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Travels with Alexandra - February 2004
Food Adventures in Paris and Switzerland
Recently, my wife, Nell, my daughter, Alexandra and I flew off to Europe, spending four nights in Paris and five nights in Switzerland. Nell and I hadn’t been to Paris in 12 years and it was great to get back. It was especially fun for us to introduce Alex to some of the wonders of the city—the Eiffel Tower—top on her "to-do" list (cold and windy) and the Luxembourg Gardens (which Alex loved). We stayed in a little hotel near the Pantheon in the Latin Quarter—my old student stomping grounds. In fact, our hotel window looked out on the Sorbonne where almost twenty years ago I had studied French.
Alex, like her parents, likes eating out in restaurants. But she’s not so interested in long, lingering multi-course lunches and dinners. So, for the most part, we ate “Paris casual.” Our first night we went to Brasserie Balzar, a Left Bank restaurant institution. Noisy and full, Balzar has lots of character—the look and feel of a place that has been around for decades: waiters with handlebar mustaches squeezing between tables. We ate French fries, roast chicken and skate with brown butter and capers. Alex had Orangina for her beverage. Kid heaven.
On the second morning we found a café that featured crêpes just down the street from our hotel. Strong coffee for mom and dad and a crêpe with strawberry jelly for Alexandra. The rest of our mornings in Paris we dined “chez crêpe café”. And now, since coming back to Seattle, we do crêpes with strawberry jelly at home.
Five-year-olds can enjoy museums but one hour is plenty. That was about the length of our Louvre visit. Outside in the courtyard, along one of the sides opposite the pyramid entrance to the museum is Café Marly where we ate lunch. Café Marly has a fireplace, 12-foot ceilings, large windows, and walls painted in bright colors. Lots of stylish business people work in the area, so, as jean-wearing Americans, we were definitely underdressed. At Café Marly I had steak tartar, as classic a French dish as you could ever want. So flavorful. Alex got a plate of buttered noodles. A fun lunch.
Leaving Paris, we took the TGV, the fast train, to Switzerland. In three hours we were in Geneva. We took along ham sandwiches and yogurt for snacks, and more Orangina. There we met a Seattle friend, who has been living in Geneva for several months working at the World Health Organization. She met us at the train station. Later, we shopped at a great supermarket and I made dinner in her apartment for all of us that evening. It was great fun to see the array of products offered and cook some items like rouget, a small Mediterranean fish, not often available in Seattle.
The next two nights we went to a small village in the Alps, Les Marecottes. This charming mountain town has a ski area above it. We took a gondola to get up there—1500 feet of vertical climb—Alex really enjoyed that. I skied for the first time in 15 years. Glorious weather with fresh snow.
For lunch we slipped down snow and ice to a local bar. Though it was noon the back room where we sat was dark with little light getting through the one small window. Walls and ceilings were sheathed in wood blackened with age and smoke. A menu out front offering fondue drew us in. We ordered the traditional cheese fondue and drank a wine made by the proprietor featuring a label with a big steer and the name of the restaurant. It wasn’t great wine but it fit with the place and the meal. They brought us out a basket full of pieces of crusty French bread. And then came a basket of cooked small potatoes, still warm. When they came out with the classic fondue pot filled with melted cheese— it seemed like a huge amount. In the end, we ate the whole thing. Delicious!
Back to Paris and one final memorable meal before flying home. Parisian friends took us to a little restaurant near their house called Café Wadja. About half the size of Nell’s, this Parisian bistro is bright and charming. The staff seemed to know most of the customers. I had a beef tongue terrine that was fabulous. For my second course I chose rascasse, a Mediterranean fish that is a key ingredient in bouillabaisse. Nell ordered grilled calamari with potatoes and vegetables flavored with a light, lemon vinaigrette. This proved to be a marvelous combination of flavors. And Alex? More tired than hungry, she fell sound asleep at the table about ten minutes after we got to the restaurant.