El Nopal

3 Eugène Varlin, 75010

Metro: Chateau-Landon

Mexican food at last! El Nopal is located right next to Canal Saint Martin in the 10th. The small, and I mean small, shop (I would say) makes burritos, tacos, burrons, gorditos, quesadillas, and couple other yummy means of goodness. Just stepping inside brought back memories of California - the smells of corn, cilantro, refried beans (they make themselves!) and lime wafting around.

You may be a bit confused as you enter if you don't know the protocol. We watched others and followed what they did. Since the shop is so small, everyone waits outside. You go in, order, and the nice woman will write down your order and your name and you pay. Then you wait outside until you are called, come in, take your order and say "gracias!." You can only take the food to go, which wasn't a problem on the beautiful day we went and you can have your fiesta overlooking the canal.

I took a main dish of three beef tacos while my boyfriend took a chicken burron - supposedly a burrito with avocado and melted cheese. The tacos were small, but delicious. The corn tortillas were hand made - hot and fresh - the real taste of raw corn, not salty corn chip stuff you find at Taco Bell. The beef was full of flavor and diced onions and cilantro were mixed in. They supplied you with a small serving of hot sauce on the side which was not too spicy, but nice enough to give some heat. I also spied some salsa verde in their glass refrigerator.

Although the larger flour tortillas are not hand made, my boyfriend found the burron very good. His only complaint was the lack of "fromage" (again, the whole, "I want more fromage" thing with him), and there was wasn't a lot of chicken. However, he's a beginner with Mexican food and therefore wasn't sure what to expect. In any case, he was happy.

We took chips and guacamole on the side. Chips were unfortunately not hand made, but the guacamole was decent and had big chunks of tomatoes in it. I was a bit disappointed with the portion size though.

Prices ranged from 6.50e-9e and drinks are 1.50e. Be sure to take cash, they don't accept cards.

Although I could have eaten a bit more, I would definitely come back to satisfy my need for good Mexican food in Paris. They are slowly making their way across the Atlantic. Heck, if America doesn't want 'em - send 'em to Paris!!! 

Les Pâtes Vivantes

46 rue de Faubourg Montmatre, 75009

Metro: Peletier

01 45 23 10 21

Just seen Kung Fu Panda and looking for some good noodles? This is definitely the place for you! Having been here several times, it is one of my favorite places to eat, and very convenient (as it is found near my workplace). We had to visit the restaurant more than 3 times before remembering to take pictures of the food before eating it, as we were a bit too enthusiastic once we saw those bowls of steaming hot noodles.

Found just a few meters from metro Peletier on line 7, you'll notice right away that no effort (or money) was spent on interior design, nor exterior for that matter. No worries though, the thing that will catch your eye won't be the fancy modern Chinese decor, feng-shui type furniture, or glittering pendants hanging from the door. You won't even miss it! Once you see those delicious and tantalizing long noodles being made by hand in the window, you'll be good to go!

There is an upstairs and a downstairs seating area, although the majority of the time I find myself upstairs. One of the only disadvantages of this restaurant is the heat. You'll be sweating as you climb those small stairs up to the second floor, looking around for some ventilation and only finding a few small windows at the end with a perimeter barely large enough to let in a slight breeze. But if you don't mind the heat, even with your jacket off, you are in store for some wonderful, fresh, cuisine!

Noodles are the thing and noodles I recommend (aka: try not to take your gluten allergic friends here - it's just not right that they have to choose rice instead). The noodles come hot and fresh, chewy and thick - everything you expect - in these deep bowls, perfect for splashing around in. There are about 2 dozen or so different plates on the menu. I have tried a little from each page and haven't been disappointed yet. They have different stir fries, soups, and traditional meat and sauce mixtures. When they say something is spicy, don't be fooled, it's spicy! And that is another reason that I love Les Pâtes Vivantes! And if you are the daring person such as myself, they have little pots of "piment" on the table to add to the glorious heat.

One bowl of noodles is enough to fill you up - I haven't yet tried their entrees nor desserts. The main dishes range from 9e -14e, and sometimes you have to pay in addition for noodles, so read carefully (but they're worth it!). The service is always quick, although meat dishes will take a bit longer. The only difficulty is tagging  down the servers for water, but on the second floor they leave pitchers of water on a trolley in the middle - they don't seem to be offended if you help yourself.


I definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone who loves Chinese noodles! They have a second restaurant in the 6th, but I have yet to visit it. Don't worry - once I get around to that area, I'm sure they will have gained another loyal fan.

Credit to Freya for the pictures. Thanks!!

Thai Time

7 rue Crozatier, 75012

Metro: Reuilly-Diderot

Thai Time is one of those places you pass by every Saturday when you do your grocery shopping and say to yourself, "hmm...that place looks good. I should try it someday!" Well, this was the case for myself. And finally, the opportunity presented itself to me that I was tired enough not to go make dinner at my house, but to try a restaurant in the neighborhood.

From the outside, it looks like your typical Thai restaurant with golden statues of Thai dancers outside, flowers, and gold hanging everywhere. It is a quaint establishment, with tables outside if the weather is accommodating. I ordered a spicy chicken curry while my boyfriend took the pad thai.

The curry was unsurprisingly non-spicy. It was good, but not amazing.The pad thai was tasty and the shrimp added something original to it. 

For dessert, we took the nems aux bananes. It came with a mango sorbet and a chocolate dipping sauce. Since my boyfriend is not a fan of fried things, he enjoyed this dessert less than myself. I was all for it! The nems were nice and hot, fresh out of the oil, full of mashed bananas, and the chocolate dipping sauce went perfectly with it.

Overall, it was good restaurant experience - we enjoyed both our main courses and our dessert. We would most likely go again to try the rest of the menu, and if we had friends over and were in the area, we would not hesitate to offer it as a dining option.

Sambuja

65, Rue du Faubourg Montmartre 75009 Paris

Metro Notre Dame de Lorette

Sambuja is a Korean restaurant found on the less-popular side of a well- known street. Relatively small in size, the restaurant seemed to have no name on the outside, to be identified only by "Restaurant Coreen." 

We ordered the Bulgogi, as normal, and were presented with 7 little side dishes full of yummy pickled vegetables, and miso soup (which was rather strange for a Korean restaurant. We then realized aferwards that this Korean restaurant were indeed owned by Japanese.)

The Bulgogi was cooked in front of us on a circular grill with onion and bowls of rice on the side. The Bulgogi was "okay," "correct," although a bit expensive (as usual for Korean food). I did not find it extraordinarily flavorful as past Korean BBQ but measured about the same on the scale of all Parisian Korean places I have tried.

The 7 side dishes were refreshing and as always, I enjoyed picking at them before the beef, during the beef, and after!  My favorites were the pickled green beans, turnips, kimchee, and the vermicelli. There was a type of tofu/carrots/bell pepper mix that I have never seen before which was the only plate not up to par. 

Overall, the restaurant was about the same as any other Korean restuarant I have tried in Paris. It was a bit expensive, as I recall about 17e/person for the Bulgogi. We would not recommend this restaurant to our friends nor introduce it to anyone looking for good Korean food. I still have hope that there is better in Paris. 

Chez Lazare

Chez Lazare

18 rue de Satory

Versailles

After seeing all the posters of the Grandes Eaux Musicales de Château de Versailles, we decided to give it a try. So this dinner accompanied our small trip to Versailles, paying 6.10e for a round trip fare on the RER C.


Chez Lazare is a “grill house” restaurant. Their main courses are mostly meat and as you may guess, “grilled.” Just a few minutes from the chateau, and from RER C, Chez Lazare is found in a narrow passage littered with restaurants and stores. It really was quite quaint and you could tell it was a place where people lived – actual grocery stores, residential housing above the shops, and if you continued further, the rest of the residential area of Versailles.

The restaurant is quite tiny, with a second floor, and the staff happily greet you and seat you immediately. There are tables outside as well and both the interior and exterior are attractive eating areas. As all the tables were taken outside, we took an inside seat, just under the staircase. With a redish glow, there was Marvin Gaye’s greatest hits playing, a ‘vache qui rit” poster hanging on the wooden walls, a pasta maker next to us on an old fashion stove, and lights strings around. It looked like rustic cabin, with flare and wit at the same time.

The staff was very friendly and accommodating. There are three/four menus for dinner. We did not see an option to just order a main course, but perhaps they made exceptions since the table next to us had small kids and each ordered a main course separately. You can take an: entrée + dessert, entrée+ plat, plat+ dessert, entrée + plat + dessert. 

My boyfriend and I both took an entree with a plat. He ordered the “camembert roti au miel” for an entrée, while I took the “gaspacho.” For plats, he ordered the “cotelettes d'agneau” and I took the “magret de canard.” Each plat comes with a choice of sides – legumes poelé, frites, salade or pomme au four. I took the “pomme au four” while my boyfriend took the “legumes poelé.” You also get a choice of sauce – béarnaise, poivre, beurre blanc or roquefort. He took the “poivre,” I took the “beurre blanc.”

The gaspacho was great. Very fresh tasting, with real tomatoes pieces, and the basil leaves went perfectly with the acidity of the soup. The camembert roti au miel was very original. The honey really brought something extra to the melted camembert and it was accompanied by a surprisingly large salad. My boyfriend apparently found it a bit unnecessary to have so much salad as it was just an entrée, but he ate it nonetheless. We are definitely going to try camembert roti at home now!

My canard was very good, but grilled duck tastes very different than how I normally have it and it was my first time tasting duck grilled on a barbeque. It gives it a different texture, a bit more tough like steak, but a nice smokey flavor.  The sauce was no biggie, but the pomme au four was very good. The French eat baked potatoes with a crème fraiche mix with chives on it (like our sour cream and chives). It had been ages since I had a baked potato so maybe it tasted oh-so-good just because I haven’t had one in so long. Overall, my plat was satisfactory, although not outstanding.

The cotelettes d’agneau were well cooked and well seasoned. The sauce au poivre was a bit strong though (and even I thought so as well). It tasted very strongly of pepper, due to the poivre vert they used. Normally pepper sauces aren’t as strong, but this one had to be used sparingly with the meat or else it would dominant the natural flavor.

Overall, the food is good, but we found the prices a bit expensive for what it was. Our entrée + plat was 22.50e for each of us. Perhaps it was because we were in Versailles (which is always a bit more pricey) or because the meat they used was of very good quality. It was a nice meal and good environment. If you are in Versailles and  want to go out for a nice dinner with your loved one I would recommend this one, but not for the tourist bypasser who is trying to save some money.

Baan Boran

43 rue Montpensier 75001

Metro: Louvre Rivoli

Baan Boran is a quaint Thai restaurant nestled away from the touristy streets of Paris. Located behind a large historical building, rue Montpensier is littered with small Thai restos (well, at least two).

The ambiance feels classy. Dark painted walls, dim lighting, tinkling fountains, cream colored tablecloths and fancy origami napkins. The service is not as friendly - upon entering the restaurant, we were given stares of amazement (we weren't sure whether it was because they've never seen customers before, or they just didn't know what to do with us). We were seated by the window, given our menus, without any fancy talk (or any talking at all for that matter).

I ordered Pad Thai, under the Thai classics portion, and my bf, who I will call Totoro (because I feel like it) ordered a spicy chicken curry. The pad thai was decent. The plate is well laid out, with a crispy fresh purple flower on the side, and the noodles not greasy, yet a bit dry. I think I expected something more peanuty. Or maybe just more saucy. it was definitely more dry than I expected, but still tasty and satisfying, despite the not-so-big portion. I appreciated the less grease.

Totoro's curry was not spicy, although it was spicy enough for him. The rice came in this small bamboo basket, tall and skinny with a cover on top. It wasn't exactly "handy" and so Totoro ended up just dumping the rice onto his plate. The curry was good, but nothing special.

The highlight of the evening was the bathroom. That probably sounds weird to you, but I was impressed with the real towels provided. Nicely folded, fresh, white...it added class to the already classy atmosphere. But then you wonder if they really are saving tress by doing a load of laundry for white hand towels every night. Go fig.

Price-wise it wasn't too bad. Thai food in Paris is normally expensive, which is astounding to most Americans who find it a cheaper alternative. The pad thai was about 10-11 euros while the curry was 13-14 euros with 2 euros for the rice. We didn't order dessert as they didn't look very tempting. Most of it was fruit based, fresh fruits, and sorbets. It also didn't seem very Thai.

Overall, we probably wouldn't go again specifically for that restaurant. If we happen to be in the area and are hungry and we know we want good food, we would most likely stop by. The same recommendation goes for all of you. If you happen to be in the area, don't want expensive and touristy food, go and try it. It's not poisonous, I wouldn't say it's the best (although it is the first Thai restaurant I have tried), and you'll be happy in the end, although not ecstatic. But I wouldn't recommend you go jump on the metro and invite all your friends for an amazing Thai experience.

L’Etoile du Pandjab

11 rue de Beaugrenelle in the 15th

Metro : Charles Michel

In need of something spicy and hot during the cold June gloom we had, we decided to try out another Indian restaurant. This one was a ways from the Eiffel Tour in the 15th, but overall, quite good. The portions were filling, the presentation satisfying, and the food yummy (although not spicy).

L’Etoile du Pandjab is hidden amongst the residential area of the 15th (or should I say, the residential area that is the 15th). The interior is decorated pinkish redish whitish – heck, the normal colors of the majority of Indian and Pakistanian restos. We were surprisingly greeted by a smiling large Caucasian woman. Take that for being a non-stereotypical Indian restaurant! We think she was married to the man working behind the counter, an older and shall we say, “darker” man. She was quite friendly and very happy to explain all the dishes and strange looking things that were put before us, without patronizing our lack of knowledge of Middle Eastern cuisine.

We ordered an eggplant entrée (sorry, don’t remember the names), which was quite tasty, especially with the normal 3 sauces (a weird fruity sweetish one, a green more spicy one (reminded me of salsa verde), and the last which was a mix of vegetables and spices and was the most spicy. The eggplant was fried and laid on a bed of greens.

I ordered a lamb curry (red) and my significant other took a chicken curry (green I recall- I think it was because of the spinach). My lamb was quite good, however my only complaint was that the lady asked if I wanted it spicy and I said “oui,” and it was not at all spicy. Of course, adding that third sauce to your plate always makes things better, but I still wish it had more kick. Still good though – and the woman was super nice to let us have refills on the rice for free! The chicken curry was mixed with spinach (hence the green) and was very good. It gave a spin on the normal chicken curry. My bf also took a cheese naan – can never fail there.

For dessert, we have no idea what we took. All the better, right? It came in tall glasses, apparently rhum was used, plus sugar, and it looked like large brown pool balls. It tasted like donuts to me. Yup. Fried donuts with raw sugar and rhum. Yum times. They didn’t have much choice of desserts unfortunately, and the other choice was an almond pastry which is not my fav, but this one wasn’t too bad.

It wasn’t too expensive, if I recall, about 20-24 euros for the menu (entrée + plat +dessert). Naan was 5 euros. I would recommend this restaurant to someone who is in the area of the 15th to go and try it, but make sure to ask for extra spicy!!!