Well a couple of weekends ago I went to France for the very first time and of course our destination was Paris. This may be the most 'Romantic City' in the world to most but to us Foodies it is a virtual culinary Mecca. I was very excited to see all those spectacular sites, the Louvre, Arch de Triumph, Eiffel Tower and many more, but the food....oh the food.
We arrives via Eurostar into Gare du Nord, leaving from the new Saint Pancras station in London. Of course we had toexperience 'the longest Champagne Bar in Europe' with some bubbly and Canapes. Don't be fooled though it's not the actual bar that is so long but the length of all the seating. The actual bar where you can sit and sip is just of average size. Still the range and variety of Champagne is impressive. You can spend just a few quid on a glass or break the bank (Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam 1995 for 6500 pounds!). Once we arrived in Paris we walked to our hotel and set off to see
the Louvre (just a hint Friday night it is opened till 10 pm). With no Que in site we entered and hit all the most sees and points of interest. Being done with our first bit of site seeing, it was getting late and man were we hungry. Like any good enthusiast i had done a fair amount of research on restaurants in Paris. This can be a bit of a daunting task given the insane amount of restaurants, cafes, bistros and brasseries there are to be found in the city. Luckily I had narrowed down the parameters of my search with a few websites, books and magazine articles. 
My first taste of Paris I owe to a article in Conde Nast Traveller magazine (July 2008, Pg. 66 Food & Drink section). It had a great list of bistros to experience throughout the city that the locals frequent. So off we went in search of Le Timbre. Small and quaint can be used to describe this small bistro, the chef is within ear shot and gives a friendly smile and greeting to all who enter the door. This is a small operation with just one, very helpful, hostess/server, and the chef running the kitchen. Chris Wright is the man in the kitchen and has been serving up the locals and tourists alike (quite a few Brits and Americans were there that night). Now at seeing this name your first impression may be.... what a minute, that doesn't sound very French to me. Well you're right, Chris hails originally from England, but his cooking speaks otherwise. The menu is a small (compared to the one outside) chalkboard will all the daily offerings. You can order all 3 course- First, Main, Dessert or just go a la carte. we off course has all three and let me tell you, they were all marvelous!
To start, aperitifs of champagne were drunk and bread was brought to the table. Then came our first courses, which for the world of me I can't seem to recall. I'm going to blame it on the bliss from the first bite, being so incredible that it was a shock to me system causing partial amnesia. Luckily the for the mains I took pictures so no excuses there. I had the Roast Pork with tomatoes and whole mustard sauce and Shira had the Duck with peaches. Man! These dishes were so simple yet they absolutely exploded with flavor. Great combinations perfectly cooked with prime ingredients. All this was complemented by a nice bottle of Beaujolais. You really can't ask
for more, but of course we did. Next dessert, Shira had the Cheese Plate and I had Panna cotta type dessert that looked like a ice cream cone in a puddle of Blackberry sauce. Yum is all I can say, tart sauce, crunchy cone and a heavenly rich cloud of deliciousness. Top it all off with some damn tasty coffee and we were completely satisfied and content. I can't think of any better way to end a day in Paris.(to be continued.....)
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