-starred chef Eric Frechon and located in Paris' Saint-Lazare train station.
4 large eggs
About 1 cup somewhat crushed salted potato chips (see note)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon dried garlic flakes or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon unsalted butter or olive oil
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs lightly with a fork.
In a second bowl, combine the potato chips, chives, and garlic flakes. Stir half into the eggs.
In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. When it foams, add the eggs. Cook the eggs for 2 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining chips over the surface. Cook for 1 more minute, until it is a little runny in the middle (or until the omelet is cooked to your taste).
Fold the omelet in two and slide onto a serving plate. Serve immediately.
Note: This works best with thicker chips, and you can play around with different flavors.
Yield: Serves 2
Source: Clotilde DuSoulier, Tasting Paris
Rhubarb and Apricot Tarte Tatin
The nearly 40-year-old Parisian pâtisserie Les Petits Mitrons, in Montmartre, is noted for its seasonal fruit tarts. Each features a "sugar-studded, heavily caramelised, crunchy rim," according to the website Taste of France.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 15.25-ounce can apricot halves, drained
1 1/4 cups chopped rhubarb
1 14-ounce package all-butter puff pastry, defrosted according to package directions (see note)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Once melted, sprinkle the sugar all over the pan. Don't stir; simply let the sugar warm over medium-high heat until dissolved.
Once the sugar has turned an amber color, immediately remove the skillet from the heat. Pour the sauce into the prepared cake pan.
Carefully arrange apricot halves in the caramel around the perimeter of the pan, pit-side up, leaving a 3/4 -inch border around them. (You may not need them all.) Scatter the rhubarb pieces in the center of the circle formed by the apricots.
Unwrap and unfold the puff pastry and lay it onto a lightly-floured work surface. Cut out a 10-inch circle from the pastry and place it on top of the fruit, then gently tuck the pastry into the pan around the edges. Use a fork to lightly prick a handful of spots in the pastry to let out steam.
Bake the tart for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden and firm and the tart is well-caramelized at the edges and crisp. Remove from the oven, place a large plate over the cake pan, and very carefully flip the tart out onto the plate in one swift motion. Any fruit that is stuck to the pan can simply be scooped up and placed back onto the tart. Let cool for 30 minutes.
Note: We used DuFour Pastry Kitchens puff pastry.
Yield: 6 servings
Source: Adapted from monpetitfour.com
Crêpes
Crêpes can be found in cafés, brasseries, and tea rooms. There is "usually someone selling [them] on some Parisian street corner," too, for "a perfect pick-me-up," writes Jill Colonna.
40 grams butter, plus more for brushing the pan
250 grams all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 eggs
500 grams 2 percent milk
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or orange blossom water
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
Cut the 40 grams of butter into small chunks and gently melt it in a saucepan over medium heat.
As soon as a foam starts to form, turn down the heat to low and leave for just another couple of minutes until it browns. Take it off the heat and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
Sift the flour, salt, and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and break the eggs into it.
Add about a quarter of the milk and, using a whisk, beat the mixture well until you have a smooth, thick paste. Gradually add the rest of the milk and the Grand Marnier.
Add the browned butter and orange zest. Leave the batter to rest for about half an hour at room temperature (which makes the batter lighter). The mix will look quite runny.
Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat; brush it with butter.
Use a 1/4 -cup measure to scoop batter, filling it about two-thirds full, and pour the batter into the hot skillet. Swirl the batter round the pan quickly, as thinly as you can, covering the surface of the pan. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and the center looks barely set. Using a spatula or your fingertips, quickly flip the crêpe over and cook briefly until the underside is covered with golden spots; remove to a large plate for stacking.
Turn the heat down to medium, then repeat the process until you have about 20 crêpes. To keep them warm, cover them with an inverted plate on top of the stack.
To serve, spritz the crêpes with fresh lemon juice and dust them with powdered sugar (a classic presentation), or fill them with whipped cream and berries, Nutella, or jam. Savory crêpes can be served with a traditional filling of ham, cheese, and egg.
Note: If making savory crêpes, use half all-purpose flour and half buckwheat flour; leave out the sugar, Grand Marnier, and orange zest.
Yield: About 20 crêpes
Source: Adapted from Jill Colonna, Teatime in Paris!
