Finding Midnight in Paris

Originally posted May 22, 2015.

Why do tourists flock to Paris? Well yes, to see the Louvre and La Tour d’ Eiffel, to walk along the Seine and in the Jardin des Tuileries, to shop at Hermes and Bon Marche, to light a candle at Notre Dame and hear a pipe-organ concert at St. Sulpice, and to walk endless miles in the rain (sometimes even in the sun) in arrondissments on both the Left and Right banks, taking in Parisian élan.

But visitors also flock to Paris, of course, to eat at a traditional French bistro. As though in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, one evening near the Luxembourg gardens, Dick and I stumbled upon the red-checked cloth-covered tables and cooper-potted Polidor. It seemed magical. Because I had often thought of the duck confit and buttery sauerkraut I enjoyed that night, we returned. But upon return, like Gil the next morning in Midnight in Paris, the magic was gone and the food just so-so.

So where does one go to get the classic bistro dishes so wonderfully described by Julia Child, Patricia Wells, Anthony Bourdon, David Lebovitz, et al.? Well thanks to a new generation of young chefs, some classic bistros are back in style, serving up signature bistro dishes, perhaps with a twist or two. And thanks to our friend Alec Lobrano, you can read where to find the bistros joining in this renaissance in traditional bistro cooking.

And if you are planning on going to Paris anytime soon, you must not go without having read Alex’s Hungry for Paris. It’s funny, insightful and mouth-watering good.