Eating at home – I (and in your hotel room too)

I’m one of those odd ducks who (in Europe) eats my big meal at lunch time and just a small supper (souper) at night. That way, I can get lots of work done in the morning, pile on the calories at noon and walk them off before I sit down to work again in the late afternoon. Because of this aberration, I tend not to have much of an appetite at night and am more than happy with a soup, or salad, or cheese, or some-such. But I have been led into temptation by my friend Paga, who has years more experience foraging for food in Paris than I and has shared his secret finds with me. Thus, in addition to my local traiteurs who offer a dizzying array of Italian, Greek, Scots and French delectables (we even have a place he’s dubbed “Zabar’s”), I often find my feet unerringly headed for specialty shops all over town without my consciously directing them – a Ouija Board phenomenon. All of these are well-known, all are in the Pudlo or Gault-Millau and some even have “stands” at the Galeries Lafayette. But in case you’ve just been released from an Iranian prison and only get to Paris every few years, here are some suggestions. For starters, most neighborhood brasseries will shuck oysters for you and while you used to have to ransom your first born to get a platter, they now have Styrofoam ones for free. In addition, the Spanish maestros of jamon, Bellota-Bellota, not only has a store in the 7th, it has a stand in the Galeries. (There are other nifty Italian meats and Spanish hams there as well.) Between an appetizer and a main can be found at the Greek mastershop Mavrommatis in the 5th (or again a stand at the Galeries) or at the herring emporium in the Maison du Danemark on the Champs-E. For mains, there’s no substitute for a great rotisserie chicken with a simple salt, pepper and garlic rub (I get mine at Maistre Mathieu in the 18th), accompanied by some sun-dried tomatoes or marinated artichoke hearts from an Italian shop. And desserts from a place like Noura in the 8th, which too often has a space at the Galeries, are a perfect ending. Lemon tartelettes are ubiquitous in Paris and despite Figaro’s ratings, top-notch ones do not require a lot of digging. So there you have it, meals on (Metro) wheels: The not so secret finds for a light supper: Galeries Lafayette Food Hall 40, blvd Haussmann in the 9th Bellota-Bellota 18, Rue Jean Nicot in the 7th Mavrommatis 48, rue Censier in the 5th Maison du Danemark 48, avenue des Champs Elysees in the 8th Maistre Mathieu 10, Rue du Poteau in the 18th Noura 27, Avenue Marceau in the 8th (other locations too). Not forgetting: La Grande Epicerie at Bon Marche 38, rue de Sèvres in the 7th. Blog: John Talbott’s Paris ©by John Talbott 2009