Noisette.
Unlike most of America, most of Paris is closed on Sundays. The French for some reason feel that Sunday is a day of rest and not shopping, eating or making money. As such, it's kinda hard to find a place to eat.
Luckily, the 7th has a few places that are still open. One of them is Le Centenaire at the corner of rue de Saint Dominique and Boulevard Tour de Maubourg. It's an average-looking place and I decide to take a chance.
The server is friendly in a slightly homosexual way. This is not meant to be perjorative, just an observation. He's quite enthusiastic about the plat du jour, the lasagna, that he decides to order that for me. After a brief discussion where I let him know, in no uncertain terms, that I am not interested in lasagna, I order the Croque Poilane Madame - a typical croque madame with egg.
Ouef Dur - Hard Boiled Eggs with Mayonnaise.
Since this is France, I decide that a multi-course meal is in order and go with the hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise. It's a nice presentation and I make a mental note to remember how to make this at home.
The breakfast itself is pretty decent. Nothing to rave about, but nothing to puke over either. Just standard bistro/diner style fare, with frozen fries.
Croque Poilane Madame - Ham, cheese and egg sandwich with salad and french fries.
Le Centenaire
27 Tour de Maubourg
75007 Paris
01 47 05 80 57
Hey... I stumbled across your blog while searching for a phone number for this place. I hit it up pretty often... not necessarily for the quality, but because it's really close to my house, and the portion sizes are fairly large.
ReplyDeleteI think what needs to be understood about the Paris brasserie is that it's kind of our version of a diner: quick, classic food that fills you up. It may not be gourmet, but it is (in my opinion) quite tasty.
As for Sundays in Paris, that's always my day to hit up the Marais (the 4th), which is the Jewish quarter and closes on Sundays, remaining opened on Saturdays.