Food Shopping In Paris

Gentle readers, Paris is heaven for the food lover. Everywhere we went, we saw gorgeous produce, fresh seafood, meats, sausages, and a stunning variety of cheese. There is a bakery on almost every street corner.



Maille has long been my preferred brand of mustard, so I was excited when The Foodie introduced me to their retail shop on the Place de la Madeleine. I had no idea Maille made so many varieties of mustard! Alas, my local Stop&Shop only carries the dijon and grainy styles, so I bought a jar of mustard with walnuts for myself and a sampler package with five or six little jars of different flavors (including blue cheese, black currant, and hazelnut) for the Army Dude. I'm kind of hoping he'll share.

This photo of Fauchon is courtesy of TripAdvisor

We also went to Fauchon, which carries all sorts of luxury food products: teas, preserves, honey, wine, truffles, foie gras, spices, and more. When the woman behind the chocolate counter offered us samples, we each took a bite, looked at the other wide-eyed and said "Oh. My. God." The chocolate was delicious. I immediately put together a gift bag for the Army Dude. It's in my kitchen cabinet as we speak, because he loved the chocolates so much he knew he'd eat them all that day. I have temporary custody and I haven't eaten a single one. That, my friends, is devotion.




Twice a week, there is a traveling market at the Rue de Breteuil. It's kind of like an outdoor flea market with lots of food, jewelry stalls, clothing, linens, and ceramics (among other things). We went on Saturday to check it out and buy souvenirs, and then returned on Thursday to do some serious food shopping for a dinner The Foodie was cooking that night.




The Former Farmer (who has quite the cooking chops herself and who cooked a delicious pasta dinner for us on another night) acted as sous-chef. I helped a little and ate with gusto. The cop also ate with gusto and kept the wine glasses full. Each according to his ability.





The Cop and the Former Farmer bought us this lovely dessert at a bakery near where we were staying. That pink stripe is raspberry filling and the rest is composed of several varieties of yummy chocolately goodness.

I know I'm not the first person to make this observation, and I won't be the last: it beats me how the French stay so thin.