Neighborhood Spotlight: Le Marais, Paris

My family and I spent a wonderful week in Paris at the end of October. I found an incredibly charming apartment that was built in the 17th century through HomeAway in the Marais. The girl that rented it to us was very helpful and provided us with a detailed list of her favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. Here are some of the places we enjoyed:

Art deco decor at Café Charlot

Café Charlot: The first thing I wanted when I arrived in Paris was steak frites with a huge glass of Burgundy and that is exactly what I got at this delicious neighborhood bistro. While the waiters were less than friendly, the food and local charm were totally worth it.

Steak frites at Café Charlot

Nanashi: All I knew was that I wanted some legit Asian food while I was in Paris since the options in Germany are less than adequate. I would say that Nanashi was a mix between super awesome vegetarian food and inventive Japanese. I ordered a bowl of salmon poke with puffed sesame, leafy greens and brown rice. It was super close to ahi poke bowl from Pacific Catch that I would order at least twice a month back in SF. For dessert we split a black sesame custard that was super different & very tasty and a green tea cheesecake that was okay.

Salmon bowl at Nanashi

Marché des Enfants Rouges: Oh how I wish that a market like this existed around the corner from me because I would eat there everyday! This special place, that I talked about in a previous post, is a foodies' dream come true. You can not only buy fresh fish, veggies, breads, cheese and patés, but you can also dine at an incredible number of food stalls serving specialities from Morocco, Italy, Japan, and Jamaica, to name a few. There are gourmet burger stands, fresh falafels, homemade foie gras and anything else you can think of. We decided to go for the Moroccan and feasted on stuffed eggplant, chicken tajine and fresh pepper flatbread.

Marché des Enfants Rouges

134 r.d.t.: This inventive bakery is across the street from one of the best confiseries in Paris, Jacques Genin, that I previously wrote about. We sampled a crusty roll with figs and nuts, a pain au chocolate and a croissant. All were delicious!

Sweets from Jaques Genin

While there are hundreds of great options for eating and drinking in the Marais, there are thousands of options for shopping, but that is another post!

Eating on Hvar

We absolutely loved the Croatian cuisine! Everything was fresh, local and delicious! While we did make most of our meals with produce we purchased at the market in Stari Grad, we had a few memorable meals out and about.

Fresh produce on the island

Antika- located on a side street in Stari Grad, we randomly chose this spot because it looked slightly off the beaten path. We were very lucky we did because we had a delicious meal. Kent ordered beef medallions with truffle sauce and I had a fresh tuna steak that was perfectly seasoned with salt, pepper and rosemary. The waiter was very entertaining and the music was a mix of the best classic rock songs.

Konoba Kokot- technically described as in Stari Grad, this charming family-run restaurant is actually in the village of Dol, which sits in the mountains above Stari Grad. We arrived later in the evening so unfortunately we missed the sunset, but we imagine it would have been incredible from this location. We started our meal with complimentary shots of a herb schnapps then ordered the sheep cheese appetizer, which was made with milk from the owner's flock of sheep, one of the only remaining flocks on the island. We were told that the restaurant's specialty was local boar so Kent ordered a burger and I ordered a ragu with gnocchi. I got the better deal. While we were stuffed to the brim, a complimentary dessert of fried dough balls covered in cinnamon and sugar arrived, shortly followed by another free offering of carmel custard. We could barely walk by the time we left! And we had doggy bags that provided the following day's lunch.

View of the island from the village of Dol

Taverna Milina- we stopped at this small beachside village located halfway between the beautiful beach of Uvala Dubovica and Hvar City. While Kent had originally researched a restaurant online before we set out, when we arrived, we couldn't remember where exactly it was located so we stopped at one that looked crowded and offered a lovely waterfront location. It's always a risk when you pick a restaurant based on its view but this time we got lucky! Taverna Milina had fresh seafood pastas in heaping proportions. I ordered a tuna salad and seafood linguini while Kent got a caprese salad with lobster gnocchi.

Beautiful seaside setting at Taverna Milina

The beautiful beach of Uvala Dubovica

Giaxa- after a rainy day on the island, we looked to Giaxa to provide us shelter from the storm. Unfortunately they were completely booked inside but offered us a table outside under an awning. Given we were already drenched, we said fine. The menu looked incredible so I chose the octopus salad and stuffed gnocchi with asparagus sauce (I know, so much gnocchi on this trip) and my fiance got the shark salad and fish with vegetables. When the amuse bouche and fresh olives arrived, we were very excited for this fine dining experience. However, the food did not live up to it's promises. It was generally flavorless and over cooked. To top things off, the heaviest rain came during our main course dropping a waterfall all around us. The only bright side was the friendly staff.

Holiday on Hvar

We hit the Homeaway jackpot! The beautiful house that we rented on the island of Hvar, outside the town of Stari Grad, in the tiny village of Rudina, was exactly what we were looking for: relaxing, close to the water and ruggedly beautiful. The wonderful couple, Mare and Ankica, who's family has owned the land for more than 500 years, stayed in the home next door and provided helpful recommendations about what to do each day and told colorful stories about what life was like in the former Yugoslavia.

Mare and Ankica with Heffe

We spent our days exploring the island, hiking on the rocks around the Bay, preparing meals with fresh food from the garden, dining out at delicious restaurants and drinking local wine and brandy.

The structure of the house is more than 500 years old

The Kabal peninsula is a 10 min. walk from the house.

The highlight of our stay was the incredible meal Ankica prepared for us. It consisted of bruschetta with anchovies, sheep cheese and olives, squid ink risotto, Octopus peka, fresh salad and tomatoes, flan, plums and local white wine. All of the ingredients were fresh and came directly from the island. Mare and Ankica were so nice, they let us keep the leftovers!

Ankica preparing the peka

The finished product: Octopus peka, a Croatian specialty

Want to try NOW

I'm pretty obsessed with most of the articles in the March 28th "Food issue" of the New York Times Magazine. One article talks about Camino, a restaurant in Oakland run by a Chez Paniesse alum who is focused on making dishes with truly good, local produce mixed with a wide and inventive mix of flavors. Another article puts the spotlight on ex-pats chefs in Paris that are changing the conception that the city is no longer a hot bed of culinary innovation. And the final article of the issue is about Americans living in Germany who can't seem to make sense of the cultural norms surrounding nudity in public spaces, something which I also struggle with personally.

Le Marais by Mouth

In the course of researching restaurants in Paris, I found the blog Paris By Mouth that seemed to have good recommendations on the best places to eat in the city. I noticed that they also offered food walking tours of different areas of the city. I decided to splurge a bit and signed us up!

We were given instructions to come to a little bakery/cafe in the Marais at 10:00 am sharp. We decided to walk there from our hotel so it took about 30 minutes and it was lovely to see the city waking up on a Saturday morning. Once we arrived at the cafe, we met the other people in our group of 8. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, most of them were young couples like ourselves and all of the girls were celebrating their birthdays.

Our guide was an adorable American woman who moved to Paris about 10 years ago after a life long love affair with French food and wine. She took us to a variety of shops and eateries and explained in detail about the different foods and drinks that we were sampling. It was a delightful way to spend an afternoon getting to know the Marais and swapping tips with other food-obsessed travelers.

Below is an overview of the places we went, all of which are worth a visit:

Poilâne bakery at 38 rue Debelleyme, 75003
This bakery served delicious pan au chocolate and is world renown for their true-to-tradition way of preparing the bread. Be sure to order a cafe creme, because if you don't already know, cappuccinos don't exist in Paris! Well, actually...they might at Starbucks.

Jouannault cheese shop at 39 rue de Bretagne, 75003
This place was off the chain on a Saturday morning. We sampled various types of cheese, including a Roquefort, Brie with truffles and Comte. Our guide explained that Roquefort is literally aged in rocks and thats where it gets its name.

Caractère de Cochon at 42 rue Charlot 75003
A wonderful couple runs this shop and they had a great time telling us (in English) about where the different charcuterie comes from and why some countries have hard meats (Germany) and why others have lighter ones (Spain). It all has to do with the wind patterns and the way the meats are aged. Pretty interesting stuff.

Marché des Enfants Rouge
About half of the places we went to were located around this adorable market that I am sure I would shop at every weekend, if I lived in Paris. Its definitely worth checking out for the beautiful, fresh food and there are several places that you can stop to grab a bite to eat.

Goumanyat spice shop at 3 rue Charles-Francois Dupuis, 75003
If you are interested in taking home some souvenirs, this is the place to get them! This store is a cook's dream, stocked with every single spice or cooking additive you could imagine.

Jacques Genin chocolate shop at 133 rue de Turenne, 75003
This place is run by a very eccentric man who takes perfectionism to the extreme, so much so that he only serves his signature pastries once every 3 months. By some stroke of luck, we happened to be there on one of those days and got to try famous bicycle wheel (I forget how to say it in French) and it was amazing.  Even if its not one of the special pastry days, you still have to go to this place to try the amazing candies. I had a mango flavored carmel that changed. my. life.

When in Rome...

Here is a quick list of some of my favorite things in Rome:

Gelato! 

Gelateria del Teatro: This newly remodeled gelato place has unique and enticing flavors like prickly pear and cinnamon. They will also let you combine multiple flavors into one cup- amazing for those of us who can't make a decision when there are so many amazing options. The gelato is made on-site and you can see those dear Italians hard at work from the street thanks to a large window into the workspace. The next best thing about this place are the stairs that are directly outside the shop so you can sit, enjoy your gelato and watch people go by. Its on Via die Coronari, which is a wonderful street featuring boutiques, antique shops and cute cafes. 

View of Teatro from the street

Inside of Teatro

San Crispino: Located 2 streets back from the Trevi Fountain, this place is a haven among horribly touristy restaurants and stores. There's no seating and the place is very basic and unsuspecting but totally delicious. My personal favorite is the banana. Be sure to get a sample of your choice selection because some flavors can be creamy while others can be more ice-y. 

First gelato of the trip!

Gelateria dei Gracchi: This one is on my list for my next trip to Roma. Its a nice break if you are close to St. Peters and the Vatican. 

Drinks!

Le Cupole Bar at Grand Hotel De La Minerve: I love this place for so many reasons. First would be its location right off Piazza della Minerva, which features one of my favorite sculptures in Rome, Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk, and best loved churches, Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Second would be the amazing Art Deco decor inside the hotel and third (and favorite) is the incredible sweeping views of the city provided by the rooftop bar. 

Bernini's Elephant

Interior view of Santa Maria sopra Minerva

  

Drinks on the rooftop bar

View of St. Peters at sunset

Antico Caffe della Pace: I am obsessed with this cafe and this area. I'm not quite sure what the neighborhood is called but its in the centro storico and optimizes old school Italy. A few winding streets behind Piazza Navona, this section has tons of adorable cafes, restaurants and boutiques. This cafe is right in the heart of it. The building itself is covered in busy, green ivy and has several little tables set out front. The inside is decorated with beautiful, funky antiques and the waitresses are friendly hipsters. Its a wonderful place to take a break from sightseeing and enjoy the Italian pace of life. 

Enjoying a drink at Caffe della Pace

Bar del Fico: Located around the corner from Caffe della Pace, Bar del Fico is a funky cafe and restaurant with a decent amount of inside seating and free wifi. Warning: the website is NSFW but should be seen for sheer wonder. 

Tree lined streets in centro storico

Eat!

Da Francesco: Again located in the centro storico next to Bar del Fico, this restaurant is the epitome of an Italian eatery. Crazy, hectic, entertaining, a little rude but delicious. Get there early or be prepared for a bit of a wait. And don't expect your own spacious table, especially if you sit outside. You will be right on top of your neighbors but who cares if they are Italian and cool.

Sleep!

Hotel Fellini Inn: My friend and I stayed here for two nights last September and it was nice, clean and centrally located (only 2 or 3 blocks to San Crispino! and the Trevi Fountain). Its nothing out of this world but it suited our needs. They do offer a complimentary breakfast that was basic but had good coffee. It was a little tricky to find because I kept trying to ring the wrong door. I didn't walk far enough but I eventually figured it out. 

Trevi Fountain

See!

I guess if its your first time to Rome its important to see the Coloseum, St. Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the list could go on and on. I have a love/hate relationship with these places. On the one hand, they are amazing, incredibly important contributions to history and art and humanity, but you will be there with nothing but other Americans and foreign tourists, in line and waiting for most of it. So be sure to take your time walking from one destination to the next to wander down side streets, step into random stores, look in as many churches as possible, to see the most of Italy as possible. 

Enjoy your trip!

Wonderful fountain on Italian side street

More views of Rome at sunset

Zlata Praha

“This is shaping up to be a negative blog post,” my boyfriend spoke into the phone that I held to my ear as I sat in a hotel room in Prague at 2:00 am crying my eyes out. Not more than 45 minutes earlier I was having a wonderful time dancing with my friends to Rihanna’s dangerously addicting “S&M” at the hip club Nebe in the new part of the city. But after hours of walking around exploring the enchanting Czech capitol my feet were aching and I was ready to call it a night. My friends weren’t quite ready to throw in the towel so I walked up to a group of taxi cab drivers hoping to get a ride back to my hotel. 

“Zlata phhh,” I said making a “phhh” sound in place of the second part of the name of my hotel, which I could not quite remember. “Zlata Prana” they immediately responded and a man emerged from the group and motioned for me to get into his unmarked BMW taxi. “Is this a real taxi?” I dumbly asked ignoring my instincts. “Yes,” he assured me and pointed to the meter, which was already at 240 crowns, or about $10. That seemed high for the notoriously inexpensive former Soviet country but I again told myself that we were not far from the hotel so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I had to pay a bit more. It was cold out.

He began speeding through the city and on to the highway. “Near the train station?” I asked him as I watched what I thought to be that exact building whizz past. “Yes,” he again said. I noticed he had a picture of a baby on his iPhone that was docked within sight. A guy with a picture of his baby can’t be that bad I assured myself even though we seemed to be traveling further and further away from the center of town.

“Aren’t we past the hotel?” I finally had the courage to ask.

“You said Zlata Prana,” he responded.

“We are definitely past the train station. I told you by the train station.”

 “You said Zlata Prana, I am taking you to Zlata Prana.”

“I want to go back to the train station now,” I demanded.

“You said Zlata Prana!” he was screaming at me now. “You said Zlata Prana in Prague 6!”

“No, not in Prague 6,” I said now frantic. I looked at the meter and it read 800 crowns. I did the math on my phone. It was $40. “Take me there,” I pointed to a nearby hotel.

“No,” he screamed and kept driving.

He then got on his phone and started yelling at someone in Czech. I was contemplating ways to throw myself out of the taxi as he sped along the highway. Then out of nowhere he pulled over to the side of the road and told me to get out. I gladly jumped out then immediately realized that I was in the middle of nowhere. In Eastern Europe. At 1:30 in the morning. Bawling, I tried to call Kent. No answer. I waved my hands around in the air as taxis flew by. In the distance I saw a Hilton sign so I dejectedly started walking towards it then out of nowhere a taxi pulled over. Still sobbing, I jumped in and managed to show him on a map where my hotel was. My phone vibrated and I began to tell Kent about the ordeal and he stayed on the line till we reached my hotel, which I realized was called “Zlata Praha.”  

Art Deco Delights

I spent the majority of my time in Prague last weekend just walking around and gazing up at all the incredible architecture and design. All different styles and periods are visible from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque to my personal favorites, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Unlike its fellow former Iron Curtain neighbor Budapest, Prague has done a spectacular job of maintaining and restoring all of its buildings and squares. It was also largely spared from the bombings during WWII that destroyed a majority of Europe.