Paris: food mecca. Rive Gauche – the most fashionable place in Paris. Next time you are there, find these five fabulous food shops from the 7th Arrondissement.
Le Comptoir des Saints Pères, formerly Michaud
Le Comptoir des Saints Pères, formerly Michaud. A tiny Parisian cafe with a long history. A favorite of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald who spent long days and nights writing and talking through the nights. During those times, cheap. During these, chic. But not a fussy café in the least.
Le Comptoir des Saints Pères 29 rue Saints Pères 75006 Paris Tel: 01 40 20 09 39
Kayser Artisan Boulangerie in St. Germaine, Paris
Near one of the left bank’s most beloved cafés, La Palette, just a stones throw from L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, you can dust the rain from your feet on the welcome mat of Kayser: boulangerie extraordinaire. Kayser is a relatively convenient stop-in café by American standards. Plenty of pre-packed salads, sandwiches and the like are available for busy Parisians or any passersby to pick up on the way to lunch or a picnic. To the right, a counter designated solely to bread sales. Kayser has earned more than once, the honor of creating the Best Baguette in Paris - you can imagine, an honor earning significant bragging rights. Standard, artisan, whatever your preference, tuck it under your arm and head off into Paris.
Boulangerie Kayser 10 Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie 75006 Paris, France
Photo Courtesy of Kayser Artisan Boulangerie
Androuët Fromagerie, A Legendary Cheese Shop
Cheese – favorite food to all! Miles and miles (okay, just fifteen feet) of various cheeses, individually wrapped, lining refrigerated shelves. Soft, hard, aged, mild, comte, brie … cheese with olives and herbs and Périgord truffles. Young, 5 year, 10 year, 20 and more … all distinctly different from the last.
Androuët 37 Rue de Verneuil 75007 Paris, France
La Pâtisserie des Rêves, the “Pastry Shop of Dreams”
It was. The pastries were decidedly French, while the ambiance was almost sci-fi. A bit of Tokyo in the left bank. Clean architecture and crystalline bubbles dropping from the ceiling protecting these decadent sugary drops that looked like baubles from a Tiffany store window at spring time. These heavenly, colorful, inedible things I thought!
La Pâtisserie des Rêves 93 Rue du Bac 75007 Paris, France
Chapon Chocolatier
Patrice Chapon got his start in his father’s attic, and then soared on to make ice cream for the Queen of England. Not bad for a handsome young strap from old Paris. His chocolates are known for his unique recipes comprised of innovative ingredients—wasabi, rosemary, and some spice I had, I think, never heard of. A large photo adorned the wall of dress made entirely of Chapon chocolate that walked at the 16th annual Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Ruminating in the room was the impact of food on fashion, on the neighborhood, and the history of Parisian culinary pursuits and how they effected the forward launch of things to come. We were sent off on foot with a paper cone filled with chocolate mousse.
Chocolat Chapon 69 Rue de Bac 75007 Paris, France
Unless Otherwise Stated All Pictures Courtesy of World On a Fork
