Paris Day Three: Michelin Star Restaurant, Eiffel Tower, Steak & Frites

After our first day in Paris, we all slept really well – to the extent we were commenting about it. I guess travel and a lot of activity will do that to you. After sleeping in until 9, lazing about with some coffee, and getting ready, we started making our way to lunch.

The closest metro stop to our Airbnb was at the Hotel De Ville which has the Paris 2024 Olympic rings on display. After making a slight detour to see those, we picked up metro cards with 10 rides, and started getting ourselves familiar with the Paris metro system. In other places, we had generally obtained some kind of weekly pass that provided unlimited rides and benefits like museum discounts. For Paris, Amy did the math and that kind of card just didn’t add up for us.

The train was easy. We had more trouble with a bus ride after the train. The problem ended up being that the bus stop we wanted was closed due to some Olympic-related construction. The next closest bus stop was far enough away that we probably just should have walked in the first place.

Lunch was courtesy of our recent Netflix habits. After watching the Bear, we got it into our heads that we wanted to eat at a Michelin star restaurant. Turns out, that’s easier to do in Paris than West Lafayette. Not wanting to break the bank, we settled with one star and doing it over lunch. Also, we wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower later that day.

That brought us to Le Violon d’Ingres. (The name, I just learned, is a reference to a famous picture with a nude model who has two “f-holes” painted on her waist to make her torso resemble a violin. That photograph’s name, in turn, is based on a French expression that refers to a hobby because of a French artist who used to play the violin when he wasn’t painting.)

The food was very good as was the service and the presentation, but ultimately, I can’t say that the experience was over and above the average restaurant in a way that was commensurate with the price. A fair amount of the price was our own fault – they offered champagne as an aperitif which we agreed to without looking at the menu or the prices, adding 75 euro to the bill. Lesson learned! Still, I’m glad we checked that off our bucket list.

 

I neglected to take a picture of the menu or record exactly what I had. But it was a spinach salad to start. (If my spinach tasted like that, I’d eat it every day!). Next up was scallops. The main course was aile de raie which, I believe, is some kind of fish from the ray family. And for dessert was a mille-feuille which is a puff pastry layered with pastry cream. Harper and I made the same choices. Amy had the duck for her main course and ouefs a la neige for dessert.

Like I said, very good. I don’t need to go back. While we were eating, I was wondering about the guys who looked like a casual lunch crowd. What kind of job has you drinking booze and going to a Michelin star restaurant for lunch? They looked vaguely professional – guys in their 40s to 60s, I would guess. Meanwhile, my normal work lunch is Subway at my desk.

After lunch, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. In a lot of ways, we were doing this trip as paint-by-the-numbers tourists. I know some travelers want to live like locals; but if you’re only going to be in a place once for a few days, I don’t think that works very well.

Only one pillar of the tower had lifts running. The others were under construction, being fitted with more efficient hydraulics, I believe.  We took the lift up to the second level. Amy thought her anxiety over heights would be manageable, but as we were in line for the elevator that would take us to the top level, she reconsidered.

Harper and I went on up. It was probably a good choice for Amy. The top is well-confined so there is no real chance of falling. But it is very high, and there isn’t anything else near your level. To top it off, it was very windy. The view was great, of course. But, the thing about being on top of the Eiffel Tower is that there, unlike most places in Paris, you can’t look for the it as a landmark.

After returning to the second level, we reconnected with Amy where we took advantage of a gift shop and a mail slot to send some post cards. When I was visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago, I noticed the Berlin post card on the refrigerator. So, don’t underestimate your ability to brighten someone’s day by sending a little post card from far off places. We took the stairs back down. Even though we were going down, it was still a bit of a hike getting to the ground!

It was a bit rainy outside, so we went back to the Airbnb and crashed for a little while. Eventually we roused ourselves to head out for dinner. On the calendar was Le Relais de l’Entrecote. They only serve one thing: steak and frites. And the restaurant is incredibly popular. It’s one of those places that’s popular because it’s popular. It creates its own momentum.

After the big lunch, I don’t think we were very hungry when we started the trip to the restaurant. We ended up in line for 2.5 hours! So, if we weren’t hungry when we got in line, we were sure hungry by the time we got into the restaurant. The line took us past a big window that let us see some of the diners. We had fun joking about holding up Google Translate on a phone saying stuff like, “Hungry. So, very hungry. Please leave.” We were punchy. It was a long wait, but we had a good time. Some other folks were buying drinks from a nearby grocery and having them in line.

There was a young American woman behind us who had a dog that looked less like a pet and more like an accessory. We were all pretty sure we’d dislike her if we got to know her. The restaurant gave us a lot of steak and frites. Possibly more than we wanted. Besides drinks, the only real decision to make is whether you want your steak rare, medium, or well done. They pile on the fries and aren’t shy with more helpings of meat either. We ate our fill and then headed home. We had an early morning the next day.