Digging in Paris

In many ways, London and Paris both remind me of NYC. Giant, multicultural metropolitan cities with rivers running through them, sizable and well connected subway systems, traffic, and all the other plights and delights one finds in a big city. And in many ways you can find shining examples of a variety of cuisine in all three cities. 

But I must admit, when it comes to pastries and desserts, Paris without a doubt reigns supreme.

Seeking a more relaxed pace after lots of sightseeing, I started the day at Blé Sucré, a wonderful little patisserie with some of the best croissants in the city. I went in, ordered a cappuccino and butter croissant in French, and sat at a table out front. When my order came, I received a pain au chocolat instead of a butter croissant, but found that to be delicious. You could see the layers of pastry created from the butter laminating process, and the top layer was a dark, carmelized piece of pastry that was perfectly crisp like a piece of skin on a lechon.

My day properly started, I walked over to À la Biche au Bois for lunch. A classic bistro, I had a solid steak au poivre with frites, and a decent glass of bourdeaux. 

Taking the advice of the bartenders at Fréquence, I decided to do some record digging at a couple spots. I always enjoy digging for records, especially internationally. It’s a relaxing, low impact activity, and I always find something I was looking for, or didn’t know that I needed. 

I checked out a small store called Heart Beat Vinyl, which had a really nice, pretty well organized selection of records. Lots of soul, funk, jazz, and Japanese imports, as well as a ton of house and French classics. As I was digging around I set aside a few records, and listened to a few I was interested in. As I was about to put some of my selections back in the stacks, the owner of the shop said something to me in French that I didn't understand. Then he asked if I spoke English and I said yes, and he explained that he always puts the records back in their place, so I could just leave them off to the side.

I asked him if he happened to have any Daft Punk records because buying a Daft Punk record in Paris just seemed like a no brainer experience. He told me he had a few things from them, but they were mostly rare releases, or promo/white label copies. He showed me one that was a special release and he said “Ooh la la.”

“Is the price for that record also ‘ooh la la’?” I asked.

“More than ooh la la!” he said.

I bought a couple of interesting records, one from an artist that I shazamed at the vinyl bar the other night, Alphonse Mouzon, and a cool Japanese R&B covers album from the 80s. 

My next stop was A-1 Record Shop, which is the Paris outlet of the NYC shop of the same name. They honestly had a really great selection as well. I found some gems like the Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo Soundtrack and the Beat Street Soundtrack.

That evening I had a lovely dinner at Brasserie Les Petits Carreaux. The French onion soup to start was elegant, light, and flavorful. For my main course, the canard confit, aka duck leg confit. Beautiful, rich, dark and juicy duck meat with that crispy skin and some nicely roasted potatoes underneath, a french classic that should never go away. For dessert, I had a glass of armagnac and a delicious pistachio creme brulee that I’ll never forget.

I stopped by a cognac focused bar called Chez Alfred & Leon for a drink, something light but tasty. I left and started to walk towards the subway station, but paused I passed the bar next to Alfred & Leon. The name on the plaque next to the door said “Experimental Cocktail Club”. I had drinks at a place with the same name when I was in Venice the week before, so I popped in to check it out. Turns out the Paris location is the original and the Venice spot is their sister property. I had one last cocktail there before heading back to my hotel to call it a night.

I had a train to Normandie to catch in the morning.