The Paris Life: j'aime la nourriture à Paris, Lord Help me.

So this week has been very interesting, I am actually starting to get to know my way around the city. Unfortunately, my current apartment which is lovely and wonderful ....is under construction and I have spent the majority of the last 2 weeks looking for a new place to live due to my allergies from the construction dust )-: Makes me sad because I already feel at home in this place and neighborhood. So apparently the real estate market in Paris is an "owner's market". I have literally had to interview for apartments, send my work resume, detailed information about my visit, then meet with the owner or property manager for them to size me up in person as to whether or not I am a"fit". I was turned down on the last interview, I can't tell whether to be offended or take it as a compliment. She said that she preferred to rent to someone "older"....a "Canadian retired man beat me out on that one"???? I am still looking but if I don't find a place soon my allergies are just going to have to deal with the dust.

After full days of apartment scouting, I have spent my evenings venturing out for dinner and let me just say, Please Lord, help me from stopping at every pastry shop on the corner. The food here is magnifique. Here are my two favorite restaurants this week.....I can't say enough wonderful things about the following places, I hope my photos will do them justice.

First off, apologies in advance to my vegan/vegetarian friends.....I have been really good about eating plant based until my arrival in Paris (-: I was introduced to Verjus by my friend Jennifer who knows the two chef/owners. I have been there 3 times....it's that good. I ended up talking to the chef/owner Laura during my last visit and (after several glasses of wine) invited her and her husband over to my apartment for an Italian dinner .....just a little bit of pressure, cooking for these two amazing restauranteurs. www.verjusparis.com

Truffle poached egg, fava bean hummus, fava beans, green goddess, frisee

Skillet cooked duck, red cabbage kraut, orange, rye, smoked celery root.

Honey and cardamom panna cotta, strawberries, braised rhubarb, walnut biscuits.

Dark chocolate sorbet, tonka bean and parsley cream, oranges, grapefruit, crumbled biscotti.

After diner I decided to stroll through Les Salons du Palais-Royal which is right across the street from the Louvre Museum. I was told buy a local that this is a great area to buy french perfume. I walked into a beautiful store Serge Lutens - Les Salons du Palais Royal to sample a few fragrances. The sales lady was so kind, she walked me through the history of the perfume and all the fragrances. I decided to pick up a bottle to try out (thinking it was a spray bottle) pulled off the top and half the bottle spilled on me and the floor.....so embarrassing, oh well. I ended up smelling great the rest of the day and purchased a great bottle called L'eau (which means water).

With the rain the full force for the last 7 days straight, I have not spent a lot of time walking through the city. Last night, I did venture out for some Italian food. I was told there was a charming Italian restaurant around the corner, so I called and the manager said they had No reservations and that I could not walk in.......I decided to go ahead and show up in person anyway thinking how can this little Italian joint not have one single table free?? LOL. To my surprise it was an extremely fancy place, I should have known with the policeman standing outside the door. This is the one night I decide not to doll up for dinner, I mean no make up, jeans, at least I was wearing flats and not tennis shoes. I thought for sure they were going to turn me away at the door but the owner of the restaurant was so sweet, kind of mafia style. She was probably in her late 80's, and she was sipping on brandy at the main table when I walked in. They gave me a great table and all of a sudden they put a big basket of tomatoes and fresh vegetables on the table with at least 10 different plates of (cheese, olives, olive oils, spices, etc). I did not get a chance to take photos of the spread but it is worth a look on trip advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d719132-Reviews-Le_Grand_Venise-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
The evening just got better, they tailored their menu/pricing for me since I was just one person because a lot of their dishes were served family style. I was told I had to try the dessert, I did manage to get photos of the dessert, I had to take three photos because there was so much to it.....it took up my entire table. At one point the manager decided that my sparkling wine had been sitting too long and was too warm for me to drink, they promptly brought me a new glass and refilled my drink for free.....this was the best service and some of the best food I have ever experienced.