Big-name singers from the Caribbean performed last night on an outdoor stage at the Foire de Paris.
VBJ Soul Men
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Of all of the performers that came on stage, only one group, the VBJ Soul Men, sang hits that Americans will easily recognize—they gave a powerful rendition of “I’m a Soul Man.” Their Web site (in French) can be found at the following link http://vigonbamyjay.fr
A good time was had by all!
Three Young Women at the Délices d’Haïti Food Stand
From left to right: Kerenne – Jemuma – Iné
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Yesterday at the Foire de Paris, I happened by a food stand called Les Délices d’Haïti. Seeing that there were not many customers there at that moment, I decided that it would be a good time to pause for lunch.
Barquette Créole
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The lunch menu (called Barquette Créole) offered four dishes for only 7€, a fair price! The dishes were Riz Djon-Djon (rice with mushrooms), Poulet (chicken), Pickliz (coleslaw), and Bananes Pesées (flat plantain fritters). A can of Oasis orange soda was 2€ extra.
I found all of the dishes to be delicious and spicy. The rice was made with djon-djon, a black mushroom native to Haiti. During cooking, the mushrooms release a grayish-black coloring that gives the rice its gray color and the dish’s distinctive flavor. Spices from Haiti (the exact names of which I never found out) gave all of the dishes piquancy. I liked the fried chicken leg and was told that it had been marinated for twenty-four hours in lemon juice and mustard. I enjoyed the coleslaw, but had to remove some of the tiny slices of red pepper that gave the salad a too spicy kick. The bananes pesées were fun to eat. Soft on the inside and crusty on the outside, they are prepared by mashing or flattening slices of plantain and then frying them like fritters.
Délices d’Haïti, located in the town of Pontoise (about twenty-five kilometers to the northwest of Paris), has a Facebook page.
Délices d’Haïti
2, route de Menandon
95300 Pontoise
Tel.: 06.58.79.86.99
The Foire de Paris continues through Sunday, May 11.
Pierre at La Caféothèque Pointing to Finca Tzámpetey
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I stopped by La Caféothèque and asked the salesman, Pierre, for a coffee bean that produces a flavor that lies on the spectrum between strong and mild. He thought for a moment and then recommended Finca Tzámpetey, an estate coffee from Guatemala.
Finca Tzámpetey from Guatemala
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I took home a 250-gram bag of whole-bean coffee, ground some in my coffee grinder, and brewed it in a French press. Upon grinding, it released an intriguing aroma of barbecued potato chips. A hearty coffee with spicy notes, and a slightly sweet, full-bodied taste with little bitterness, it is to be savored and enjoyed!
La Caféothèque
52, rue de l’Hôtel de Ville
75004 Paris
Telephone: 01.53.01.83.84
Easter Egg from Mococha Chocolats
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
We purchased an Easter egg from Mococha Chocolats and took it home to see what treasures were hidden within.
Teddy Bear, Angry Egg, and “Friture”
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Voilà! There were three chocolates by master chocolate-maker Pierre Chapon: a Teddy bear, an angry egg, and a “friture.” The Teddy bear was composed of white chocolate enrobing a mixture of hazelnut praliné and white chocolate. The composition of the angry egg was similar that of the Teddy, except that it contained more white chocolate than praliné. And the “friture” (which means “little fish for frying” in French) was smooth milk chocolate with a pronounced vanilla flavor. All tasted dreamy!
Mococha
89, Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris
Tel.: 01.47.07.13.66
The First Known Selfie by Charles Arthur Bourgeois
Photograph by DiscoverParis
A bronze sculpture representing a man posing for a selfie with what appears to be a prototype iPhone stands in the Luxembourg Garden. Cast in 1868, the statue is the earliest representation of what many have, up until now, believed to be a modern phenomenon.
Entrance to the Super Barquette
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I learned about the Paris Street Food Festival several days in advance of the event and was all a-twitter with excitement as I made my way along quai Austerlitz to find the stands that were selling street food there:
Fish and Chips by The Sunken Chip
Super BBQ by My Food Montreuil
Burgers by Le Camion qui Fume
…and mouth-wateringly more!
Woman with Brochure
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
A lovely young woman was distributing brochures that listed the names of the food stands and the types of street food that they were serving. She invited me to purchase a raffle ticket for 1€; otherwise the entrance to the event was free.
People Feasting at the Street Food Festival
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I walked onto a deck overlooking the Seine and saw that a lot of people had gotten there before me. I arrived at 12:30 p.m., which I thought was early enough to permit me to get some food and sit down for lunch. But I was wrong…
Standing in Line for BBQ
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
There were long lines everywhere. For the BBQ…
Serving up Fish and Chips
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
…for the fish and chips…
This Way to the Beer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
…but, surprisingly, not for the beer!
Alexandre Bournonville of Distrikt Beer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
So I purchased a bottle of amber beer brewed locally in the town of Thiverval-Grignon, not too far from Paris. That’s all that I had at the street food festival!
BBQ Cooker – My Food Montreuil
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The Monstrously Long Line for BBQ
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The food stand for BBQ was the most popular. How did it measure up to Texas BBQ? I’ll never know, because I didn’t want to wait in the monstrously long line.
But I enjoyed the Distrikt amber beer!
Marisa Williamson as Sally Hemings
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Artist Marisa Williamson came to Paris recently in the guise of Sally Hemings, the slave-mistress of Thomas Jefferson. Williamson was turning a film about Hemings, who could have chosen to remain a free woman in Paris rather than return with Jefferson to the United States to live as a slave.
From left to right: Avery Williamson, Charlotte Bayer, Monique Y. Wells, Marisa Williamson
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Dressed in period costume, Williamson played the role of Hemings, a young woman who was “struggling to decide whether to claim her freedom in a foreign land, or return home…” She interviewed a number of African Americans to learn why they came to Paris and how they perceived themselves as blacks living in France.
Marisa Williamson and Monique Y. Wells
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Williamson was assisted by Charlotte Bayer, who filmed the encounter of Hemings with our own Monique Y. Wells on a park bench in Paris, and her sister Avery Williamson, who photographed the shoot. The film is scheduled for release in August 2014.
Information about Marisa Williamson’s film project can be found here: Hemings in Paris.
Bistrot Mavrommatis on Rue Duphot
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Monique and I were recently invited to sample a new line of Mediterranean dishes that Bistrot Mavrommatis, a restaurant, catering, and take-away service, offers for business luncheons and seminars. The tasting took place in the upstairs dining room of the restaurant, located at 18, rue Duphot in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.
We entered the handsome food shop, where I saw several customers at the sales counter ordering take-away, and made our way up the spiral staircase to the dining room. There, on a table on one side of the room, we saw all of the “coffrets” (individual servings of food assembled as a four-course meal) laid out for our inspection. Each assembled meal was arranged on a tray, and each had its own name. All were inspired by Mediterranean cuisine: Italian, Greek, Spanish, Moroccan, French, and Mid-Eastern.
Coffret Petra
Photograph courtesy of Mavrommatis
For example, Coffret Petra contained a tabbouleh salad, a cucumber stuffed with tzatziki (thick yoghurt with herbs), thin slices of lamb stewed with cumquats and baby vegetables, Kasséri cheese, a red-fruit crumble, and a bread roll. Each course was protected in its own clear plastic box, which were all carefully arranged on a serving tray. Mavrommatis offers eleven different coffrets, and all of the food (except for the cheeses, bread, and certain desserts) is prepared in its kitchens.
Assortment of Appetizers
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
After we viewed each of the coffrets, we proceeded to another table where samples of the food were presented as little appetizers. These we got to taste.
I particularly enjoyed the tabbouleh, a salad made from chopped dill; the aubergine caviar, a preparation of smoked eggplant; the dolma, which are rice- and meat-stuffed grape leaves; and the pissaladière, an onion and anchovy tart. All good…all appetizing. While we dined, cocktail-style, a waiter circulated to pour white and red wines. The crisp white wine called Santorini Argyros – 2012 – Assyrtiko, went especially well with these dishes.
Desserts
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The big surprise came when the desserts were served…and how sweet it was! I tasted baba, a yeast cake soaked in limoncello and served with a small dollop of pistachio paste. The chocolate tart was rich and bittersweet; and the traditional Greek baklava was sublime.
Eric Julien – Sales Director
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
We met the sales director of Mavrommatis, Eric Julien. He and his staff readily answered all of our questions about the ingredients of the food that we tasted. Orders for the coffrets can be made up until 5:30 p.m. on the day before the business event.
Bistrot Mavrommatis
18, rue Duphot
75001 Paris
Telephone: 01.42.97.53.04
Tom Taking Photograph of Fesses in the Former Delorme Passage
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Most of the covered passages of Paris were built in the first half of the 19th century. Essentially, they were shopping malls that led from one street to another.
Built in 1808, the Delorme passage linked rue de Rivoli at number 188 with rue Saint-Honore at number 177. It was destroyed in 1896, but several bas-relief sculptures that decorated the passage have been preserved. They can be viewed at the entrance of the apartment building at 177, rue Saint-Honoré.
All of the sculptures are of women. One bares here lovely fesses, with her tunic slipping demurely below the level of the fanny.
Follow the link below for a close-up view:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/411586853417946246/
We recently attended the opening of a house for sale in the Belleville district of Paris. I found its boxy-looking appearance, with 127 m2 distributed on three floors, to be quite striking. A terrace on the top floor gives a view of Paris rooftops and quiet courtyards below.
Belleville House Designed by Architect Frank Salama
View of Terrace
Spiral Staircase
For information about how to contact the real estate agency that handles the sale of this dwelling, contact us at the following link with your name, e-mail address, and your telephone number: Paris Insights – Contact.
 | Tom Reeves - author of Paris Insights - An Anthology and Dining Out in Paris - What You Need to Know before You Get to the City of Light. |