2013 Paris Food Journal

This is a food journal to remind us of the wonderful meals we had in Paris.
I'm missing it a lot as I type this.

Day 0

• Just showing you what you get when you're on American Airlines from Dallas to Paris.

It's pasta

Day 1

• Lovely and sumptuous welcome macarons in our hotel room
• Snack:  crepe noix coco (coconut nutella crepe)
• Dinner at Cafe Vavin
• salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onions, mushrooms, diced potatoes, foie gras on toast (so delicious!!!)
• beef stew (it was a bit salty) and cornichons
• drinks:  petit chablis, Heineken

Day 2

• Breakfast at Julien Boulangerie:  2 cafe au laits, pain au chocolate, another chocolate pastry
• Lunch at Galeries Lafayette
• Caeser salad: chicken, green beans, tomato, boiled egg, parsley
• lasagna and salad
• Snack at Galeries Lafayette:  Starbucks latte
• Snack at Le Marquis de Lauderee:  3 macarons (dark chocolate, cassis, raspberry)
• Bought snack at the Champs-Elysees Christmas Market for later: chocolate covered marshmallows (one was blueberry flavored!)
• Dinner at Chez Clement:  
• bacon-wrapped pollock steak w/mashed potatoes
• sausage, steak and chicken w/mashed potatoes
• 2 chocolate profiteroles
• chocolate tart topped with pears
• 1/2 carafe of wine
• 2 cafe au laits

Day 3

• Breakfast in our room:  Starbucks lattes and bananas from the "bio" (organic) grocery store
• Lunch at the Pompidou museum cafe:  ham & cheese baguette, sweet & spicy crisps
• Snack:  $9 (each!) caramel eclairs at L'Eclair de Genie
• Dinner at Le Royal:  
• cassoulet
• steak au poivre with frites
• 1/2 carafe of Sancerre

Day 4 (Thanksgiving Day)

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  2 cafe au laits, long Nutella pastry, large apricot & cream pastry
• Snack:  2 macarons from Dalloyau (grapefruit w/sesame seeds; Cognac);  cheese crepes
• Coffee break at Fauchon
• Pre-dinner:  wine at Verjus a Vin
• Thanksgiving Dinner at Kunitoraya on 1 Rue Villedo 75001
• udon with duck
• udon with beef

Day 5

• Breakfast at Julien Boulangerie:  spinach & salmon quiche, 2 coffees
• Snack in the St. Michel district:  crepe with Nutella, banana and Grand Marnier
• Snack in Montmatre at Starbucks: espresso
• Lunch in Montmatre:  crepe with cheese, mushrooms and egg
• Dinner in our room:  baguette, organic ham, petit Brie, Italian grapes, red wine, macarons (chocolat, citron, framboise)

Day 6

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  grilled apple pastry, cafe au lait, espresso
• Lunch:  picked up a sandwich around the corner to take on the train to Poissy
• Snack/Dinner at Angelina:  Champagne, dark hot chocolate, white hot chocolate, a millefuille pastry, a pastry that they recommended since they ran out of the one I wanted

Day 7

• Breakfast at Starbucks (everything else was closed on Sunday):  espresso, latte, chocolate chip muffin, pancakes
• Lunch in St. Michel district:  ham & cheese crepe; egg, cheese and doner kebab chicken crepe
• Snack at Starbucks:  latte, orange juice
• Dinner at Chez Clement near our hotel:  beet root salad, steak & frites, duck breast & frites, profiteroles

Day 8

• Breakfast at cafe around the corner:  amazing pear almond tart; disappointing raisin roll; espresso

Airplane

• Airplane food
• My last macarons that I bought from the Fauchon boutique in the airport

Back from Spain

Back from Spain -- it was a CULINARY ADVENTURE!  Lots of food and wine . . . it was either vino tinto, vino blanco or Estrella beer at every meal and cost only about $3 -- as much as a Coke or bottle of water.  Why can't good wine be just as inexpensive in the U.S.? 

Here are some photos from our trip.  At the bottom of this post is a list of almost everything we ate ~ more of a food journal to help us remember our meals.  We didn't eat anything extremely exotic because we were traveling between cities and on buses with no bathrooms (and didn't want to risk getting sick).  As you can see, we got a little tired of tapas and opted for Thai, Japanese and Turkish food for a few meals.

Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid
(We came here a few times because I loved it so much)

Inside the Mercado de San Miguel



Mushrooms galore at the Boqueria in Barcelona

Cafe con leche and a Canya Xocolata pastry

Burrata w/jamon and olive oil
Burrata w/blueberry jam and crushed almonds

Jamon and chorizo paella

Taco caliente, lots of salads and rice (yes, it's green rice),
watermelon juice

Rose lychee macarons and other goodies

Chocolate and churros (dip the churros in the chocolate)
at the famous Chocolatier San Gines

Gelato at Amorino in Bilbao

A bretzel

Solamejo w/Parmesan gelato

Pork meatballs in a Thai red curry

Fish in olive oil and potatoes w/mayo at Leketio

Fried artichoke and fried jamon at El Globo

Brownie w/caramel and Bailey's ice cream

Watercress and mache salad w/foie shavings, duck ham,
lychees and flower petals at Citrus

Barcelona-style cannelloni w/truffled mornay sauce
at Citrus

Grilled fillet of sea bass with "savoury pastry" at Citrus

Veal rounds w/hot brie small sacks and Idiazabal
cheese sauce at Citrus

Warm chocolate coulant w/chocolate ice cream
and toasted crunchy crushed hazelnuts at Citrus

Our HUGE drinks at the ME hotel in Madrid that
cost us 15 euros each!

Apple Crumble Latte at Starbucks

MADRID

Lunch at Bocaito
- interesting potato mash
- bread
- celery w/Roquefort
- torta w/tomato and jamon
- the best olives I've had in my life
- croquettes with creamy mild cheese
- thin fried eggplant
- mini cream puffs (on the house)

Snack at Cocina-Gourmet
- rose lychee macaron

Dinner at Bol (the Coca-Cola looking place because of the red & white theme and Coca-Cola placemats; the most awful service and meal we had during the entire trip)
- torta w/queso fresca and salmon
- torta w/3 cheese
- never got the wine we ordered

Dinner at Cafe y Tapas
- amazing strawberry gazpacho w/fruit salad blended in and topped w/crab
- tortilla (egg and potato)
- pork meatballs in Thai red curry
- jamon iberico and potatoes topped with a fried egg

-------------

Breakfast
- Napo Tripo Choco!!!
- the most amazing chorizo sandwich ever . . . melted in my mouth

Lunch at Mercado de San Miguel
- buratta w/ham and olive oil on toast
- buratta w/blueberry jam and crushed almonds on toast
- jamon y chorizo paella

Snack at Chocolatier San Gines
- churros and chocolate

Dinner at Fun and Noodles
- vegetable and shrimp tempura in udon soup
- beef saute udon

-------------

Lunch at Mercado de San Miguel again
- buratta w/ham and olive oil on toast
- buratta w/blueberry jam and crushed almonds on toast
- mixto paella

Snack
- mint chocolate gelato (looked ALL OVER for ice cream and finally found s stand)

Dinner at Taberna Tempranillo (wine bar)
- nothing worth noting (more pintxos)

Dinner at Posada del Leon de Oro
- solamejo (gazpacho) w/Parmesan gelato
- mixed croquettes (fish, spinach, goat cheese)
- ordered and waited for a chocolate fondant dessert. . . the server finally told us that they were out

-------------
BILBAO

Lunch
- Doner Kebab

Snack at Amorino
- gelato

Dinner at Lekeitio
- potatoes w/mayo
- white fish in olive oil

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Lunch at the Guggenheim Bistro
- lamb cube and salad
- blad pasta and salad

Dinner at El Globo
- fried artichoke on a stick w/fried jamon
- meatballs w/black pudding
- queso fundido

-------------

BARCELONA

Breakfast at Il Caffe di Francesco
- cranberry muffin with yogurt injection
- croissant ham and cheese sandwich
- amazing cafe con leche

Lunch (rip off!!!)
- 7,50 euro mushroom and cheese pizza
- 7,50 euro bocadillo

Snack at Starbucks
- delicious Apple Crumble Latte

Dinner at Navarra
- caprese salad
- two 1/2 bottles of red wine
- 22 oz steak w/Roquefort sauce and French fries
- 1/4 chicken with strong peppercorn sauce, sauteed soft potatoes
- brownie with caramel and Bailey's ice cream

-------------

Breakfast
- granola bars . . . had to get to Sagrada Familia early

Lunch
- fried cuttlefish w/French fries
- 2 hake steaks w/lots of bones and scales, a salad
- caramel flan
- 1/2 bottle of white wine; Coke

Snack in Olympic Park
- magnum 60% cocoa chocolate bar
- the worst caramel chocolate chewy drumstick

Dinner at Beer and Tapas
- croquettes
- button mushrooms in olive oil
- potatoes and jamon topped w/a fried egg
- lamb chops and roasted vegetables

-------------

Breakfast at Il Caffe di Francesco
- disappointing apple tart (dense and non-flaky)
- today we realized we could get a Grande cafe con leche

Lunch at the Montserrat cafeteria
- pasta topped w/shredded Swiss cheese and a foot long sausage
- roasted veggies (poblano pepper, eggplant, peppers, potato)
- cheese croquettes, fish croquettes

Snack at the Montserrat cafeteria
- tiramisu and mint chocolate chip ice cream

Dinner at Thai Gardens Barcelona
- 8 different Thai tapas
- lemongrass seafood (calamari, mussels,etc) soup
- red curry w/potatoes and beef; rice

-------------

Breakfast at Il Caffe di Francesco
- Canya Xocolata

Lunch at the Boqueria
- jamon and manchego bocadillo
- taco picante served w/a bunch of goodies (rices and salads)

Snack at Il Caffe di Francesco
- a bretzel

Dinner at Citrus
- watercress and mache salad w/foie shavings, duck ham, lychees and flower petals
- Barcelona-style cannelloni w/truffled mornay sauce
- veal rounds w/hot brie small sacks and Idiazabal cheese sauce
- grilled fillet of sea bass with "savoury pastry"
- warm chocolate coulant w/chocolate ice cream and toasted crunchy crushed hazelnuts