Paris on a culinary student's budget

Hi all -
Next month I am doing a crazy, wonderful thing. I'm going to be moving to Paris to attend cooking school until Christmas at the Ecole Ritz Escoffier. This is the first step in a big life change for me.

While I'm lucky enough to be in France, I plan to make good use of my time and eat like there's no tomorrow. But my budget will be limited.

With that in mind, I'm wondering whether anybody has suggestions for great places they've discovered in Paris that won't break the bank. I know I should be more specific and provide a $ amount, but I don't want to rule out anything that might be a good splurge.

Thanks!

L'AS Du Falafel -The true Falafel. Awesome, best in the world in my mind with Hot Sauce and Eggplant. MMMM. The falafel balls are made to order and the homemade lemonade is maybe the best in Paris.

4th Arrondissement

Chez Guichi- decor is like truckstop diner, but great North African cuisine, and more importantly Foie Gras en Brochette that is awesome and cheap. They also have this awesome relish tray served with every meal that includes a conglomeration of peppers.

18th Arrondissement

L'Affriole

A little midscale/upscale, but the freshness at this place was memorable. I still remember the spicy radishes served with Fleur de Sel as an amuse and the juicy nectarines served as mignardise. Everything in between was a solid modern influence french gourmet. More like Spring in Bucktown in its purity, but without the spiritual essences take on stuff.

Can't remember the Arrondissement

Affriole might be out of your budget, but the other two definitely in your range.

and of course the ever present university cafeterias...

as a culinary student, wouldn't you just whip up whatever's fashionable that day for dinner?

I gave my modest-priced suggestion, La Baracane, in this thread.

The other thing besides French food to try of course is Algerian/Moroccan/middle eastern. I had very good food at a place called L'Irakienne several years back.

Mike G wrote:I gave my modest-priced suggestion, La Baracane, in this thread.

Strongly second both of Mike G's suggestions: L'AS Du Falafel and La Baracane.

TonyC wrote:and of course the ever present university cafeterias...

as a culinary student, wouldn't you just whip up whatever's fashionable that day for dinner?

certainly i hope to cook many meals in my tiny parisian kitchen ...but i bet there will be plenty of days when my feet are swollen and a nice falafel made by someone other than me will be quite a treat!

L'AS Du Falafel -The true Falafel. Awesome, best in the world in my mind with Hot Sauce and Eggplant. MMMM. The falafel balls are made to order and the homemade lemonade is maybe the best in Paris.

4th Arrondissement

this place is great! it was in our let's go book, i believe, with a recommendation from lenny kravitz as the best in the world. i'm very picky about eggplant & loved it in the falafel. the hot sauce also (i believe) is made fresh, so it added even more to the memory. i seriously was having a dream about this place recently! visited paris/london/amsterdam in march.

lots of fun shopping around the falafel joint, too. we loved the 4th Arrondissement.

also, right nearby is some awesome pain au chocolate. stop in for fresh ones & you won't be disappointed.

miss ellen

Wow, I went to L'AS Du Falafel on the same endorsement from Lenny Kravitz almost 10 years ago. Stopped in again a few years ago with my then soon to be wife, definitely recommended. Good to know somethings dont change.

My favorite restaurant in Paris, and one of my favorite bistros in France, is the bistro Chez Denise on the Rue Prouvaires in the Les Halles area. It's not terrifically cheap, as in student-budget cheap, but it's quite reasonable, the food is wonderful and COPIOUS, and the house wine is good and cheap. You'll sit chock-a-block with other Parisians at tiny, crowded tables, and will make friends. I have never gone there and not gotten into a conversation with my neighbors. It's wonderful. Reserve several days in advance--it's popular with the locals.

For some reason the restaurant also has another name: La Tour Monthlhery.

Chez Denise is called Chez Denise because it's "at the house of Denise" - the correct name's A la Tour de Montlhery. Denise BTW is still kicking around. And yes, I love that place too. Open 24 hours during the week - closed weekends. Butchers' breakfast around 7AM.

L'As is good - I like Chez Hanna up the street too.

For pedigreed cheap eats, start with a couple of bakery cafes.

La Cuisine du Bar - Poilane's cafe next door - on Cherche-Midi. Get the "menu" for 12 euros or so - salad, sandwich, water or wine, and coffee. Go to the bakery afterwards for free punitions - "punishments" - on the counter and an apple tartlet for dessert - and bread.

Maison Kayser - the organic bakery on rue Monge has a tiny counter inside and tables outside weather permitting. Get the sandwiches on a stick - an assortment of 4 or 5 on a skewer. Go to the original bakery a few doors down for the seasonal tart - fig and pistachio is my favourite.

And there's Le Comptoir - opened by Yves Camdeborde former chef/owner of La Regalade. He's the godfather of the Parisian gastro-bistro movement. He's actually going to be cooking in Milwaukee in early August! At Lake Bistro - with his friend and fellow gastro-bistro chef/owner Thierry Breton of Chez Michel - another place you should try.

Good luck at the Ritz. Are you going to be allowed to bring the food you make home?

I just got back yesterday from two weeks in Paris, so my info will be relatively up to date. We stayed in a flat in the unfashionable but very real 10th, where we've stayed before. Since it's only a football field length from one of Paris' covered markets (Marché St. Martin), I do a lot of cooking--the ingredients are so fabuluous, why eat out??

BUT: that having been said, here are a couple of recommendations for stuff the Weary Student might find useful in the Sombody-else's-cooking dept.

First off, prices are numbingly high, esp. given the 120% valuation of the euro to the $. Secondly, they are pretty standard: a noon menu (3 courses) in a typical bistro will inevitably run you 12-13 euro, essentially everywhere in town. Quality varies, of course, even if price doesn't.

The exceptions are the 'Turkish'/Greek/other Middle Eastern holes in the wall. In these, 4 euro will get you a decent donor and frites. I suspect that there's a central plant making the gyros--they all taste pretty much the same. The difference is the sauce and the veggies--you can tell freshness with a glance.

Passage Brady (10th, 75 meters south of the parallel r. Ch. d'Eau) has beaucoup restaurants from the sub-continent, some of which have a 5 euro lunch menu. Food's ok to ok+. There's also a decent Indian grocery.

Do NOT ever eat in an Asian traiteur: although everything looks just great, it all tastes like bland tv dinner Chinese. Even the hot sauce isn't so hot.

Vietnamese is an entirely different story. One of the city's best Vietnamese groceries plus restaurant is on r. Lagrange just barely north of Blvd. St. Germain in the 5th (metro Maubert). Their pho is delicate and very tasty for 8 euro.

Not far away is a slightly splurgy place, the Petite Pontoise, which is classic family-run bistro. Very much worth it. On the r. Pontoise, natch.

On the south end of Pl. Republic is a chain restaurant Moules + Frites, which is quite decent; serves the named dish of very fresh moules and some very tasty frites.

But I'd bet you'll end up eating a lot of your own cooking--with the wonders available in any decent market, one just can't resist.

BTW, the stretch of stores just south of the Maubert metro stop comprises pretty near everything you'd ever conceive of desiring in cheese, meat, fish, and veggies. One of the best shopping areas in tout Paris.

Hey, have a great time, and check in from time-to-time to tell us how much fun you're having!

Geo

LKL Chu wrote:Good luck at the Ritz. Are you going to be allowed to bring the food you make home?

I have no idea! Cooking school doggy bags? I certainly wouldn't mind...

Thanks to everyone for these suggestions. I will certainly try out as many of these places as I can. Plus I plan to do some extensive macaroon sampling as well...

I'll be tracking my experiences on my site if anybody's interested in reading yet another culinary school blog.

I'll be tracking my experiences on my site if anybody's interested in reading yet another culinary school blog.

Hi,

One of my favorite questions to restaurant workers, how do you manage to overcome unhappy, tired feet? I don't work in the food industry, though I do occasionally do some heavy cooking. My biggest efforts occur when my big eyes buy more fruits and vegetables than I can preserve in a weekend. Sometimes I am still working on Monday and Tuesday evening, to prepare everything bought so quick and easy Saturday morning. My feet, body and soul are barely recovered by the following weekend when I begin the process again.

Anyway I look forward to reading your impression of the restaurant recommendations offered by the community when you update this thread during your adventure.

Willing to live vicariously through your experiences as long as my feet don't tire!

Regards,

Cathy 2, have I got *something* for you! A couple of weeks ago I noticed that all my nursing students suddenly showed up wearing these weird rubberoid plastic shoes. 'What in the world are those?' I asked. "Crocs" they said--" brand new best working-on-your-feet shoes in the universe." My knees are shot (football, of course) and lecturing drives me into ibuprofen land. Went out that afternoon, bought a pair of Crocs. After one class lecture I realized that you'd have to kill me to get my Crocs away from me. They are *that* good--day before yesterday I walked nearly two miles, first time in 5 yrs.

They're not available yet in Europe, so get 'em here. $30. Best $30 you'll ever ever spend.

Geo

Geo,

Thanks! I think both Cindy and I will benefit from your advice.

I had an accident 20 years ago, which involved my left knee. I don't have any problems, though I am quite guarded about it. I go to a pool aerobics class to get my heart level up and minimize any stress on my knees.

I've read somewhere Oprah has problems with her knees from the heavy exercise she does to keep her weight down. I want to avoid knee issues if I possibly can.

Thanks again for the information. I will keep my eye out for those Crocs.

Regards,

Well DUH! I shoulda thought about this at the time. Go to:

http://www.crocs.com/consumer/product_details/beach/


Female persons get lots of color choices; males persons get black. Shade of Henry Ford!!

g

not to get toooo off-topic here, but i just got back from denver this past weekend, and crocs have officially taken over the city. EVERYBODY was wearing them! they're all over the place!

I have a trusty pair of Earth shoes (http://www.earth.us/Fall2005shoedetail. ... als&ID=800) that got me through many long hours of cooking-related retail work, and they will definitely be accompanying me to France. So far I haven't gone the Dansko route ... and I have no idea if they wear clogs in France. Guess I'll find out!

Here are recommendations for two of the best bakeries in Paris, especially for baguettes:

Au Levain du Marais, 32, rue de Turenne (angle rue du Foin), 3ème. Métro Chemin Vert or Saint-Paul.

Gosselin, 125 rue Saint-Honoré, 1er, Métro Louvre-Rivoli.

And a Vietnamese restaurant:
Dong Huong, 14 rue Louis-Bonnet, 11ème, Métro Belleville.

A classic bistro (go late)
Le Square Trousseau, 1, rue Antoine-Vollon, 12ème, Métro Ledru-Rollin

A place with hearty country food:
Chez Paul, 22, rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, 13ème, Métro Corvisart or Place d'Italie.

Geo wrote: I realized that you'd have to kill me to get my Crocs away from me. They are *that* good--

Geo,

I bought a pair at Alamo Shoes yesterday, very comfortable. I don't see me wearing them out of the house often, all they had in my size was bright red, but I'm finally retiring my beat to death, walked over, garage/backyard/BBQ shoes. My wife thanks you.

Enjoy,
Gary

Alamo Shoes
5321 N Clark
Chicago, IL
773-784-8936

G Wiv wrote:I bought a pair at Alamo Shoes yesterday, very comfortable. I don't see me wearing them out of the house often, all they had in my size was bright red

If the accessories match, you'll be fine.

G Wiv--

Glad to be of assistance! Mine are not red, but a formal black. Hence, I'll be wearing them in a couple of hours when I give a talk here at the University of Queensland. Yesssss! I'm in Oz, where the seafood is Absolutely Amazing!

Paris last week, Oz this week. Man, am I getting the Good Eats, or what.

Me 'n my crocs...

I'll report back on my culinary adventures...

Geo