Table of Contents
- 1 Destination: Paris
- 2 Mode of Transport: Andouillette
- 3 New York, my town
- 4 La Brasserie Bofinger
- 5 It quickly became an obsession.
- 6 In the Marais
- 7 La Closerie De Lilas
- 8 Brasserie Lipp
- 9 Brenda’s Short Travel Guide to Paris
- 10 Click Here for latest prices and more details for flights to Paris
Destination: Paris
Mode of Transport: Andouillette
Brenda and Bailey are feeling a bit under the weather and are very happy with staying at home and watching cooking programs all day. I need to get some air and tell them that I am going for a walk. It’s cold out so I choose to wear my favorite cashmere scarf. It’s charcoal grey and very long. The hand on it is luxurious. I wrap it around my neck multiple times for style’s sake, but mostly to keep myself warm. It’s like an old trusted friend. I definitely put my trust in it when I walk around on cold days.
New York, my town
I am very fond of my town, New York. I love it for what it is, and I love it for what it can morph into if you let your mind and sensibilities wander. No other town, in my estimation, can stand on it’s own as does this city; nor can any other town become a reflection of other great cities around the world as this one does.
On cold sunny days, especially when I have my favorite scarf on, my sense of memory brings me back to a cold February, in 2003. Walking around my downtown neighborhood in New York, I let my mind turn back the clock and pretend to again to be visiting Paris that year.
I start walking over to one of my favorite haunts. I walk north on Crosby Street, take a sharp left on Spring Street and enter Balthazar. I perch myself at the zinc bar and place my standard order of a dozen oysters, kumamoto when they are available; and the lamb sandwich. They have a vin de pays by the carafe, so I ask for that.
I pretend I am in Paris
.
The kumamotos are small, laid over a bed of ice, served with cocktail sauce and a mignonette. They are little delights with a mild fruity essence and just enough brininess. I decide to forego the vin de pays for now and order a glass of chardonnay with the oysters. I feel as if I am feasting on butter without having any. The combination is malty and smooth.
My sandwich arrives, and the meat is at a perfect temperature of medium rare. The lamb, with lettuce, tomato, with just the right amount of mayonnaise is bookended by two toasted slices of sourdough. It’s served with crispy double fried frites. I like to dip these in some bearnaise, which I ask for on the side. It’s perfect with the vin de pays.
Andouillette and Fries
La Brasserie Bofinger
I look around Balthazar and it reminds me of La Brasserie Bofinger on Rue de la Bastille. There’s a faint sound of Billie Holiday
in the background, overwhelmed by the clatter and energy of the place. Bofinger is not unlike this. Bofinger was the first place Brenda and I have ever tried a dish named, Andouillette.
Andouillette is a coarse dry sausage made with pork or veal, long intestine, and chitterlings, with a seasoning of pepper, salt, onion and wine. It is not for the faint-hearted. Upon looking at it, one can almost feel gout coming on. It has a barnyard smell and taste about it. It can stand up to any wine, but best with beer.
It quickly became an obsession.
First I heard of Andouillette was in a short story in one of my many Hemingway
Anthology books. He loved it, and so did Brenda and I. We both grew up in a culture in which offal was not out of the ordinary, so by no means were we intimidated by this robust sausage. It quickly became an obsession.
My carafe emptied. I need another drink to prolong my daydreaming. I order a very dry Gin Martini. I prefer Beefeater; it’s still made in the heart of London , there is something traditionally intriguing about that. I thank my bartender, he returns my gratitude with a smile, and with a light fist, knocks on the bar and wishes me good luck. In drinking man’s language, that means the drink is on him.
In the Marais
Brenda and I stayed in a humble hotel in the Marais, but dressed as if we were staying at the Ritz Paris. She wore a beautiful corseted top, that caught the eye of the night attendant at the hotel, paired with a winter white low rise boiled wool trouser. Her coat was a patchwork of fox and pony, black to the floor. Her boots were Valentino Garavani, with a high red heel as an accent.
Booking.com
We walked into the Ritz that evening as if we belonged there.
We went to the bar on the Cambon side, better known as the Hemingway Bar. Colin Field was behind the bar that evening. He made Brenda a classic French 75 and I had a perfect Gin Martini. I had four that night. I remember light ice crystals floating on the top of the drink. It was perfect. The evening was perfect as Colin cranked up an old phonograph and played a version of Falling in Love Again, by Marlene Dietrich.
[Tweet “We walked into the Ritz that evening as if we belonged there.”]
La Closerie De Lilas
The following morning, we both needed a nice walk in the cold fresh air and something substantial for lunch to soak up some of the poison from the previous evening. We go to Montparnasse and head to La Closerie De Lilas
. Another Hemingway haunt, and appropriately had their andouillette. This dish was a little more polished than the one we had at Bofinger. It was seared a little more and it wasn’t as “fragrant”. Perfect with a heavy dose of mustard and a dry soda with bitters.
The walk over had been long and cold, and I needed few bites of my sausage before unraveling my scarf. The sun shone bright, and the streets filled with protesters (this was shortly after 9-11, and not everyone was happy with decisions George Bush had made regarding the war). Brenda averted her eyes from what was going on outside and just lost herself in the peaceful music that filled the room.
My daughter has become somewhat of a baguette aficionado,
My bartender takes me away from my dreamscape for a second and asks me if I wanted another drink. I decline; so, I ask for my tab and pay him. I wrap myself up and head out to the cold. The weather is quite crisp. I sneak into the boulangerie right next door from the restaurant and buy two baguettes for home.
My daughter has become somewhat of a baguette aficionado, since we returned from our trip to France
in 2012. She loves them flaky. She has a penchant for making a mess at the table with the way she tears through the baguettes.
Brasserie Lipp
When I speak of France with my daughter, it is almost always about the week we spent in Paristogether as a family. Her favorite place on earth is the playground in the Luxembourg Gardens; where there is a small entrance fee, but kept pristine. One day in specific she talks about all the time is how our first stop in Paris on our first day was at her mother’s and my favorite eatery in Paris, Brasserie Lipp
on Saint-Germain.
The giraffe is named Abile, we lost her on the plane in Air France on the way back home in 2012. If found, please let us know. We all miss her!
Bailey ordered a steak and Brenda and I ordered the andouillette. It’s our favorite andouillette of all the places we have tried. We sat in a corner table outside, under an awning protecting us from the rain. We talked and laughed, ate and drank until the rain went away and the sun came out. On our way back home from lunch, we happened upon the playground for the first time, and made a daily visit ever since. Bailey considers that a perfect day, and I agree.
I love my city. I love that it allows me to have my little corner of Paris in it. I can’t find andouillette anywhere in the city, but that’s okay; my gout had been acting up anyway. I walk East on Spring Street toward the Bowery and stop in at a local wine shop to pick up a bottle of Givry. It’s starting to get late in the day, and the girls are probably wondering where I went. The sun quickly goes down, and the chill picks up. I’m glad I have my old trusted friend to keep me warm for the walk home.
Ok, Have you tried Andouillette? Would you? Tell us in the comments, we’d love to know! Share this dish with your friends, please.
Brenda’s Short Travel Guide to Paris
Flying there from the U.S.
Most Main U.S. airlines have direct stops to Paris from NYC and all major American cities. Our favorite is Air France which we flew in 2012. We also flew Iberia in 2003. The cost of our flight was about $1200 round-trip during summer in 2012. In 2003 it was only $300 round-trip with a stopover in Madrid .
Click Here for latest prices and more details for flights to Paris
Stays:
In 2003, Andrew and I stayed at Hotel Saint-Louis Marais which was a great hotel for a couple. It was quite romantic and the neighborhood was packed with great local eats.
Hotel Saint-Louis Marais |
1, rue Charles V |
75004 Paris |
France |
+33 (0)1 48 87 87 04 | |
+33 (0)1 48 87 33 26 |
Click here to get the best prices and more details about Hotel Saint-Louis Marais
In 2012, Andrew, Bailey and I stayed Hotel de la Paix in Montparnasse. We loved it because it was so close to Luxembourg Gardens that we made a stop there every day. It’s such a wonderful stop for kids because of the very well-equipped and well-kept playground.
Hôtel De La Paix – Paris Montparnasse
225 Boulevard Raspail – 75014 PARIS – France
Tel. : +33(0)1.43.20.35.82
Fax: +33(0)1.43.35.32.63
Email : [email protected]
Click here for the latest prices and more details about Hotel de la Paix
Eats:
Brasserie Lipp
Closerie de Lilas
Brasserie Bofinger
5-7 rue de la Bastille
75004 Paris
Tél : +33 (0)1 42 72 87 82
Books we used for touring and dreaming about Paris:
Some links are affiliates at not extra cost to you.
I love your photos, gives me a great feel for Paris! Thanks for linking up with #WeekendWanderlust 🙂
Paris in the winter looks magical!
It’s wonderful all four seasons. Winter does have a solemnity about it, that’s quite beautiful.
Makes me want to go to Paris!
Don’t hesitate, you should. Thanks for reading.
Andouillette in Paris . . .. definitely marked down for the next time I visit! I would LOVE to try!
Alli: Mark it down, and hope you come out a fan as we did. Thank you so much for the read and joining our journey. Until next time, all the best, Andrew
I think I’d be like Bailey and order a steak! Not sure if Andouillette is really my thing but I’d probably try it once!
Sky: Andouillette is definitely not for everyone’s palate, but maybe a taste off someone’s plate will satisfy your curiosity. In the meantime, steak is always a good call. Thanks for reading and following our journey. Best, Andrew
Aww, Paris looks great! I must get back soon.
Esther: You must get back soon. I think everyone should go soon. I light of what happened recently, the city of lights should forever be a destination must see. thanks for following our journey. All the Best, Andrew
The best written appetizer for something I probably can´t get in Mexico. Guadalajara does have some French restaurants around…hmm.
Brent: True, probably hard to find in Mexico. However, I’m sure they have some form of sausage that replicates it somewhat as the Mexicans are also big fans of intestine. Thanks for the comment and the read. Hopefully you’ll continue to follow our journey. Best, Andrew
Awesome post! I only realized now that you guys are Filipinos too. Great! 😀 So you’re in Paris at the moment? I am temporarily living in Belgium now and I am loving Europe so much. It is getting really gray (what more for the rain Belgium haha) so walks outside are something I do too.
Aileen: We are in fact countrymen. We are actually starting our Round the World Travel in the Philippines. We aren’t in Paris, the story was about my days there. I am hoping all is well in Belgium. We will be in Europe full time for about a year starting April of 2016; if you are still in the continent and we are near, maybe we can all hook up. Thanks for the read and comment. Hope you join us again soon. Best, Andrew P.S. I like your blog.
I haven’t actually tried Andouillette in Paris, though I have had it in New Orleans and it’s to die for – though they put a Cajun spin on it in Louisiana – would be interesting to see how it fares in comparison to those dishes served in Paris!
Meg: Now I need to go to New Orleans and see how it compares as well; maybe we will do a andouillette review together one day. Thanks for the read. Best, Andrew
What a beautifully detailed memoir of a visit to a beloved destination! I appreciate the present tense take on the article as well as the meshing of two experiences. In fact, I may use it sometime. Not sure if I will ever try Andouillette, but I enjoyed learning about it.
Howard: Your comment means a lot, thank you I am flattered as I am a fan of your writing. Thanks for the read and hope that you continue to journey along with us. Best, Andrew
Such a great reminiscence of you trip to Paris. I did try Andouillette last time we were there but I will definitely add it to my list for our next trip.
Dana: Thank you for journeying along. You should definitely give andouillette a try upon your return to Paris, but I will say that it’s not for everybody. All the best, Andrew
Wow, reading this has made me very hungry and craving a baguette! I didn’t try Andouillette while in Paris, but wish I did, next time.
John: It’s good to miss out on a few things, give you all the reason to return. Thanks for the read and hope you join us again in our journeys. Best, Andrew
Your daughter is really lucky to have been exposed to a lot of culture and cuisines at a very young age. 🙂
Thanks for the read. My wife and I feel very lucky that we have a kid that is open to such an experience. We hope that it all works out as a positive direction for us as a family when we travel the world full time. Best, Andrew
No, I haven’t tried it but I’ll be back in France in May so I’ll have to try it then. Maybe at Brasserie Lipp?
Melinda: Definitely at Lipp. Looking forward to your travel stories upon your next trip there. Best, Andrew