I must be the laziest food blogger ever. It has been almost a year since I visited Paris and there’s still so much I haven’t told you. Sure, A l’Etoile d’Or alone is worth visiting Paris, but we can’t live on just caramels and chocolate, right?
OK, maybe I can, but I’m assuming most of you wouldn’t want to. Plus, I feel like I won’t be able to get another good night’s sleep if I didn’t tell you about the best meal I’ve had in Paris.
I don’t remember exactly what I was tracking down, but I remember giving up, sitting on the pavement and start looking for a place nearby on my Paris map. There was a red mark (“must visit” category) on a street, which looked like a 5-minute-walk away from where I collapsed, so I got up, told my friend the food was near and we started walking.
30 (!) minutes later, we were standing in front of Chez Dumonet. At first glance I thought it was closed – the chairs outside were stacked against the window and the entrance was covered with a thick, semi-transparent cloth. Then, we decided to take a peek inside and my friend saw a waiter approaching a table with a dessert in his hand.
“We are so ordering those strawberries on top of that meringue thingy,” he said.
“We are so not ordering that,” I replied. “There’s a Grand Marnier souffle on the menu and I’m not sharing.”
The nicest French waiter in the world told us (since we didn’t make a reservation) he could only sit us next to the kitchen and showed a table at the very back of the restaurant. A table behind a wooden panel next to the kitchen door, which is almost invisible to the rest of the restaurant, where I can take hundreds of photos without being noticed and feeling embarrassed thinking I am disturbing other guests?
It was a food blogger’s dream.
“Yes, yes, yes!” I cried.
As we started reading the menu, our cheerful waiter came along with two glasses of white wine, said “With compliments from the chef!” and pointed towards the kitchen. I turned around and saw the chef waving at us from the kitchen.
Can this get any better?
Yes, it can. Because after this carrot soup drizzled with a thick, sticky balsamic glaze came what I had been dreaming for months: Confit de canard (top photo). I’ve read about it on David’s blog and this duck dish together with the Grand Marnier souffle photo he published are really hard to forget.
Crispy skin, soft and juicy meat, served with potatoes fried in duck fat and a salad with a very sharp vinaigrette to balance the two. Hands down the best duck of my life.
But wait! Then came the Grand Marnier souffle.
Take a look at this beauty:
That small glass of Grand Marnier brought back a childhood memory… Back when I was little, my father used to drink a glass of Grand Marnier (diluted with a bit of water and ice) right after dinner while he worked his way through a small bowl of fruit. And guess who was taking small sips when he wasn’t looking?
The glass of Grand Marnier that came with the souffle was much larger than the sips I took from my father’s drink, but turns out the exact amount needed to transform the whole souffle into an incredible dessert.
And finally, came along a plate full of cookies and chocolate.
If you ever visit Paris, mark your map with a thick, red marker, so you’ll never miss this great bistro. And don’t forget to warn your friends beforehand that you’re not sharing the souffle.
By the way, I just realized how much the posts I read on David’s blog inspire me and brought so many wonderful things into my life. Since today is Thanksgiving, I would like to take this opportunity to thank David again for making my Paris trip so incredibly special. His posts have led us to many different treasures of the city and I’ll be forever thankful. Hope to give a more proper (box of) “thanks” the next time I visit.
Chez Dumonet – Josephine
117 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris (map)
Tel: (33) 01 45 48 52 40
Closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
p.s. There are many more Paris posts to come, so stay tuned!
Other Paris related posts:
Mouthwatering!! This looks so incredibly delicious!!What a fantastic place.I will note it down when I next go to Paris!!! Thanks for this post.
Modern Country Lady, Elise – Thank you.
Katie – I can’t wait to go back. There are so many things I didn’t try and it is impossible to fit multiple visits in a week.
Victoria, Nisrine – Hope you like it.
Vicki in GA – Beats me, too!
sibel – Türkçe blogumda da çok uzun bir süre önce bu yazıyı yayınlamıştım. İsterseniz buradan bakabilirsiniz.
David – And I’ll gladly share 🙂
A Plum By Any Other Name – Hope you visit Paris again and have a taste of their food soon.
Hi! I’m a french food stylist living in San Francisco…I love your blog, beautiful photos and looove confit de canard as well!
I adore Chez Dumonet. Their petit canard, millefeuille de pigeon, and souffle are amazing and I would gladly live forever in their wine cellar!
I could live on caramels and chocolates alone, especially if they came from A l’Etoile d’Or. But this spot sounds like a must-visit for my next trip to Paris. Thanks for the write up.
It sounds like an amzing place and the food looks very sophisticated. I will have to remember the name! Recommended by you and David, it must be GOOD!
When I read reviews such as yours, I see the photos of the beautiful building, the ‘mouthwatering’ entree and dessert, plus the lovely way food is served, I wonder what is wrong in the USA that people choose places like Applebees or Red Lobster over well-prepared food?
I gush over your and David’s web sites!
yine anlamasamda fotoğraflar yetiyor Cenk.resimler harika.o minicik kadeh ne tatlı:)sevgiler.
Glad you liked the recommendation(s)! The confit and the soufflé are pretty great and the staff is quite nice, too. And if you come back to Paris, you have a fan in the 9th arrondissement who is anxious to stock you back up with salted butter caramels and Bernachon chocolate.
And speaking of sharing, I’ll help you eat them! : )
(Sigh) As with many of the great restaurants in Paris, I noticed they are closed on the weekend. A lesson I had to learn the hard way when I visited in October. Wish I had your recommendation sooner! Sounds like a dream dinner. LOVE the idea of pouring the Grand Marnier into the souffle (and youthfully stealing sips!).
I used to think that to find places like this one had to move to Burgundy or Alsace; well you lucked out and I also think David was an invaluable help here. Nice grand marnier soufflé!
Hello dear,after learning about l´étoile d´or now Iknow another place to go when i´ll go to paris,I know la rue du cherche midi very well and never paid attention to the restaurant there,this is what I love in paris,you can visit that city every year and every time you´ll be surprised with something new.thanks for sharing.have a good weekend
Lovely pics, so crisp! The cookies are mouth-watering=)
I think that, after the chocolates and cookies, I collapsed! What a meal!!
I kept the address and I will surely visit that place when I get to Paris!
Excellent!! My favorite meal is roast duck….this sounds so appetizing!
I would recommend Domaine de Lintillac as a restaurant de canard too, for the next time