If you happen to be one of a handful of chefs in the world, lucky enough and talented enough to rule the domain of haute cuisine in Paris, your standards, I would think, should be pretty high. What with the long and illustrious history behind French cuisine and their sometime overbearing smugness regarding the quality of said cuisine (an arguable point indeed) these chefs certainly are under the gun to perform day in and day out, consistently creating dishes that make patron’s mouths dance in sensory happiness. The pressure to earn a coveted Michelin star and maintain that status year in and year out is incredible, leading some to suicide at the loss of this dining ‘Oscar’. It’s all about the perfect performance and to have that taken away can be devastating.
- L’Assiette–for a weeknight dinner with good friends
- Café Constant–for a Sunday lunch, Christian Constant will serve up a great meal at any one of his restaurants.
- Hôtel de Crillon–enjoy their elegant Sunday brunch for special moments. Wait, shouldn’t being in Paris be enough of a reason? Absolutely.
- L’Absinthe–for a meal with friends.
- Mori Venice Bar–one of her favorite Italian spots. The setting is too beautiful for words.
- Coffee Parisien, 4, rue Princesse, VIe. If French food just becomes all too much for you, a burger and fries awaits.
- Café Moderne–good eats for not as much euros as some.
- L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon–sitting at a bar will never be the same again!
- Guilo-Guilo–the French love Japanese food, as do all the Japanese tourists. This 2008 arrival on the food scene is another bar with the chef working his wonders right before your very eyes! Think Benihana of Paris.
OK people, I did my work now you are left on your own to do yours. Take this little list and start crossing off entries. Feel the wonderful sense of accomplishment as you go through this dining marathon. Feel less euros in your wallet and more junk in your trunk perhaps but, oh, well…it’s Paris after all.