Paris

The French get a bad rap.

I sincerely believe they do. I have always likened Parisians to New Yorkers or Philadelphians, they are proud, opinionated and somewhat impatient. You may dislike their "atti-tood" or politics. I just don't pay attention to any of that. My wife and I have traveled to France five times in the past 30 years and have never encountered any rude behavior.

We go to France and will continue to travel there, for the beauty of the countryside, the hustle-bustle of the city, the rich history, the art, the people and of course, the food. If I want to learn about a culture, I find where the locals eat and try the regional cuisine. I'm not interested in chain restaurants or some hoity-toity, tortured, teased, molecular gastro-tower science project gone awry.

I want the "classic" stuff like; snails, beef bourguignon, Pot au feu, cassoulet, chicken coq au vin, duck confit, foie gras, entrecôte de boeuf, hanger steak and pomme frites and bread, yep, screw the low carb diet, I'm eating the bread.

Note Dame Before the Fire

Dining in Paris

Hands down the best traditionally French meal we had in Paris was at…

Atlas

11 RUE DE BUCI, 75006 PARIS

The most fun I have when we travel is picking out the restaurant when we are hungry, I typically don't do a lot of research before we get to our destination and just wing it when we get there. In my humble opinion (I have found) It's just more fun that way. In the past 30 years, we have eaten in some great restaurants. In this instance it was Atlas.

After looking over a few menus at different locations, we decided on Atlas. We chose a table outside and looked over our choices. We started with a carafe of local red wine and ordered our food. Our waiter was professional, efficient and friendly.

My wife started with the colossal snails in garlic butter and I had braised leeks with a Dijon vinaigrette, both of these dishes were right in my wheelhouse, simple, not fussed with and delicious.

The snails were earthy, sweet (kinda like steamed clams) and full of flavor, bathed in garlic, butter and parsley, just perfect for dipping that great french bread in. My leeks were tender and the dressing had a hint of garlic and cracked black pepper, it was a great start.

Then the real fireworks began; the skies had been threatening all morning and right as our entrees arrived, it began to pour... luckily for us, we were under the canopy.

Jane had the pan roasted salmon with sorrel in a beurre blanc and I had the entrecote de boeuf with seared foie gras in a red wine demi glace.

The salmon was cooked medium and the sauce was outrageous marriage of butter, wine, shallots, lemon and sorrel, it was lovely. My dish was something that is forever etched in my food memory banks; a thick cut of prime Charolais beef that was seared and braised till it was fork tender, roasted foie gras on top in a red wine sauce with pearl onions and mushrooms. The flavors were deep, rich and unctuous, honestly one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. 

That my friends are French comfort food at it’s finest, both dishes were home runs and just what we were looking for. Great, relaxed service, delicious regional cuisine, that didn't break the bank and left us deeply satisfied.

Now, onto our next adventure.