I saw that. Was it for 2?
The one place weâve found thatâs reliably great for omelettes is Le Loir et La ThĂ©iĂšre in the 4th. Theyâre usually simple and not gimmicky - a couple of ingredients - but are rarely, if ever, overcooked. They had a more extensive menu before Covid, but the fewer things they now offer are usually extremely good. Itâs a super casual lunch place - tartes salĂ©es, omelettes, interesting vegetable-focused specials, and a frightening array of desserts displayed such that people get up from the table to choose them. We go often and are never disappointed.
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Thanks @Raincrow, basically around the corner from my flatâŠIâve walked by gazillion times and will pop in next time I am in Paris for sure!
I donât think youâll regret it. Iâm sure you must also be familiar with Les Philosophes in the same 'hood? Itâs entirely possible they offer omelettes, but weâre so fixated on their salads and various other offerings, that I canât say weâve tried them - the menu is extensive. They have a classic quiche Lorraine and occasional seasonal offerings in that category - all great. The integrity of their ingredients and methods is immaculate, and theyâre definitely âold schoolâ when it comes to the classics. Do yourself a favor and try their tarte tatin sometime, haha!
Yes, Les Philosophes is on my radar, for sure! This is where I go for a boeuf tartare, and I am partial to their chicken salad. Their onion soup is sometimes great and sometimes not (not sure what that is about), but like the corner coffee shop here in NY, I am headed to Les Philosophes when I wasnât hungry enough to make a reservation somewhere, or just want to eat close to home. Iâve had some kind of eggs there for sure, but itâs been a long time now, and donât remember what I ate.
We mostly eat lunch there - have eaten a time or two at night, but they donât take reservations, which is a pain, and weâre generally after more adventuresome stuff at night anyway. If youâre a âlunch salad person,â though, their âUtopistesâ salad is a work of art, and my husband loves the one with smoked duck breast, ham, etc. Interesting about the onion soup though - canât say Iâve had anything bad YET. On that note, it has been so interesting and instructive to read the reviews here because weâve been to several of the discussed places several times, e.g., Petrelle, Parcelles, Le Mazenay, etc., and had superb food - you start thinking theyâre infallibleâŠand then you get a complete dud - itâs always a shock, and not a good one. Sometimes weâll give a place a rest for a while and then try again later - other times the experience was so grim that theyâre STILL in âresting modeâ. On the other hand, I know intellectually thatâs the price you pay for the unbelievable creativity and ingenuity so many of these places are capable of when theyâre âonâ.
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Oops. Late to the party. Iâve been absorbed elsewhere.
Re Granite. Sometimes Granite is my #1. Sometimes itâs Pantagruel (or was, before it become so pricy). Sometimes itâs Jeanne-AimĂ©e. Sometimes itâs Mallory Gabsi. Sometimes itâs Chocho. Sometimes itâs Perception. Sometimes, Origines. Given the abundance of quality at this level of cuisine, I find it impossible not to be a restaurant slut and to change my allegiances very easily. Sorry, just trying to add a bit of context for tourist raves.
Re pizza. Iâm not sure if the Pinka Mamma follows the patterns of most chain restos but, if so, every dish served at every restaurant of the Pink Mamma group has been so tested and re-tested with focus groups that, even if the food is quite good, I sense a lowest-common-denominator pizza-by-committee factor creeping in on occasion. Paris has some great Italian restaurants and pizzerias (including the 2-time winner of the worldâs best pizza competition on Naples but the Pink Mamma restos are there for the experience, not the necessarily for outstanding Italian cuisine.
Re Parcelles. I have only had one meal there many months ago. As a typically late booking Parisian, I have not managed to get a reservation since (admittedly, I donât try too hard and just move to the next resto on my short list for that day). The ris de veau (which already figured in the pre-opening hype) was very good indeed but not the absolute standout that I was expecting. Itâs not an uncommon dish in Paris, I am a fan, and there are other restaurants whose versions, most usually as daily specials but also as standard menu items (i.e. Le Cornichon/ 14th and Les Parisiens/7th) are just as good⊠and donât resort to the gimmick of limiting the number of orders every day.
Re Bistrot Paul Bert. I always get a giggle from the irony that it is touted in all the guide books as the quintessential parisian bistro and yet it is mostly Parisian-less. At least judging from my last experience as the guest of some American friends who could not be dissuaded to go elsewhere for a âquintessential parisian bistroâ. Surrounded by foreign tourists who complained about being seated in the âAmerican ghettoâ (which seemed to me to be the entire restaurant) except for one table of fleshy French tourists talking with a very distinctive Toulouse accent. I did notice several steaks being sent back for more cooking and so this apparently common English-speaking worldâsâ preference for medium rare may have conditioned the kitchen into overcooking everything. FWIW, Iâand most others I know in Parisâorder my steaks âsaignantâ. Hint: saignant means bloody in French.
Re Le Petit VendÎme. I wonder what time of day you were there. Your pic shows an empty table and an empty bar stool⊠something I have never seen before there. For many of us, it is the only affordable and good go-to left in the very rarified VendÎme quartier and therefore usually very popular/crowded.
Re Blanca. I am a big fan of Argentine restos (usually great value for the quality) in Paris and know and like at least a half-a-dozen but this one is completely off my radar. How did you find it ? From your description of the food and vibe it seems very similar to some other Argentine restos that I happen to know.
Re EunoĂ©. I am a cheerleader (mostly for the extraordinarily good price/ quality ratio but also for the fun factor) and so, very sorry that it was disappointing for you. But not finding something that sings to you on such a limited menu is always a risk. And different strokes/ different folks. Monkfish is one of my favourite fish and one of the very few fish I like ânatureâ so that I can savour its unique flavour and texture⊠and I like itâand most fishâsomewhat underdone by American standards
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The most recent and very good omelette Iâve had (or more precisely sampled from my friendâs plate) was at soufflĂ©-specialist Le RĂ©camier off rue de SĂšvres/ 7th.
Although it is now a tourist haunt and has lost much of its lustre, CafĂ© de Flore in Saint-Germain-des-PrĂ©s can still be counted on for a very good omelette. Similarly, the once unspeakably snob and âtout Parisâ CafĂ© de lâAlma (now re-branded simply as LâAlma) in the Gros Caillou quartier/ 7th does an excellent breakfast omelette now that it has been revamped and turned somewhat more âpopulaireâ.
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Hey Parn,
Re pizza, it wasnt bad at all. Iâm sort of a pizza junkie that enjoyed all sorts of excellence between NYC and Italy. I assume you mean Peppe as the award winner? I was considering it but didnt feel like travelling much for pizza (although I do it all the time). And besides, I just had to see the Disco Toilet.
Re Bistrot Paul Bert. Makes sense. I still think its odd that for a touristy place as such its seemingly impossible to order steak med-rare which is the most common way here. I may be missing something here
Re Le Petit VendĂŽme. It was about 2pm . So that may explain it.
Re Blanca, Iâm not sure how I found it. May have been just google walking the neighborhood, or someone mentioned on TA. The reviews painted a picture that very much agreed with me. With all these amazing eats, its the first place I blogged about (EatingWithZiggy). Its quite the honor Parn 
Re Eunoé, oy, honestly the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am with this meal. A dud on our last night. I thought I left one of the best for last, but I suppose that speaks to expectations.
And not different strokes here. Monkfish is one of our favorites and I cook it at home, albeit not often. Iâm just not sure it works as a large dish for 2-3. When I think about the many large fish dishes Iâve had, I expect a certain spark⊠colors, bold(er) flavors. This was just boring. I regret ordering it more than I regret going there.
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This speaks honestly to many of our lesser experiences.
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Great report Ziggy - thank you!
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Essential just got a Michelin star. Apparently it was on the cusp
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Weâve eaten at Parcelles twice, and had the sweetbreads the second time. They were woefully underdone, which was unfortunate, and made you painfully aware of the chewy membranes. We are people who eat everything rare, raw, rosĂ©, etc, including liver, but this was not a happy effect. We order sweetbreads frequently, and one of the best, if simple, versions was at Le Sot Lây Laisse, for what itâs worth.
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Good to know, thanks Rainbow. Did you mention it to the restaurant? In my own kitchen, when I mistakenly undercook something itâs usually because the food item was too cold to begin with or too large. Obviously thereâs no excuse for an experienced chef to make that kind of mistake, but itâs always good to let the kitchen know.
No, we didnât - maybe we should have. Iâve read that if youâre going to complain about a dish in France you should do it immediately, and not wait until the meal is finished. Something like sweetbreads would be difficult to take back and âre-cook,â and of course would occasion all the waiting and disruption of the meal. Itâs a dilemma, for sure. Furthermore, the service was ever-so-faintly patronizing and perfunctory, and the place was virtually all tourists (we always go at 8:00, for what itâs worth) so we decided better to just give it a pass for the foreseeable future. All that said, the first time we ate there it was wonderful - we had their celebrated stuffed cabbage dish. So true about undercooking being the result of food too cold or large!
Had reservations when my CA house guest was here for both Essential and ShmonĂš (sorry this all probably shouldnât be on the Paris board), but my friend wasnât interested in eitherâŠBoth got their stars, and hope it doesnât ruin a good thing!
Did the French erect a monument to Steve Jobs that I missed somehow? 
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Considering the amount of Iphones you see while looking at it, they might as well change the name. or at least a new light show that spells his name.
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