Of Lunch And Dinner In Paris

Both 5e Cru and Au Grain de Folie are small restaurants, perhaps seven tables each. Their menus are limited and here they diverge. Lunch in the Quartier Latin wine shop was traditional fare: charcuterie and blood sausage, cauliflower soup and penne garnished with artichokes. Service is polished and professional, born of confidence in the quality of ingredients well presented. That evening in a Montmartre street that ends at a stair, romantic red candles set the mood for a quirky vegetarian spot more like home than a public dining room. Our hostess was a solo act. When dinner finally came, Leigh noticed a party of young East Londoners outside and remarked, "Those beefy guys want pizza." Without standing up, I opened the door (tiny place, indeed) to show off our dinners to the ladies. Sold! Their charming banter moved inside, doubling the crowd and the fun.