Croissant anyone?

Before I left for Malta I had to make a movie about the working conditions in bakeries! I then was lucky enough to shoot images during a whole morning in a boulangerie. Here is one of the shots I took. Quite appetizing isn't it?

The vegan "food truck"!

Here is the most amazing "food truck" you can find in Paris at the moment! And when I say "at the moment" I really mean "at the moment", for it'll only be here until October 26... After it'll probably go back to London (in Soho, more precisely) where it normally belongs. As you noticed, it's a genuine doubledecker bus: the kitchen is downstairs and the dining area is upstairs (and outside, when the weather allows it). The food is apparently very good, but I haven't tried it. Maybe this weekend.

Street food invasion...

I'm really amazed to see how street food is becoming popular in Paris (and France in general I suppose...). Last weekend, there was even a street food event around the new Carreau Temple in the 3rd arrondissement; anybody could buy a set of tokens and use them to buy any type of street food they wanted.  Huge success, so huge that the lines were too long for me to have the patience to try one of these food trucks!

Theme day: Take Away Store

Today is the 1st of August and the theme day within the CDP community is... Take away store. You probably expected a typical around the corner French take away place, but instead here is the most global fast food company you can think of! Why? 1) because take away is not very French 2) because I just read the news that McDonald's France has had its best year ever since their start in France! Which is ironic since, when they thought  of extending to Europe, the McDonald's management never thought the French would go for such a food... The truth is... "they're loving it!"  If you wan to see real local take away places, check what the CDP community has to offer.

La Brigade, the food truck for meat lovers!

It's absolutely fascinating to see how "food trucks" (we don't even have a French word it) have multiplied these past two years in Paris. I already told you about Cantine California, the one that makes the best hamburgers in Paris, here is now another one for meat lovers. I found it in the 13th arrondissement near a movie theater, it's called La Brigade (after the name of what we call a crew in a restaurant kitchen) and it sells juicy slices of meat to die for (if you like meat, of course!).

California eatin'!

Like I mentioned in my caption yesterday, I'm off to San Jose in California for a trade show until the end of the week (come to the little PDP gathering on Tuesday if you're in the neighborhood!) . I looked everywhere for a California related photo that I could take in Paris and ended up on this website, promoting a food truck called Cantine California... I went to where the site said it was located at lunch time yesterday and did not resist ordering a burger... And I did not regret it!  I'm telling you, this is the best burger place I've ever eaten at in the whole world! I'll be back, for sure...

And the best macarons are...

Believe it or not there is a macaron day in France, and it was yesterday (march 20!). I just found out about this very important "cause" (in fact it IS a real cause, because all the money collected goes to Cystic fibrosis) in an article in Le Figaro, in which they elected the 5 best macaron places in Paris. The winners are: Jean-Paul Hévin, Pierre Hermé, Sadaharu Aoki, Arnaud Larher, Dalloyau. I did not know most of these places...

Ready to party?!

Yes, it's D Day... Unless you live in Saudi Arabia where the "Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" will make sure you don't celebrate New Year's Eve! it's very likely that you will stuff yourself with more food and Champagne/Wine tonight ;-) I know it's silly, but I will do the same... I wish you a happy celebration wherever you are in the world, hoping that you'll be surrounded by people you love.  I took this photo at Mademoiselle M, a food place/lab where you can learn extraordinary things...

No more food please!

I'm glad the Christmas celebrations are over for, as much as I love family reunions, I hate to have to stuff myself in such a small timeframe! Food plays a large role in the French culture as you know it and it plays an even larger one on big occasions like Christmas... Most of the time you get to eat foie gras, turkey and buche (a typical Christmas dessert with the shape of a log). But more and more people tend to break away from tradition and serve "lighter" food like fish. I won't tell you what I had on Christmas eve AND on Christmas day, but one thing is sure, I can go without eating for the next month LOL. Hope you all have a wonderful time if you celebrated it. Time to go home now!

Roasted Chestnuts

There something I love about the coming back of winter every year, it's the so called "winter food". In other words dishes that are considered too heavy (like sauerkraut for instance!) or too hot to be eaten in summer. One of them is Marrons Chauds (roasted Chestnuts) that are sold everywhere in Paris during winter, especially outside the large department stores or on the Christmas markets, where I took this photo. I love them!

Steack tartare

Like in a lot of countries the non meat movement is progressing in France too, but there is still a loooong way to go, as meat is part of most of the French's diet. And meat can make cool photos too ;-) Here is one of a steak tartare from le Kong, a trendy restaurant located on the top of the former Samaritaine (which is still closed by the way...)

Un p'tit verre sur le zinc...

In Paris, I love the atmosphere of these little cafés/brasseries when you have "un p'tit café" ou "un p'tit verre" (a little coffee or a little glass of wine) sur le zinc (on the counter - which was originally made of zinc). I took this photo at L'Acajou des Volcans, a pretty nice restaurant located at 12 rue Coquillère (next to the famous Pied de Cochon at les Halles). Good food, good service and affordable prices, thanks to La Fourchette, the site you MUST go through if you come to Paris and want to chose - and book - a restaurant.

So long café gourmand...

Good news, I was freed last evening! Still haven't been operated though (which means I'm going to have to go back soon...) but at least I feel good - although totally wiped out of course. In the meantine I must refrain from eating anything that has fat in it, which includes a lot of things ;-) Including this delicious Café Gourmand that I photographed before my "departure" and that I did not use because I did not like the framing too much. But tonight, God knows why, I'm OK with it! (BTW with this gallbladder thing I forgot to wish a happy 4th of July to all my American visitors, so let me catCh up today!). And for everyone: have a good weekend!

The two week Eclair feast!

Only in France can you organize a whole event around a piece of pastry! For yes, ladies and gentlemen today the Quinzaine des éclairs (two week eclairs "feast") officially starts and will last until March 24. Principal: go to one of the boulangeries or patisseries that take part in the event (there is a map here) and taste one of this year's recipe (peach/raspberries, hard caramel/vanilla and apple/almonds). Of course it's all a big promotional event to drag customers into boulangeries, but still, I may give it a try (only because I feel my arm is being twisted!!). FYI, I took this photo at L'atelier de l'éclair, a new concept store I already told you about.

Crème de la crème... de marrons!

This is not something very Parisian, but surely very French. It's called Crème de marrons (chestnut spread), it's made by a French manufacturer from Ardèche (a region in the center of France) named Clément Faugier (named after the founder of the company in 1882) and well it's really good! There is very little chance that you can find it near you as, only 15% of the production is exported. You'll have to come here to test it! Have a nice Sunday in the snow or on the beach...

Eclairs to die for...

If you already came to France you probably had the occasion to eat an "Eclair", that is a sort of long puff generally filled with chocolate of coffee custard. Now there is - much - more to them... At the Atelier de l'Eclair, a new pastry shop located at rue Bachaumont in the second arrondissement where I had the occasion to see many kinds, including salted butter, vanilla, lemon... and, even more unexpected, savory ones (cheese, ham, salmon and even foie gras!). If you come here, I really advice that you give it a try (the place is very nice too). You may also order them on the Internet, but I'm not sure about that, for to be good, éclairs must be really fresh.

La Dame de Pic

You may not see any woman in this kitchen and though this brand new restaurant (it opened only one month ago) is owned and managed by a woman (which is still pretty rare in the haute cuisine trade). Her name is Anne-Sophie Pic (hence the name of the place which is also a play on words - Dame de pique means queen of spades in French) and she is not exactly a newcomer in the business; she already has a 3 star restaurant in Valence (near Lyon) - there are only 26 of those in France out of a zillion places, so you can imagine how hard it is to get these stars... La Dame de pic has not been rated yet, but it already has excellent reviews. I'm not big on spending a fortune on one meal, but this one looks really tempting (I love that you can see the kitchen from the outside). I may try it on a special occasion! 

Montmartre grapes harvesting feast

If you like what's French, well, the Vendanges de Montmartre (grapes harvesting) is probably the place to go to. I personally had never gone before this Saturday and, believe me, I discovered a whole world up there (they even have a Republic of Montmartre!). Montmartre is a little hill in the Northern part of the city, and somewhere near the mythical Lapin Agile cabaret,  there are still grapes. Their harvesting offers an occasion to celebrate, drink, laugh, eat, exchange and... discover many produces that the regions of France have to offer (these people for instance, "promote" garlic from Vaucluse - a region in the South of France!). Have a look a the little video that I shot for you.

The best patisserie in Paris?

Those of you who follow me on Instagram (ParisDailyPhoto) may already have seen this photo today, but I don't resist posting it on PDP too! I took it at Les Petits Mitrons, a fantastic patisserie (pastry place) located at 26 rue Lepic in the 18th arrondissement. All their tarts - either sweet or quiche like - are fresh of the day, and made on site. Don't miss it if you happen to be in the Abesses area, near Montmatre.

Ironing Salmon

Here is a little "haute cuisine" tip for you today. Brought to you by Cyril Rouquet, one of the participants to famous TV cooking Master Chef (and chef at Louvre Bouteille at reu Saint Honoré) that I photographed yesterday at Galeries Lafayette, while he was... cooking tuna and salmon on a Laurstar ironing board with an iron! He had this idea when he was young, while he was living in a small studio apartment with no oven! I tasted it, it's really good - of course the sauce that went with it probably played a role too ;-) I wonder what Julia Child would think of that LOL!