[LauraB]

What a great site! Being quite the francophile and a foodie, I can't believe I only found this site now, with only two weeks left of my long stay in Paris. Well... better late than never!

I'll be here in Paris until the 15th of May. A number of my friends have either returned to the US (temporarily or permanently) or will be on holiday for the remainder of my stay. I'll dine solo, but it would be nice to mix it up now and again. If any fellow CnZers would like to meet up for dinner let me know. I'm staying in the Marais. There's a ton of interesting restaurants in the area, or I'd be happy to come to your neighborhood.
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Thanks!
Laura

[Le Flaneur]

sadly, laura, I won't be arriving until the end of May (or later), but when I do I'll be in the same situation: footloose in Paris and dining alone. So if you run into any great little spots for the solo diner while you're there, feel free to mention them!

- Jim

[Wine and Figs]

I would LOVE to take you up on your dinner invitation, but, alas, I am in California at the moment. Sadly, I HAVE (!) to force myself to eat at French Laundry tonight. (I must confess - I've been looking forward to this evening for ages.) I would like to make a suggestion, though.

I have a tradition of going on a rather snazzy bar crawl the last night that I'm in Paris. I've done it so many times, that the wait staff recognizes me now, and often just brings me my drink. I start with a cocktail at the Bar Ritz, Ritz Hotel, Place Vendome. Then, depending on my stamina, I'm off to the Maurice, the Bristol, the Plaza Athene and the George V. After that, sufficiently sodden with vodka, I eat at one of the cheapest places in town - L'Entrecote. There is enough butter in their "mysterious" sauce, and enough carbs in their pommes frites to soak up all that extra alcohol. For me, this last-night ritual is a welcome break from the ritual race to the many temples of haute cusine in the City of Lights.

For those of you that may be offended by my low-brow dining recommendation, I sincerely apologize.

Whatever you do, have a blast.

[LauraB]

Thanks for your thoughts! I have a couple of ideas of mixing things up lined up for this week, and I'll let you know how they pan out.

Wine and Figs: I'm so jealous of your French Laundry reservation! You'll have to tell us if it lived up to expectations! I've made it to Chez Panisse, but haven't yet made it to French Laundry. I also attempted a reservation at French Laundry's sister restaurant Per Se in NYC, but my trip wasn't nearly planned far in advance enough to arrange it.

For those of you in Paris-- Happy May Day!
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Thanks!
Laura

[madameshawshank]

Wine and Figs....recommend away! loved the read...

the energy and joie de vivre that come through this forum should be bottled, and given to those who have forgotten what joie de vivre is...

as for the laundry: "Keller fell into the chef thing. A high school grad with some limited carpentry skills and not much of a plan, he was washing dishes at one of the restaurants his mother owned in South Florida. When the chef quit, she moved him to the stoves, where he mostly made burgers and sandwiches. At first, he had little interest in cooking and even fewer skills." ..this from an article in Time...

an example of ya simply don't know what's around that little old corner of life!...again Wine 'n Figs..keep recommending
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[casoncrant]

Ahh, the Marais! My wife and I were in Paris in September and stayed there on Rue Commines. Great location with the ability to walk to everything! Just over on Ile de la Cite, we stumbled on a great little restaurant called Le Rose de France. The food was great, service great -- we felt very immersed in everyday Paris. It semed like this hidden little gem tucked away...
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"Everyday is a school day."

[LauraB]

OK, didn't work out to meet any CnZers in person, but I will share my tips for mixing things up when doing a lot of solo dining.

I will dine solo (a book or newspaper helps).

I also will go on a small group tour. The tours are informative, fun, and often social, which can break up a solo traveler's day on it's own. And on occasion I'll invite or be invited for lunch/coffee/dinner with some fellow tour attendees after the tour. It doesn't always pan out. But often you'll find like-minded people in the same situation. And occasionally it works out great and you both/all want to meet up again sometime during your respective trips.

For great tours in Paris:
* My current favorite is a company called Paris Walks. Great knowledgeable tours at cheap 10 Euro a person prices.
(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/)
* Another good one which does easy cycling tours is "Paris a Velo, c'est sympa". (http://www.parisvelosympa.com/).
* Lastly, a bit expensive, but highly knowledgeable and essentially private (at no more than 4 people per group) art tours is Paris Muse.
(http://www.parismuse.com)

A new mix-it-up technique I'm trying this week is signing up for a cooking class during the dinner timeframe. In class we learn and cook dinner together and then, I believe, eat family style. It's later this week so I haven't tried it yet, but I got it from another recommendation on this site. They have classes both during the day and the evenings.
L'Atelier des Chefs (http://www.atelierdeschefs.com/).

[aprilgraves]

Thanks for the info Laura, I'll be checking out those links.

I'm traveling to France May 29th - June 13th. I land in Paris May 20th at about 7 am. Anyone up for breakfast? I have to be in Avignon by about 2pm, but the train is only a few hours. I really would rather have a monday morning breakfast in Paris than wait around at the train station.

I'm kind of part excited, part skeptical about the first week of my trip. I booked a cooking "tour" of sorts through the cooking school here in seattle where I've been taking classes the last couple years. I love these people, but the tour guide mentioned something about picking the chef in Avignon because "his english is excellent!". um, I kind of wanted a chef to be chosen because his (or her) cooking was excellent!.

Ok enough of a rant. After a week in avignon I'll be back in Paris for a few days. Looks like the afternoon of June 6 to the morning of thursday the 9th. I'd love to meet people over food, beverages, or what have you.

Oh! As a side note I'll be in London the afternoon of june 9 and totally free for a couple of days. I'd planned a trip to france, but I stumbled on this little company that teaches shoe making! uh, so cool.

[malavika]

I dont know about dinner... but Id sure love to join for a breakfast date in Paris... I ADORE croissants, and cafe au lait, and those cute lil jam and preserves thingys they serve with it.... vive le Paris! Though this is not gonna happen sitting 5000 odd miles away, daydreaming and drooling in India....