Anyone from Paris? Firmiliar with the city?

[NGT]

Hey, going to Paris with the wife in a few weeks and wanted to go back to a restaurant that I went to when my grandmother took my family there about 15 years ago. I don't even know if the place is still there, but if it is, I'd like to go. No idea of the name, or I'd have found it already. The place was right on a main strip, and has little porcelain pigs all over the inside. All of the pigs where painted like different things/people/etc... I know, sounds stupid. But the food was good and I just kinda want to relive some of the moments of my last trip. If anyone has any idea of what this restaurant is called and where it is located, I would appreciate it.

Any other cool places in Paris? Already have the main places scheduled...

Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Louvre
Notre Dam
This bad ass little sandwich shop in the greek part of the city near our hotel

what else?

 

[evil wasabi]

Hey, going to Paris with the wife in a few weeks and wanted to go back to a restaurant that I went to when my grandmother took my family there about 15 years ago. I don't even know if the place is still there, but if it is, I'd like to go. No idea of the name, or I'd have found it already. The place was right on a main strip, and has little porcelain pigs all over the inside. All of the pigs where painted like different things/people/etc... I know, sounds stupid. But the food was good and I just kinda want to relive some of the moments of my last trip. If anyone has any idea of what this restaurant is called and where it is located, I would appreciate it.

Any other cool places in Paris? Already have the main places scheduled...

Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Louvre
Notre Dam
This bad ass little sandwich shop in the greek part of the city near our hotel

what else?

Take the wife to Trocadéro in the afternoon, which is by the Eiffel Tower. It's a great spot to chill, have a drink, and look at the scenery/people.

 

[BigTinz]

familiar?

 

[evil wasabi]

try going places on the metro. It's cheap. Also, you might want to spend a day on a tourbus. They pick up all over the city, and take you everywhere. Just sit on the top level and enjoy the breeze as you ride around the major tourist areas of Paris. It's great. You guys will love it.

 

[NGT]

wasabi, thanks! I'll check the Trocadéro out and most likely plan that on our Eiffel Tower day. Definitely taking the metro around. It picks up right down the street from our hotel.

BigTiz: yeah, I can't spell. I'll stress over that my whole trip


Still looking for this pig place , and anywhere else that's nice.

 

[El Capitan]

Paris is shit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome

 

[ookitarepanda]

Victor Hugo's house is a pretty cool spot.

If you take the Metro around places, though, be prepared to smell some interesting smells.

Overall, I think Paris is pretty amazing, but it's been a while since I've visited.

 

[norton9478]

I been to Paris Texas.

 

[hanafuda]

Lots of dog shit.

 

[SPINMASTER X]

Fuck Paris. My friend just asked me to go to Paris with him on Saturday and I said "Fuck no".

 

[NGT]

I was there when I was 17 and thought it was cool. I think my wife will like it. The Louvre and Eiffel tower especially....just to be able to say she's been there, lol. Seriously though, I think we'll enjoy it. I don't remember dog shit all over anywhere but Naples, lol. Some site seeing, shopping, good food, and whatever. Should be fun.

 

[NGT]

Fuck Paris. My friend just asked me to go to Paris with him on Saturday and I said "Fuck no".

Having a fight with your boyfriend?

 

[aria]

Beautiful city, you'll have a blast.

I want to reiterate what wasabi said: Don't underestimate the joy of just sitting at a picturesque cafe and just relaxing.

If either of you are into window shopping, you can't forget to peruse the famous Champs-Élysées (Paris' Rodeo Drive... only it has the Arc de Triomphe at one end )

Also, if you're into food and willing to really splurge, take an opportunity to make a reservation at a Michelin 2 or (if possible) 3-star restaurant. There is no better food ranking. You will never have an equal dining experience outside of a handful of world cities.

And thank you x10 for not opening up with "What game stores and arcades should I visit?" LOL

[EDIT: Share photos with us when you get back! ]

 

[aria]

Having a fight with your boyfriend?

Spin is just kidding because he's in Luxembourg.

Ask a Parisian what they think of Luxembourg --it would be like asking a New Yorker what they think of Omaha. [kidding... sort of.]

 

[NGT]

Beautiful city, you'll have a blast.

I want to reiterate what wasabi said: Don't underestimate the joy of just sitting at a picturesque cafe and just relaxing.

If either of you are into window shopping, you can't forget to peruse the famous Champs-Élysées (Paris' Rodeo Drive... only it has the Arc de Triomphe at one end )

Also, if you're into food and willing to really splurge, take an opportunity to make a reservation at a Michelin 2 or (if possible) 3-star restaurant. There is no better food ranking. You will never have an equal dining experience outside of a handful of world cities.

And thank you x10 for not opening up with "What game stores and arcades should I visit?" LOL

[EDIT: Share photos with us when you get back! ]

thanks man! How much do you think ballpark would be on 2 people eating at one of these places? "3 star" place...??


and cool there's something to do near the Arc De Triomphe....hitting a few places near each other is nice...like in wasabi's suggestion

 

[NGT]

Spin is just kidding because he's in Luxembourg.

Ask a Parisian what they think of Luxembourg --it would be like asking a New Yorker what they think of Omaha. [kidding... sort of.]

lol, oh, ok. sorry. We get that...mostly reguarding sports rivalries. San Fran and LA for baseball and LA with Boston for basketball....etc etc..

 

[SPINMASTER X]

Spin is just kidding because he's in Luxembourg.

Ask a Parisian what they think of Luxembourg --it would be like asking a New Yorker what they think of Omaha. [kidding... sort of.]

LOL I wasn't kidding, my homebody asked and I said fuck no. If you end up going to France again go to a different city, maybe in the countryside or something.

 

[evil wasabi]

Fuck Paris. My friend just asked me to go to Paris with him on Saturday and I said "Fuck no".

lol. Too bad about your poor experience in Paris. It's not for everyone. Maybe you should go with more fun people.

If you are there for more than a few days, I highly recommend hopping on the fast train and going to Marseilles or Nice for a day.

 

[aria]

thanks man! How much do you think ballpark would be on 2 people eating at one of these places? "3 star" place...??

Let me clarify that a 1 or 2 star place is also very, very good. They don't do star inflation. Being merely listed (without a star) in a Michelin guide is considered an achievement.

The stars are just for food and even one star (from my experience) has translated to some of the best meals I've ever had.

Here is how Michelin defines them:

• One star indicates a very good restaurant in its category, a good place to stop on your journey.
• Two stars denote excellent cuisine, worth a detour, with specialties and wines of first-class quality.
• Three stars reward exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey, where diners eat extremely well, often superbly. The wine list features generally outstanding vintages and the surroundings and service are part of this unique experience, which is priced accordingly.

In the past five years I've become a big food tourist and now I've ate at 8 one-star, 2 two-star but no three-star restaurants. My experiences at all of those ranged from good to most of the best meals I've ever had.

What I should say is, jumping into a three-star may be overkill as, considering how hard Paris must be graded (since it's the hometown of this guidebook), the 1 and 2 star establishments may be more affordable and just as good.

I say this because there are three complications, one of which I forgot to mention: (1) you'll want to dress up (i.e. suit) or they won't let you in, which is something I can understand you might now want to bring on your trip, (2) reservations can be hard to get, though vacationers may be willing to take less popular times, (3) price... The three-star restaurants are very pricey: including drinks, they usually go for about $250 - 375 per person. Usually its prix fixe (which is always good) and costs can be reduced a bit if you don't go for wine or the sommelier's pairings. These sorts of restaurants are often places that people make a major part of a trip. From my personal experience, the stars have always defined an amazing meal.

Let me tell you the crazy part about those prices: they often lose money per person because of the actual costs. They make it up with things like cook books, speaking fees, etc.

Here's a list of all starred restaurants in Paris that shows how some of the others are lower priced (still expensive, but not insane):

http://goparis.about.com/od/foodanddining/tp/top_gourmet_res.htm

This guy does a good job keeping track of the top restaurants by Michelin (to be fair, the Michelin guides don't cover a few cities that might also compete like New Orleans or Chicago):
http://www.3starrestaurants.com/michelin-restaurants-star-guide.asp

Hey, if you go to any starred restaurant--you can say you had a pretty spectacular Parisian experience.

 

[NGT]

Guess that's out for me. I don't own a suit. LOL. Any good 1 star places that don't require suits? Most likely not, but I might as well ask.

 

[aria]

Guess that's out for me. I don't own a suit. LOL. Any good 1 star places that don't require suits? Most likely not, but I might as well ask.

Actually, I'm sure there are --just poke around a bit. See, the issue is just the level of formality in the culture. In NYC, you'd look weird going to a nice restaurant without a suit, but in LA or Vegas it would be totally fine.

---------
Now, totally aside from Paris: you don't own a suit? They're really not expensive and the stuff at a place like Macy's can be pretty good off the rack. I had one that lasted me years (just changed shirts for multi-day events) before I finished law school and bought a few more since I thought I'd be needing them more for work. I just figured every man kept one in their wardrobe, I never even thought about that. Still, I would rarely would pack one on a tourist trip and it's a moot point for your trip. Still, I'd just consider picking up a coat and then pair it with some pair of inexpensive slacks (or even Dockers) or something similar and you'll be set.

 

[aria]

NGT, I don't know why it took me this long to put 2 and 2 together, but since you're in the Bay Area you could just go to a solid Michelin Starred restaurant nearer to you and avoid trying to schedule such a thing in Paris (as it's one of the US regions rated, alongside NYC, LA and Las Vegas).

In fact, what is considered one of the best restaurants in the world, which I've always wanted to go to (my friend went and said it was incredible) is just over in Napa: The French Laundry (which is 3 star). For example I looked their dress code and they just require a jacket, but no tie (so something cheap bought at Target would suffice) and no jeans/shorts/tennis shoes. Not too unreasonable, but that's the Bay Area level of formality vs. somewhere like London.

Here's the complete list of Bay Area Michelin Starred restaurants:
http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=211&m=4

If you want a suggestion: I would love to go to Michael Mina's flagship restaurant at the bottom of the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square, called Michael Mina (heck, I've walked by enough times), even though it *gasp* lost a star last year and went from 2 to 1 star (remember, that's still an awesome rating). I went to his 1 star restaurant in Bellagio and had a very nice time; I also tried a restaurant of his in San Jose and it was also good --so I'd look forward to seeing that one.


One thing to remember about restaurants like this is that they take a lot longer than you'd realize. If you do a chef's tasting menu or prix fixe (some places will only do set menus since they just make what they got in fresh that day), you can be at the place for 3-4 hours... the dinner is the event.

 

[NGT]

Actually, I'm sure there are --just poke around a bit. See, the issue is just the level of formality in the culture. In NYC, you'd look weird going to a nice restaurant without a suit, but in LA or Vegas it would be totally fine.

---------
Now, totally aside from Paris: you don't own a suit? They're really not expensive and the stuff at a place like Macy's can be pretty good off the rack. I had one that lasted me years (just changed shirts for multi-day events) before I finished law school and bought a few more since I thought I'd be needing them more for work. I just figured every man kept one in their wardrobe, I never even thought about that. Still, I would rarely would pack one on a tourist trip and it's a moot point for your trip. Still, I'd just consider picking up a coat and then pair it with some pair of inexpensive slacks (or even Dockers) or something similar and you'll be set.

lol, I know man. Being as old as I am, I should have a suit. I have had a couple of times just lately where it would have been nice to have one too. I got use to getting away with slacks, shirt, tie...at weddings and stuff. Guess it's time. Going to a wedding tonight with slacks and a sweater...nice one though.

 

[ForeverSublime]

And thank you x10 for not opening up with "What game stores and arcades should I visit?" LOL

I cringed when I saw the "List the achievements you're most proud of" thread and opened it to find it was about video games.

 

[NGT]

NGT, I don't know why it took me this long to put 2 and 2 together, but since you're in the Bay Area you could just go to a solid Michelin Starred restaurant nearer to you and avoid trying to schedule such a thing in Paris (as it's one of the US regions rated, alongside NYC, LA and Las Vegas).

In fact, what is considered one of the best restaurants in the world, which I've always wanted to go to (my friend went and said it was incredible) is just over in Napa: The French Laundry (which is 3 star). For example I looked their dress code and they just require a jacket, but no tie (so something cheap bought at Target would suffice) and no jeans/shorts/tennis shoes. Not too unreasonable, but that's the Bay Area level of formality vs. somewhere like London.

Here's the complete list of Bay Area Michelin Starred restaurants:
http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?pid=211&m=4

If you want a suggestion: I would love to go to Michael Mina's flagship restaurant at the bottom of the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square, called Michael Mina (heck, I've walked by enough times), even though it *gasp* lost a star last year and went from 2 to 1 star (remember, that's still an awesome rating). I went to his 1 star restaurant in Bellagio and had a very nice time; I also tried a restaurant of his in San Jose and it was also good --so I'd look forward to seeing that one.


One thing to remember about restaurants like this is that they take a lot longer than you'd realize. If you do a chef's tasting menu or prix fixe (some places will only do set menus since they just make what they got in fresh that day), you can be at the place for 3-4 hours... the dinner is the event.

Hey, thanks for that! I was just in Napa Wednesday. It's about 40 minutes from here. I think I'd try a few other places on there rather than the $250+ per person for the French Laundry. I'm not rich enough not to kick myself for spending $600+ on a dinner for 2. I have been the Madrona Manor once. (one of the 1 star places on that list) Food was good. I was in a wedding there. Thanks again for the link. I think fine dining will wait until we get back. There are a lot of places local on the list. Healdsburg, Napa, Calistoga etc...

and yeah, time for a suit, lol.