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Dans la série c'est fou ce qu'on mange mal à Paris je vous suggère d'eviter à tout prix la brasserie "Paris Orléans", Porte d'Orléan à Paris.

Le Paris-Orléans (Brasserie)
2 Rue De Patay
75013 Paris

I was working with a colleague this morning and she pointed at the table next door. "Look at what those guys did with the bread, it's a great metaphor for personalisation" and well, she's right of course.

I kept thinking about the photograph today and actually, you can interpret the image in terms of value co-creation (ok, a bit of a stretch but cut me some slack, it's just a bread basket).

For starters, the table is the value co-creation network. The network interacts with its environment (the sun on the térasse, the neibouring tables and chairs) and the customer interacts with it to create value.

The two guys have adjusted the table itself, the chairs and when the food comes (from another participant in the value-creation network, the chef) they decide on the way they will eat it. By customising the table to support the two glasses of beer and the breadbasket they have added value to their lunch beyond the 13.5 euro price-tag (and of course, that's without counting the value in their meeting in the first place which is probably the most value-intensive part of the network).

Good to see Serge the Concierge doing his bit to promote the Alex James talk on Thursday.

Remember, get those cheese names to Billy before midnight tomorrow to grab your tickets:-)

last night.

Haven't got time to go into it but the place is Les Chineurs, 55 rue de Bretagne 75003 Paris

Trifle for lunch (well, for pudding) :-)

At last! A proper French meal. Meet the "Café des Sports" in scenic Issy-Les-Moulineaux:

1. in your face 'patronne'--check.
2. long, ancient and very battered 'zinc'--check.
3. loud clattering sound (tile floor and cheap cutlery in use)--check.
4. paper tablecloths--check.
5. ample supplies of bread and mustard--check.
6. tongue and tripe on the table--check.
7. everyone smoking--check.
8. shot in my bird--check.
9. several bottles of Gamay at lunch--check.

Very nice indeed, and to boot we had a nice geeky conversation about the relative merits of different widget engines:-)

Oh bugger, the fabulous Mom and Pop southwestern restaurant (renowned for snails, duck dishes and cassoulet) which by all acounts was always bustling and well worth the détour changed hands two years ago. Serve me right for not checking the dates on the website:-(

One look at the table setting should have warned me that the owners have only kept the name Les Gourmands out of irony...

OK. I for some reason that escapes me haven't managed to eat a decent meal in Paris recently (and that must take some doing) so I've got a plan. I've asked around and apparently this place is great.

So Les Gourmands let's try your cassoulet:-)

(and as usual, if it's on my plate, it's on Flickr)

When I first moved to New York when I was nineteen (eighteen?) and was homesick I would sit in a restaurant and close my eyes and try to conjure up the clattering sound of a Paris restaurant in full flight. There's a particular kind of rumble, punctuated by the shouts of the waiters trying to get a coffee started or get the people waiting for a table to make some room for the food to through from the kitchen.

Last night I finished a long day in Issy-les-Moulineaux and shuffled over to what has become my regular couscous and found I couldn't get in for people:-) The food is great, so well worth the twenty-minute wait. If you fancy it, Chez Omar is:

Adresse: 47, rue de Bretagne / 75003 Paris
Métro: Arts et Métiers
Tél: 01 42 72 36 26

p.s.
I did a quick search online to get the address of the place and there are a surprisingly large number of negative reviews. The balance of opinion seems to be that the couscous is ok, the wine is terrible and the service intermittent at best. I guess I've been living in London so long my food-criticism skills have lost their edge. Still, if you're in the 3eme I would say have a go...

p.p.s.
Clémentine, je fais ces petites videos pour toi et là, je t'expliquais où j'étais sauf qu'avec tout ce boucan on m'entend pas. Je te disais bonne nuit et à demain--je reviens ce soir:-)

Doing a little research for a client and came across 101 Cookbooks and love the writing:-)

Ever shred a cherry on a box grater? I haven't, but now I'm thinking about it.