A Thanksgiving Meal in Paris

Day 13 in Paris.

13th day of a strange nomadic life in Paris, waiting, waiting, and still waiting to move into the apartment. It's really quite a challenge to settle in when you continue to live out of suitcases, having to pack up your things every morning before heading to school since you're never certain when you have to check out of the hotel and move into another place. The program is very intensive, I'm only here for a short time but the situation with my accommodation makes it seem that it's been forever. I missed the great view from the apartment I had rented in summer

But getting to witness the hustle and bustle of the city and waking up to the delicious aroma of freshly baked French breads every morning is not a bad thing either. I'm thankful.

I don't get to prepare my



own food in the kitchen, and had to withdraw from a sponsored Thanksgiving extravaganza that was suppose to take place this week. However, looking at the brighter side, I get to eat out daily. I'm thankful.

I've always walked past its simple, unassuming façade without much notice. It was until I saw Bourdain's feature of Je Thé Me on his 100th Episode of No Reservations that I realized that one of the best French bistro in Paris is literally steps away from my school. So when a new foodie friend from our pastry student group made reservation for dinner at Je Thé Me, I knew I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity.

By the way, I absolutely love the the current group of students I'm working with; those who take intensive courses are mostly adults who take time off their real jobs to continue the pastry course, and are, in general, pursuing the culinary / pastry path more seriously than say, a college student on a summer break in Paris. These students are quite exposed to the various techniques of pastry-making, are familiar with the trends in French pastries - not all of them; I was pleasantly surprised when one asked who/what Pierre Hermé is - but nonetheless, most of them know what kouign ammans are. Most importantly, they are serious foodies who keep up with restaurant reviews and who would not hesitate to spend their budget on great French food. I don't have to eat alone now. I am really thankful!

The seven of us made our way to this little bistro nestled at the corner of Rue d'Alleray and Rue Francois Villon on a cold rainy evening. The very amicable owner, who introduced himself as Jacky greeted us and took us to our table upstairs, passing through their kitchen along the way. I am always amazed at the size of restaurant kitchens in Paris and how such great food can be churned out from these tiny and cramped spaces. 

On-the-house amusé bouche: cream of carrots

Here's what we ordered and shared for entrée (starters): House Special Foie Gras

Soup of the Day: Pumpkin

Mushroom Fricassee:

and a sauteed aubergines and tomato dish that disappeared before I could take a snapshot.

My main dish was the magret au canard - roasted duck breast with honey and served on a bed of creamy potato gratin. 

The duck was tender and flavorful, especially when paired with a reduction of honey and some kind of fruit sauce - I want to say apricot, I'm not sure but it was satisfyingly delicious.  I hardly order duck when we eat out back home due to countless bad experiences, but they just know how to cook duck right in France and I can't seem to have enough of it whenever I'm in Paris.

This place is very well-known for its specialty offal dishes - Bourdain featured their tripe and this dish: rognon et ris de veau, i.e kidney and sweetbreads in his show, so I was eager to get a taste of my friend, Tracy's main dish. The kidney was slightly chewy and rubbery but the sweetbreads were simply out of this world. Fork-tender, soft and seasoned just right. I'm not much into offals but was impressed with how well this dish was prepared.

Scallops - another main dish my friend, Neha ordered that evening

We asked Jacky to pick a bottle of white wine for us to share. 

My favorite - the Sancerre except we all got a surprise when we were presented with the bill. Sure, it was delightfully crisp and dry, a fine accompaniment to our meal but I've had better Sancerres that were cheaper than the Euro 64 a bottle price. Nonetheless, it was a great meal all in all and I guess you can't put a price on this

Jacky entertained us the entire evening with his melodic stylings of songs from yesteryears; he would whistle or sing tune after tune and asked us to guess the titles and singers. He would be absolutely thrilled when we got it right, prancing about and showing off  his dance moves - not quite Fred Estaire - but simply humorous. It was great entertainment.

We ordered couple types of desserts to share. I really like this - apricots and berries topped with a light crumble and kaffir-lime ice cream. Divine pairing!

I wasn't too crazy about the tiramisu though

Although I did not get to celebrate Thanksgiving with family, there wasn't any turkey, stuffings or pumpkin pies nor an officially-planned Thanksgiving meal  here in Paris, I'm still thankful for the roof over my head (make that roofs since I've been moving from one place to another), the food on the table, the family and friends in my life and the opportunity to do what I'm doing now. I'm thankful for that abundant life that I'm living! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.