When I arrived in Paris on Tuesday, my friends from the U.S. and a friend of ours who lives in Paris met me at the Gare d'Austerlitz. We walked over the bridge to the Gare de Lyon, on the other side of the Seine, where I was planning to meet CHM a couple of hours later. He was coming back to Paris by train after a trip down south to visit family.
Anyway, I had decided to have lunch with my friends at a big brasserie across the street from the Gare de Lyon. It's called L'Européen and its specialty is seafood — fruits de mer. A brasserie is a big café/restaurant that serves a wide range of standard French dishes.
Claude, the woman who lives in Paris, and I decided to have oysters as our first course at lunch. They were served raw on the half-shell, with lemon and a shallot vinegar sauce that we could use to season them. The oysters were slightly sweet — I mean naturally sweet — and also very cold and salty. Delicious, in other words.
I'm sorry for the blurry picture above, but blur happens.... As my main course, I had what is called confit de canard. That's a duck leg and thigh section that is slow cooked in duck fat and then browned in a hot oven. It's usually served with sauteed potatoes, as this one was — they're underneath.
My friend Lewis ordered noix de coquilles St-Jacques — scallops — with green vegetables as his main course. I almost regretted that I hadn't ordered that, but the duck was very good. We finished the meal with a nice cup of espresso coffee.
Last time we were in that area we dined at the Montreux Jazz Café in Gare de Lyon itself. That was after we needed a good sit down after seeing the prices for le Train Bleu. Anyway, the MJC was very good. It was slightly disconcerting having the waiter come up every 10 minutes or so to check on us -- very un-French, but it dawned on me it's because they guarantee to get you fed and out in 30 minutes if you need it.
ReplyDeleteL'Européen had a 24.50 € menu that was either entrée + plat or plat + dessert. We enjoyed it. The service was efficient and friendly, and all the servers seemed to speak English and French.
DeleteWe are basically budget travellers, but managed to eat at le Train Bleu in 1984 - only because the exchange rate was 10 francs to one US Dollar. We then took the overnight train itself to St. Raphael on our way to St. Tropez. It was a wonderful trip. The exchange rate also enabled us to stay at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, which we couldn't dream of doing today, lol.
DeleteMy food photos are always blurred. E says my hands shake because I'm so excited to be that close to my next meal..
ReplyDeleteClaude--I used to read her blog. I think she stopped blogging, but if she still blogs publicly, could you post a link?
my favorite food in the world.....that confit.....less than a month and I'll be eating it again!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow the lunch is great
ReplyDeleteAnd Lewis had a large dish of ice cream with chocolate sauce lol! Carolyn, Claude no longer blogs- that's a shame, non? I'm glad you posted this photo of L'European, Ken because I didn't get one. The inside of this restaurant was lovely and the price was a bargain and an oyster lover's delight. This day was great and you had a good plan for it.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh! I've missed a few posts :) Happy to find Paris, Evelyn, and Lewis (and Claude! Haven't heard from Claude in ages!) -- and food-- in this post :)
ReplyDeleteNice to hear that Claude was with you. I miss her blog.
ReplyDelete