GOURMET AREAS IN PARIS

Photo: Bianca Brandon-Cox


Ladurée Bar (Photo: Ladurée)

Paris really is the capital of fashion and food! The creativity flows in many different areas and there seems to be room for all kinds of expressions and people. I feel very creative in Paris and I’m wondering if it’s the great history in the walls and streets or the beautiful pastries that inspires me. Paris is perfect in so many ways and so not perfect in other ways. It’s releasing and opens up for creativity, I think…

Well, If you’re like me, interested in the best gourmet areas here is a gourmet guide for you.

Five different gourmet areas in Paris:

Latin Quarter
My best advice, when visiting Paris start visiting the Latin Quarter. Foodmarkets, cousy cafées and restaurants all over. If you want to cook at home, this is the place to buy the seafood, the meat, the vegetables and the cheese and pastries. Take the Metro to Mambert Mutalité and walk towards Rue Mouffetard.








Pigalle
If you find the right foodmarket streets like Rue Lepic, Pigalle is a good area to hang out in. Not my favourite area but still worth a visit and cousy to drink a cup of coffee in. If you are interested in cupcakes here is something for you Berko. Very popular place.




Bastille
Once in this area I recommend you to start the day in purple Dalloyau Tea Room in Bastille. This is one way to get in a high-class Paris mood. I just love this place!

Dalloyau – one of the masters in making beautiful pastries, gathers not just pastry- and chocolate makers, confectioners, ice-cream makers and bakers but also cooks. This combination origins from 1802. Dalloyau have restaurants, tea rooms and shops all over France and abroad in Kuwait, Korea and Japan.






In this are there is also a very nice classic brasserie called Bofinger. One recommendation is to order the “Plateaux Royal” (seafood) and champagne. If there is room for dessert try “Crème brûlée flambée”.





Lafayette Gourmet
In the the Lafayette Gourmet area you will find everything from the beautifully designed Bordeauxteque (a wine gallery and shop with Bordeaux wines from 1899, price 7500 E) to nice restaurants and cafées. I recommend you to try the Dalloyau chocolate fondant with coffee in the wine store restaurant and café.



If you are more interested in Asian-, Oriental- or Italian fast food there is plenty of all that inside the food store.

I also recommend you to try the Japanese pastries from Sadaharu AOKI. There is flavours and expressions in everthing from the interior design to the pastry design that are different from everything else I have seen. In the store at Port Royal there is white and green moss mixed with green macarons togehther with the logo on the wall...Very beautiful.

I tried the two pastries Zen and Bamboo – not especially sweet and with flavours of sesame seeds and green tea. I also bought a marmalade “Azuki & Milk” with Japanese beans, also very good and interesting.






There are two Sadaharu AOKI stores in Paris; Vaugirard and Port Royal and then there is Lafayette. In Tokyo there are three more stores.

Champs Elysées
There is particularly one good reason to visit this famous street and that’s Ladurée (origins from 1862) on Avenue des Champs Elysées 75. This is the place to bee if you want to see one of the most beautiful things ever, Ladurée store, Tea Room, Restaurant and Bar. I recommend you to either reserve a table or if you are interested in the bar, walk past the head entrance on the left side and look for the almost invisible door…Once in the bar try their signature macarons coctails...or the signature pastries...






If you don´t manage to go to Ladurée in Paris there is one last chance at the airport. I bought the fantastic velvet book "Sucre". Fantastic!


Interested in more desserts:
http://www.frederic-cassel.com
http://www.laurent-duchene.com
http://www.pierreherme.com
http://www.jphevin.com
http://www.arnaud-larher.com
http://www.patisserie-grandin.com