Le Clou de Paris, 1 Rue Danton, Paris 75006 [Info]
Hungry after the Louvre and walking toward Notre Dame, I stumbled into the Latin Quarter hungry, thirsty, and desperate for fast seating and cheap eats (not desperate enough for fast food, however). I went into a French-speaking-only Bristrot and said, “Pour une, s’il vous plait,” and “Je voudrais steak au poivre et frites, et crème brûlée, et une Orangina.”
For only €17, I get a plat du jour and a dessert, so that wasn’t too bad. I didn’t like the fact I had to pay for water, so I ordered Orangina, and Steak au Poivre et Pomme Frites, aka Pepper Steak with fries. The steak au poivre was a bit on the chewy end for medium, and I didn’t knew what Poivre is until I ordered it (I hate black peppers), and the bread was a bit chewy. So the lunch was only tolerable (but hunger is hunger).
The crème brûlée was very delicious. It made me so happy after the mediocre lunch. I finished the whole thing, and asked, “L’addition, s’il vous plait,” with a “Merci, au revoir!” leaving. French language isn’t too bad after all.
Le Relais du Louvre, 3 Rue du Louvre, Paris 75001
Wandering around in foreign land can make a person thirsty. It was rainy and I couldn’t find an HSBC, even though I saw plenty the day before. I decided to go to this English-speaking friendly cafe with the goal of tasting crêpes in Paris. First off, I survived on Orangina (which I have developed a nice addiction to it after I came back to New York). Secondly, this cafe had the best French baguettes I’ve tasted out of all the restaurants I’ve been to (bakeries not included).
That being said, the first thing I ordered was the Crêpe Mixt, which was a Ham and Cheese crêpe. Not bad, but the crêpe actually tasted like Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese crêpe) which kinda gave me cravings to this day. Too bad Flushing Viet restaurants don’t seem to carry this dish.
For dessert, I had the Crêpe Sucré (yes, I’m overdoing it, but it was going to be the only and last time I’d eat crêpes in Paris). It… wasn’t much. Maybe I had high expectations and it didn’t meet my standards. Maybe because I had a crêpe mixt already. It was good, but it wasn’t phenomenal. At least I fulfilled an aspiration.
