December 2023 Recap

Where I Ate and Drank in December

• Les Antiquaires. Always, but now especially with a baby and Boomer it’s a “safe” place for me to go and have my morning coffee.
• Le Rubis. Simple and good classic French bistrot food. I got the herrings and boudin noir, which is definitely a more “out there” order but I loved it. We called around noon on a Saturday and got the last table – it was filled with locals (and it’s not a big restaurant), so consider reserving in advance.
• Lao Tseu. Kind of our neighborhood Diep (I’m going to call it fancy/expensive Chinese food with a decent atmosphere), except the food is actually good here. It’s open on Sunday (which is when we went) and it was fully booked.
• Noir. These coffee shops are literally exploding over Paris right now. I go to the one in Saint Germain, which I’m pretty sure was one of if not the first locations. The coffee is really good, the people are sweet and speak English, and it’s literally always packed so they must be doing something right. I really like the chocolate pecan cookies too. If you’re in Paris a lot or drink a lot of coffee be sure to put your phone number in for their loyalty program.
• Le Gévaudan. Both for lunches and coffees. I had herrings again (better at Le Rubis) and the Aligot saucisse – sausage with the best cheesy/sinful/incredible mashed potatoes ever. Their wifi name is “Aligot Network” so you know it’s legit.
• Le Voltaire. You know I love it, and late fall/winter is an amazing time to go with truffle season and all of the great warming dishes. We went a few times in December and my parents even brought it to-go for us in the hospital on the porcelain plates because they insisted we have the full experience…the sweetest ever!
• Bar Vendôme at The Ritz. We had a fun Christmas lunch with my godmother here and it was one of my favorite things we did all holiday season. The atmosphere of The Ritz in December is unlike anything else, and our table in Bar Vendôme overlooking the fabulous Christmas tree was perfection. It was such a special meal and will be a holiday tradition for us going forward.
• Aux Merveilleux de Fred. Like biting into a sugary meringue cloud. Heaven. There are lots of locations around Paris.
• Ralph’s Coffee. I think it’s just a pop up (not really clear), but I met my friend Emily here for a hot chocolate. An Instagram scene for sure, but gorgeous.
• Philippe Conticini. They kind of seem to be open when they want to be (not what the posted hours say) and will randomly be out of a lot of different things, however, the pastries are delicious. I want to go back and try the croissants, but they don’t open until 10 AM which is a little late for me.
• Dogma. Absolutely legit fried chicken sandwiches. So good.
• Clove Bakery. Romain got his wish of an entire brownie birthday cake. I love their blondies and red velvet anything.
• Bistrot du Passage. Our favorite recent discovery in Beaupassage – we now go all of the time. The menu changes slightly often, which I like.
• Chez Meunier. My last meal before going into the hospital to have the baby – a very random tuna wrap. It’s a decent place to get a croissant/pastry/sandwich.
• Angelina on Rue du Bac. My parents got a Bûche de Noël and it was one of my favorites that I’ve tried – it was super light but still chocolaty.
• Le Café Pierre Hermé. Don’t sleep on this lunch spot. My mom and I split the chicken caesar salad and salmon club sandwich and loved both.
• Café Varenne. One of our first lunches out with the baby and they were (not surprisingly) so accomodating and sweet. I had the lentils and the soup of the day.
• Cravan. We went to the bar on the first floor and I could not recommend it less. The drinks are tiny, they don’t allow for any sort of customization or modifications or ordering anything than what’s on the menu exactly, and the music was bizarre. So we left and went to…
• Wilde’s Lounge, which to me is exactly what a bar/lounge in Paris should be.
• La Rotonde. This was my first visit and I really enjoyed it. The menu is a great mix of lighter options with more classic French dishes and the very red atmosphere is just fun.

Where I Shopped in December

• Cordelia Coffee Flower Shop. I ordered an absolutely stunning wreath from Cordelia de Castellane on Instagram. In December she opened a pop-up flower and wreath shop on Rue du Bac, and as of now (February 2024), it’s a full blown coffee and flower shop with great little objects to buy as well. It’s like stepping into the a French countryside shop with Cordelia’s amazing touch – perfection. Do not miss!
• Galerie Maeght. Always worth a stop, but especially over the holidays as they have a great selection of various gifts. It’s one of my favorite places to buy unique presents or hostess gifts – I especially love the glassware.
• Astier de Villatte. I absolutely cannot control myself from October to December when the ornaments are out. My godmother also gifted me Ma Vie à Paris, an absolutely wonderful guide to Paris. I highly recommend getting a copy for yourself or gifting it to a Francophile.
• Jacadi. My favorite (for now at least) baby brand. The clothes are absolutely adorable and more importantly easy to get on and off.
• The organic Sunday morning Marché Raspail. Yes it’s expensive but it’s so good. The quality of the products, especially if you get them from a producer, is top top top. Go early – I try to be done before 10 AM and usually miss the crowds.
• Piero. Delicious Italian in a gorgeous setting – I’m obsessed with the mix and match Ginori dishes and glassware. The portions are small enough that it’s doable for lunch.
• Buly. Anything Buly makes a perfect gift from Paris. In December if you need gift wrapping (which you should always get from Buly, even if it’s for yourself), count on not being able to pick up your items until a couple of days after. The store is also less crowded in the morning.

What I Did in December

• Polished silver. The most tedious task in the world, especially if you’re like me and do it very infrequently so it takes forever. The pregnancy nesting was unreal in December. Richard from Le Voltaire told me his grandmother’s method which is lining a bucket with aluminum foil (shiny side up), pouring salt inside, and topping with boiling water. The silver needs to be fully submerged and then you just scrub with a towel or microfiber cloth. If your silver is very tarnished (like mine) you may need to repeat the process. The end results were so worth it though and everything looked great for the holidays.
• Started assembling the baby’s nursery. We really waited until the last moment on this project but I’m glad we got the rest of the apartment pretty set first.
• Had a baby! I will eventually do a post about what it was like having a baby in Paris (not the birth story, don’t worry) because honestly it was fabulous.

A big merci for being a member! If there’s ever anything you’d like to see more of, don’t hesitate to let me know!