Eating out in Paris can be daunting. There’s the menu to interpret, the high prices and, when you’re a fish and veg guy like me, there’s the French love of meat. But you can’t go wrong with a salad. In France they take their salads seriously.
The salad as the main course. At top, a Mediterranean salad, above, a quinoa salad with prawns
“Dis-moi ce que tu mange, je te dirai qui tu es”
(Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are)
In North America, ordering a salad can often mean a bowl of lettuce with a choice of dressing. But not in France. Copious hunks of cheese and vegetables are the norm. And when the salad does include seafood or meat, the serving is usually generous. Most times, the thought of adding on a main course seems quite redundant.
Today, after a couple of hours at the Musee Carnavalet we wondered through La Marais and randomly chose a restaurant. Well, not entirely random. An Italian place called Fuxia had free tables, and in an area like La Marais on a pleasant Saturday at 1 pm, that’s not common.
My partner’s Mediteranian salad had big chunks of perfectly cooked eggplant, large slices of burrata cheese, sun dried tomatoes, topped with shavings of grana padano. My quinoa salad came with four massive prawns and included bocconcini, avocado and cherry tomatoes.
Tonight is our last meal in Paris before we move on to Lyon. If it’s as good as lunch, we’ll be happy!
Bow and Arrow Food 