Ehr-EEN ZaRA: Le Tournebièvre

There are so many wonderful things to be celebrating this week. I took a huge step forward in my professional career. I am one year older...and hopefully one year wiser. Did I mention that I got married just last Saturday?? Really, just so many things to be thankful for this week.

Last week, the momma, Fab and I went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Paris. It is one of those little gems of a restaurant where the food is indulgent and so delicious. The ingredients are fresh and the menu options rotate for seasonal fare. It is charmingly decorated, and if you sit out on the patio, you have a delightful view of Notre-Dame cathedral. You would think that a restaurant with this caliber of cooking would have an impossible reservation list. Yet it remains mostly obscure to the Parisian foodie palate. But friends, if you are looking for a nice, calm place to take out of town guests or you just want a great steak-frites with an amazing peppercorn sauce, Le Tournebièvre is your place.

Frisée salad with poached egg, garlic croutons, and lardons

No, this place doesn't do crazy, newfangled things. There is no real molecular cooking going on behind the doors. It is simple, French cuisine that packs amazing flavor. And I am all about going back to basics. Escargot, raviolis with artichoke and basil, frisée salad with a poached egg and lardons. The chef does an incredible job with presentation and cooking. He really loves to make delicious food for his guests.

Escargots

I have taken my mom to many a fantastic restaurant here in Paris. The hubby too! Fab always loves taking visiting friends to this restaurant, because it really does embody French traditional cuisine, and it is an excellent rapport qualité-prix. My mom, who went to Astier just a few days before, thought this place was so much better. And Astier has been consistently written about in international press. NYTimes, I think you better head over to this little restau across from Notre-Dame. Cheese plates and all you can eat herring are awesome, but try the magical French fries this guy pushes out, and you'll be screaming for more.