It's all about the crepes in Paris... and strolling
27 Novembre 2016
Our first full day in Paris. Time to start ticking off the quintessential Parisian experiences. To us Paris is all about the food. True she has that tower and arch, but the Parisian food is as iconic as any structure of iron or concrete. And strolling. I think I've already lost count of the number of couples strolling arm in arm. I think the arm in arm in thing is to steal body heat from the other stroller. It was bloody cold.
If you don't stroll you wouldn't come across tiny Italian cars. Impromptu photo shoots are always called for when you come across tiny Italian cars.
Then stroll again we did. From the coffee shop to the tiny Italian car to a crepe cafe for lunch.
Breizh
Breizh specialises in crêpes. It is a crêperie. A purveyor of crêpes. Flat thin pancakes with stuff on them. It had to be good, there was a queue out the door when we arrived. Maybe if we'd strolled a bit less and walked more briskly we may have got there earlier and avoided the queue. So we dutifully lined up and waited.
To say it was worth the wait would be understating things just a tad. We started with cheese, then moved on to the savoury crepes, finished with sweet beurre et sucre crepes and all washed down with the most awesome Breton apple cider.
Breizh is another Parisian restaurant with outstanding service. From the wait staff, a lovely young woman from Japan, to the friendly and attentive manager. I suppose here in Paris we should call him a maître d'. Here's a tip for you. Bring children to Paris. You will be fussed over and made feel welcome and comfortable. If you don't have children borrow some. I will hear no further complaints about shitty Parisian service.
There are over 300 varieties of French cheese. So we chose an Australian Bega tasty cheddar and a Kraft single, individually wrapped. No, of course we didn't. What sort of Bogan do you think I am? We had something soft and something hard. French cheese is cheesy and delicious, whether from a cow, a sheep or a goat. All that means is I can't remember what we had but it was tres bonne.
Which brings us to the crêpes. Forget those tiny little things rolled up like a kebab and stuffed with stuff that you might get at home. These crepes are pizza sized monsters that fill the plate. They don't roll them either. Just a little bit of a fold to the middle from each side so you can see what's inside. What would you expect to pay? No? I had no idea either. I know what I pay for a crepe at home but these monster crepes are half that. Of course the super dooper Breton special with scallops is more expensive but even then it is no more expensive than an average crepe from a iconic high profile well known pancake shop in Melbourne. But the average crepe at Breizh is about €10.
I haven't mentioned how delicious these things were so I will do it now. They were delicious. Also delicious, so delicious we kept ordering them, were the dessert beurre et sucre crêpes. The first time we came to France I became addicted to these suckers. I got them from street vendors, in cafes, wherever. We even make them at home these days. A lovely lovely crepe lathered in butter and sprinkled with sugar. Breizh's were about as good as they get and only €4.80 each.
Breizh's crepes are worth queuing for. Apparently they have another shop in Tokyo. I'll have to remember that for the next time we're in Japan. But this trip is all about Paris. Where we stroll. Where to next? If you guessed gelato give yourself a pat on the back.
