The Hemingway Bar

I grew up in New Orleans, so obviously I have been to many, many bars in my (short?) 32 years on this earth. However, the coolest bar I have ever been to is hands-down the Hemingway Bar in the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

The Hemingway Bar is not big, in fact, it is quite small. It is tucked in the back of the Ritz in a place where only if you knew about it could you find it. But, once you find it and hopefully find yourself a seat, you will realize it is quite magical.

Obviously, it is named after Ernest Hemingway, who as many know, was a world-class drunk. So, already the fact that one of the most famous drinkers of all time christened the place gives you a hint at the coolness of the place.

Now this is not a bar to pick up girls or dance on the bar. This is a classy joint where you and your date or you and your friends can drink heavily and have a civilized conversation.

The decor is very old-fashioned, but also very classy. It looks like it has not changed since Hemingway drank there -- which is possible. There are lots of little nooks throughout the bar, so your choices are to either sit at the bar or in one of the little nooks. It is not really a place where people stand or walk around and mingle. 

Once you take your seat, they bring you a large menu with tons of old-fashioned drinks. The Hemingway Bar is actually credited with inventing the Bloody Mary. Now whether that is true or not is up for debate, but my husband, who is a Bloody Mary connisseur, contends that it is the best Bloody Mary he has ever tasted. I had a champagne cocktail, of which there were plenty to choose from.

While you are nursing your cocktail, you are brought bar snacks. Not ordinary bar snacks, mind you, but homemade bar snacks. Not super-fancy gastro-snacks, but good old-fashioned bar snacks like perfectly prepared potato chips. The service is, of course, impeccable. They make everyone feel like a VIP.

TIP: This place is expensive. Like $40 a cocktail expensive. So keep this in mind if you are ballin' on a budget.

So, if you are in Paris, and you are interested in a swanky night on the town, I would highly recommend making a stop at the Hemingway Bar.

Bar Hemingway

Ritz Paris

15, place Vendome 75001 Paris

(33) 01 43 16 33 65

http://www.ritzparis.com/

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

Sorry I have not posted in a while -- work has gotten the best of me! But, I am going to try to catch up for the posts I missed in January in the next few weeks. So, this post should have been for the week of January 14th.

When I was in New Orleans the first weekend of January, I was chatting with my husband's uncle, who is a serious world traveler, about his travels and mine. We discovered that we had one "favorite" in common -- L'Ambassade d'Auvergne restaurant in Paris.

L'Ambassade focuses on food from the Auvergne region of France, which is situated pretty much in the middle of France. Its specialty is aligot, which is basically the cheesiest mashed potatoes you will ever eat. When they are served, the waiter pulls them from a big pot and basically stretches them as far as he can and plops them on your plate. It is pretty funny to watch and very delicious to eat. The other food is as hardy and tasty as the aligot -- green lentil salad, sausage, duck and various stews. Not a light meal to say the least!

The highlight of the meal though, especially for chocolate lovers, is the chocolate mousse. This is not the chocolate mousse you think of from Jello boxes and cafeterias. This is basically a giant bowl of chocolate ganache and yes, it is as good and rich as it sounds. It does in fact get served to you in a giant bowl. They bring out The Bowl and serve you a normal portion of mousse. And then...THEY LEAVE THE BOWL! Oh my goodness...it took all of my willpower (not that I have that much to begin with) to not eat the entire bowl. It was that good and that rich. I would go back just for the mousse alone!

The restaurant itself reminds me of a country house. All dark woods and textiles. It feels very homey and comforting just like the food.

One thing you will notice is that this restaurant is spoken of quite a bit in the various tour books, and yes, it is a bit touristy. Like many places in Europe, we sat in the "English-speaking section." But the food is so good and the atmosphere so quaint, that I would still highly recommend stopping by.

TIP: Ok, so I usually try to give a helpful tip here, but my only real tip is, ORDER THE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!!!

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne

22, rue du Grenier Saint-Lazare

75003 Paris

Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 31 22

http://www.ambassade-auvergne.com/

Musee D'Orsay

In looking back through the blog posts I have written thus far, I realized that I have not yet recommended any museums. What a travesty! When I travel, I always try to hit as many museums as possible to see both the new and old treasures that a specific city and country has to offer. My favorite museum in the world (so far!) is the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

I must caveat this recommendation by disclosing that I am a huge Impressionist fan. It is my favorite style and period of art. So for me, the Musee D'Orsay is like mecca.

First, the Musee D'Orsay is housed in one of the most beautiful and interesting buildings for a museum. It is an old train station built in 1900 for the World's Fair and when you stop and look around you can see the bones of a train station. At the far end of the museum there is the original clock for the station and it is basically a work of art in itself.

Now moving on to the art. It really is Impressionist and Post-Impressionist heaven. It covers the period from 1848 to 1914. You can see Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat...all of the super-stars from that period. There is also a great sculpture section on the first floor. Most of the Impressionist masters were French, so it makes perfect sense to have this museum in Paris. It just fits.

Finally, since you will be worn out and totally overstimulated by all the masterpieces, you have to check out the restaurant. I usually am not a big fan of eating in a museum. It is usually crowded with people and junky food. But, the Musee D'Orsay is different. First, the restaurant itself is gorgeous. You feel like you are sitting in the salon of a French king. The food is fantastic and the prices cannot be beat. It is actually extremely reasonably priced considering the ambiance and the quality of food. I would highly recommend making a stop there. As you can see from the picture below, my husband was very happy at our lunch there!

TIP: Buy the Paris Museum Pass -- http://en.parismuseumpass.com/. It provides discounts and you can pop to the head of the line. Which for impatient people like me is a godsend!

One other aspect that I love about the Musee D'Orsay is that it is not so big as to be overwhelming and it is not too small that you think "that's it!" It is really the perfect size -- just enough to quench your thirst for art without causing your head to spin.

If you are in Paris, I would highly recommend spending a few hours in the Musee D'Orsay. It truly is a transporting experience!

Musée d'Orsay
62, rue de Lille
75343 Paris Cedex 07
+33 (0)1 40 49 48 14
www.musee-orsay.fr/en

Maison Kayser

This weekend my husband and I went to brunch at a French bakery in town. Every time I eat a French pastry it brings me back to Paris and my favorite Parisian bakery -- Maison Kayser.

Maison Kayser is both a boulangerie and a patisserie with locations throughout Paris and the world. I was lucky enough to stumble upon their original location a short walk from Notre Dame Cathedral. And once I stumbled in once, I was addicted!

Maison Kayser is an artisanal bakery through and through. The founder, Eric Kayser, is devoted to being a craftsman baker. All of their breads and pastries are obviously made from scratch and dear God are they good. Their breads are just perfect -- they are crispy on the outside and soft and scrumptious inside. Maison Kayser serves 60 varieties of bread, 50 types of cakes, and 25 types of pastries. Though it seems like the shop has been around forever, Maison Kayser was only opened in 1996. Since then he has opened 69 other shops around the world.

Kayser, a fifth generation baker also invented the Fermentolevain, a machine marketed by Electrolux Baking that creates and maintains a liquid leaven that he uses in his breads in lieu of yeast. The liquid leaven causes a lactic fermentation giving hints of milk, hazelnut, and honey to his breads.

Though the bread is phenomenal, the pastries are what I remember most about this charming little shop. Chocolate tarts, croissants and every other type of pastry you can imagine are all lined up like lovely jewels. The hardest part is actually choosing one! But once you do you pretty much are guaranteed to be happy. I especially like their chocolate-hazelnut tart -- it was a perfectly prepared tart shell with the most amazing chocolate ganache filling. It was like Nutella on steroids!!! I still have dreams about this tart!

The original locations, where we went, are side by side. One of which is the boulangerie, which also sells pastries, where you just walk in, grab and go. The other is more of a patisserie where there are a few seats and where you can also grab a beverage. Both of these locations are absolutely charming. They are small store fronts with tons of Parisians bustling in and out at a rapid speed. We definitely had to use our French language skills! When you walk in, you can just tell the goods are made from scratch and with real, full fat butter. Yummm!!!

I would highly recommend finding time in your trip to Paris to find a location of Maison Kayser and grabbing a baguette or a pastry. It is a true Parisian experience.

Maison Kayser
8 Rue Monge (and 14 Rue Monge)
Paris 5e
01-44-07-01-42
http://www.maison-kayser.com/