August 9th

Last day in Europe... Def not ready to leave!!!! Anxious to come back, this trip has been inspiring, but having too much fun!

Took today off. Went by the restaurant though and grabbed some family meal with the boys. Picked up my knives and headed for lunch at my fav cheap spot here in Paris. I know thats a lot of food, but i only have one day left! Had some escargot and some wine, it was nice.

Just hung out this afternoon, and got all my things packed up. We are gonna have some drinks tonight after the restaurant closes and i leave early in the morning tomorrow, so I wanna be ready.

Went to a restaurant called Gaya tonight. Cool seafood place that Luc, the owner, set me up a reservation at. Nice place and I got to sit on the terrace out front. These French folks do no like to give up one of their tables, especially a patio table, to one person. But had some good white wine and some very good food. Not amazing, but very good.

Amuse bouche of seaweed salad with squid and razor clam sushi roll with carrot. Also had some really cool "ruffled" home-made crackers and great bread, of course!

First course was a crab cocktail with a horseradish mayonnaise and a salad of squid and sea beans. Sea beans are just little pieces of a special seaweed that look like beans and taste salty like the sea.

Main course was grilled Sole with summer veggies and lemon butter sauce. I liked the sauce a lot, and the fact they grilled the fish. Sole is a very delicate fish, never seen it grilled. Back home on our Mesquite grill, it would've have been amazing!!!!

Waiter talked me into cheese course so I had that next. It was my prob my fav dish of the night, lol! Not sure if it was just that great, or cause I never have a cheese course. Prob both...
It was a local goat cheese served on a watercress purée, with a salad of haricot vert and chives. So freakin good, not too strong and seasoned perfectly.

Last was dessert and coffee. Lemongrass tart served on top of a lemon cake with aloe vera gel, white raisins, and a sweetened olive oil. Little to crazy for me. The tart was great, but the cake was bitter and I though the aloe vera gel was just wierd, ha! Sweetened olive oil was kinda cool though.

Overall, very good meal... But when the cheese course was my fav dish, I've had better dinners in my life:-> All good, always enjoy trying new food and restaurants!

Biggest disappointment of the whole night, I have to tell ya, was when the bill came. I knew this place was going to be expensive, don't mind payin for food. But 8 euros for a shot of espresso?!? That's 10 dollars! I'm sorry, that's just ridiculous, Hahahahahahaha!

Went to the restaurant to have some drinks with Daniel, Gary, and Luc. Right when I showed up, Gary was smoking a cig out front. As we were talking, Daniel filled a bucket of water up, and from the second floor, completely soaked Gary!!!!! We were crying laughing. We sat around and drank wine all night, good times...They have been so good to me! Luc gave me a bottle of Champagne to take home, and Daniel and Gary wrapped up a bunch of things for me to take back. So cool! Gonna miss this place.


Pics

Daniel, Gary, and Luc

My last family meal at Vin Choi Moi... Duck confit and roasted veg baked on puff pastry.

Dinner

August 8th

Came in today a little late. Like I said yesterday, not much to prep. Another great day though!

We broke down some fresh pigeons, and I mean fresh! Head, feet, and all... We just use the breast meat, and use all the rest for a sauce. It's one of the best I've tasted yet! They don't have the space to make stocks here, so Daniel renders down the bones, deglazes with wine, then adds water. Then reduces, adds water again, the repeats again. We typically just use stock back home and reduce once, but I like the time they take with each dish and sauce. Really good!

Made some of the tomato raviolis as well. Fresh pasta with skinned tomatoes cooked down with garlic, shallot, basil, and toasted baguette to thicken. Very simple but delicious.. Think it would be great with some crab or lobster folded in.

And learned a really good technique for scalloped potatoes. They don't put them in water after they are sliced. We typically do this to the potatoes so they don't turn brown, but it also washes off all the potato starch which you need. They press and drain before they bake, and then portion & sear to order. You get a much better product in the end I think. Will play around with this when I get home.

Went with Gary on our break to shop and walk around town today. I had the best Falafel in the world... Well that's what it said on the front of the building!
It's the first one I've ever had, so I can't compare, but it was awesome! Gary told me that this was the #1 place in Paris for this, so I had to try. Fresh pita, with hummus, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, spicy sauce, eggplant, and the best fried croquets ever!!! One of the best vegetarian items ive ever eaten. Very busy place, which I like, means its all fresh. If I knew where the hell this place was, I'd be back tomorrow for sure!!

We bought few bottles of Rosé for after work tonight. We went down to the Eiffel tower lawn to chill and drink cheap. The boys made some Copa sandwiches as well, freakin good! Copa is the house cured pork that they make, sliced super thin, kinda like prosciutto, but better. Copa, butter, and rocket (very similar to arugula, I swear it's the same thing) on fresh baguette. You have no idea how good this was with some wine at the end of a long day. Listening to some music with friends, in front of the Eiffel tower, perfect!

Went to eat Chinese food late night. Think Daniel is a regular here, cause he knew everyone in the place. He ordered a feast! I had Duck soup, and we shared pork ribs, dumplings, fried rice, noodles with shrimp, and some killer egg rolls. They were served with lettuce and mint, so you roll the lettuce and mint around the egg roll and dip in a sweetened fish sauce. Soooo good! Stuffed, gonna sleep good tonight...

Pics

The scalloped potatoes served with rocket salad and filet of beef

Tomato raviolis

Chillin on the lawn at the Eiffel tower with our sandwiches and Rosé

Falafel, amazing!

We had this after dinner at the Chinese restaurant. They said it was Sake, but it was way too strong to be rice wine. Thinkin it was rice liquor, like rocket fuel, wow!

Our feast...

My duck soup... Good, but not as good as Phó Bac back home

Fresh pigeon, lol! All of their poultry comes in like this. Head and feet still on.

Chocolate NBA ball. Gary and I walked thru pretty cool chocolate shop today, they have a lot of shops like this that sell hundreds of different kinds of candies, macaroons, and chocolates

Sriracha, well kinda... Def not the same as the stuff we have back in the US. Too sweet, but they laughed at me when I put this and Sambol (another typical sauce at all asian restaurants, very spicy) in my soup. They don't like spicy stuff here at all.

Egg rolls, really enjoyed this.

Eiffel tower, all lit up. These flashing lights go off every hour, pretty cool. Never saw this earlier in my trip. Took a video, but can't figure out how to upload. I'll ask Steph, and try to post tomorrow...

August 7th

Back to work at Vin Choi Moi today. It is their last week open before a three week vacation. August is def a slow month for Paris. Many of the bistros and cafes are already closed down for the break. Glad I came when I did. It was very slow today for lunch, so the boys have set me up a reservation for Thursday so I can go eat once more before I leave. I am going to work tonight and tomorrow, but with them being closed next week there's not much to do...Still nice to see the new menu items, grab some recipes, and hang with the crew here though.

Actually went to see a movie today on our break, wanted to kill some time down here by the restaurant, rather than all the way back to the hotel. Went to see The Dark Knight... Thought it was good!

Daniel took me for drinks tonight after work. Got my first ride in a scooter here, it's crazy... They drive so fast in between cars, ha! Nice to see the city though, instead of the smelly Metro. And the weather here is perfect. Like 80 during the day, and 60 at night. Actually wore a jacket! Dont think i have ever worn a jacket in the month if August in my life.

Had a blast tonight, we went to see Cypress, the bartender I met a few weeks ago. Lots of drinks, and bunch of beautiful ladies...

Pics

Daniel, Gary, and I takin a break out front

Lunch today, we had braised chicken with roasted veg

Dinner tonight, steak tartar with salad... My favorite, really good

Pan seared Sea Bass, over roasted beets, with a Balsamic apple vin

New dessert, coffee flavored cake with chocolate

Tomato ravioli with chicken broth and olive oil

Risotto with olive, caper, and tomato powder

Gary and Daniel messin around in the kitchen

The langoustine dish with veggies and bisque

Apricot tiramisu

Cured salmon confit with salad of fennel carrot and rocket

August 6th

Another day in the life... My last day to chill, working tomorrow thru Thursday, and I'm back to America on Friday! Kinda excited to come home and share all my experiences, but also wish I was rich so I could continue this journey for awhile longer:->

Laundry wasn't that bad today, but getting change was!!! Bank said no, so I went to three different cafés and ordered a coffee with the largest bill I had. No one will give me change here, lol! All good, clothes are clean, and don't have to worry about laundromats anymore.

Tried to go to Notre Dame again today, stupid line again. So I went back to the Pantheon area to have some lunch and hop on WiFi for awhile. I got steak tartar, and it was awesome. Not all mixed together with too much sauce. They left everything on the side so I could prepare myself, and they actually asked me here if I'd like that, or them to prepare for me. I liked that, nice touch. Waiter agreed with me, that's the way to do it! It was also served with a small salad, and fried potatoes. Def my best tartar of the trip... As im sure you can tell, this is one of my favorites. I'm sure it's a little weird to some of you, but you're all crazy!?!

Went to this other place today that I saw a few weeks ago that has a huge beer selection called La Gueuze. I promised Blake that I would try something other than the all of the normal draft beers they serve here. After I told him what I had had so far, he said, "that's pretty much the Budweiser and Miller of Europe!" so I went and had a Gallia. Waiter told me its a classic French beer, actually from Paris. I know it's a blonde Blake, if you are reading this (sure Chrissy is), but 90% of the French beers here were and they all cost 10-20 euros per so, I stuck with the recommendation. It was really good!

Headed to dinner at Chez Blanchette!!! Found this place on google maps. Wanted to go all out on my last night to eat out, but all the top restaurants here range from 200-400 euros per person, I mean. This one spot I was looking at, the entrees ranged from 160-420 euros each!!!! I want to experience good cuisine, but come on... That's Mikey money:->

This place was really far from my hotel, but wanted to check it out. It was a phenomenal dinning experience. The food was good, but the service from the owner, made it amazing. I arrived and ordered some wine, very nice Bordeaux he recommended. Then I showed him my ID, and he laughed! "Mousier Blanchette!!!". I took his recommendation and had the ravioli and the filet of beef. More on the food later. The wine and the bread were worth the trip! I'm serious... So freakin good. I must learn how they make their baguette in France, so much better than bck home.

They were slow, only two other tables total, so after he delivered each course, and tended to the other tables, he came to sit with me and talk. He used to work in Orlando for, "Mickey Mouse," lol! He even had his Disney diploma on the wall inside behind the bar. We talked about life in the states, and the economies in Europe.

And I got a huge history lesson. He told me all about how France won WWI and how they were so lucky to have the allies (USA, Canada, and England) help them in WWII. Really cool to hear his perspective, and I'm sure most French people, on these issues. He told me about about how after Hitler knew the war was over, he called a general he had stationed in Paris, and told him to plant bombs all over the city. Well this guy disobeyed and that's a big reason why Paris is still one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and why he doesn't speak German!

He told me about why Spain is doing so bad right now... I had no idea Franco was in power til 1976!!!! That's crazy! About how you would go to jail if a you kissed a woman on the street, while he was in power. And so many other things. Basically, Franco is to Spain, as Hitler was to Germany. He referred to it as living "pre-historic," and then all the sudden, Franco dies, and Boom, they start livin like the rest of the world. Grew way too fast, and I'm sure a lot of other reasons, but they are in a bad place right now. Unemployment is around 30-40 %!!!!!!

After dinner, I went inside to the bar, and he poured me some more wine on the house. We drank and smoked cigs til almost midnight, the last table and the chef left about 10. This guy Jean made my night! It was a pleasure dining at his restaurant. I don't go to dinner that often by myself, but I'm certain that not that many owners would take the time to sit down and talk with their guests like this. Who says all service is bad in France?!?

Made the last train back to my spot! I was literally all the way on the furthest Metro station on the south side of the city, and my hotel is two shy of the furthest north. That would've been a pricey cab, or an expensive bar tab until 5am when the Metro opens up again, lol!

What a great last meal:-). I still have a few days left, but glad I chose this place as my last spot to eat out...

Pics

Random shot off one of the metro stations

Cool little church down my Pantheon

La Gueuze, beer spot

First course at dinner, cheese ravioli in cream sauce with Parmesan and chives

Wine he chose for me. I like how they will sell you a 1/4,1/2,3/4, or a full bottle too!

The wolf and the goat. I'll explain... So theres an old story about this here. The was a goat farmer who's herd would always escape and go up the mountain because they thought the grass was better. Well they wolf lived on the mountain and would always eat them when they went up there. Well his last goat was named, Blanchette. So the farmer put him on a leash, took extra good care of him, but finally he escaped and went up the mountain. Well he got eaten of course, and so...this is kinda how they explain, "The grass is always greener on the other side." Not sure if I explained that well enough, it sounded a lot better when he said it, even with his broken English!

So theres this bridge I walked across with tons of locks on it, they even sell the locks at the little tourist shops. I bought a lock for the trip, but haven't used it yet, so I marked it Tex 2012 and put it on. Maybe one day I'll be back to see if it's still there?!?

The restaurant from inside

My new friend Jean

Another pic of the goat and the wolf. I you look at what's on their plate, the wolf is eating the veg, and the goat is eating the meat in both pics. There's another story about that, but it was hard for me to understand. If ya really wanna know email me and I'll try to explain,lol!

My amazing stark tartar for lunch

Chez Blanchette

My French beer

Another random pic off the metro

They have these Perrier bushes everywhere, kinda cool

Dinner, filet with pepper sauce. Sauce was killer, just like the one Ma had at restaurant with the Canadians. And he told me here in Europe, or Paris at least, they don't do Med Rare or Med Well. They have Blue(cold in center) Rare, Medium, and Well done. Basically the same, but still, interesting...