Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! It’s drizzly and windy, but soon to be 54 degrees! Compared to the weather reports I am getting from the Midwest, the weather here is darn near perfect.

Yesterday was great. Sunny, too! I decided one day of whining in Paris was  one too many, so took my scratchy throat and stuffy head on the road.

For lunch we went to a place that we had tried to go to all week, but it was always jammed. This time we were ready, lurking across the street, ready to pounce when the doors opened at noon. Le Comptoir is a tiny place. On week nights it’s one of the hardest reservations to get in Paris —  the chef serves a fixed multi-course menu and it’s said to be great. No reservations for lunch, though, and you take your chances getting in. The menu is much simpler – lots of gorgeous looking salads, charcuterie plates, and plats.

J had a green salad (just three tiny heads of romaine drizzled with vinaigrette) and a charcuterie board – pig, pig, and more pig. Several kinds of sausage, sliced, from a mosaic in pale pinks to a starker (and stronger) dark red and white. A small dish of crispy pork bits (not sure what they were) and a hunk of really wonderful ham. Cornichons, pickled onions. He was in hog heaven, in every way.

I ordered the best brandade de morue I have ever eaten (and I eat it whenever I get the chance.) Garlicky, smooth, and full of cod, it was gratinéed and served in a small cast iron baking dish — way more of the stuff than I could eat but oh boy, oh boy was it good! Came with the same salad J had, and good bread – more rustic and wheatier than your average restaurant baguette.

Dessert – are you crazy? Who had room for dessert? J had a stunning coffee flavored crème brulée, perfect in every way, and I had a miniature tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream, knowing full well that I’d be having tarte tatin again that night after dinner (because it’s always what I order at the place we were going to.) If you are expecting me to use good judgment about what I eat, all I can tell you is that that was good judgment. Both were excellent!

With plans to meet a friend at 6 for dinner at 8 we thought we’d better do some walking in between. Walking plus
food? Great idea. We strolled over to the Bon Marché department store and hit the Grand Epicerie. Kind of like the food hall at Harrod’s, this is a giant grocery full of great produce, cheeses galore, splendid meats and fishes, and all kinds of exotic foods from around the world. We always get a kick out of the US imports  – all the Old El Paso taco kits, Kettle Chips, cereal and peanut butter. We confined our purchases to a couple of packages of Winnie the Pooh pasta for the grandkids, a bottle of pistachio oil, which I had run out of, some sea salt I like, a fresh jar of powdered piment d’espelette, and a jar of confit de verveine that looked intriguing.

We also bought a tarte tatin cookbook (do you notice a theme du jour?) It has the standard apple, which I already have a favorite recipe for, thank you Patricia Wells, and other sweet variations – apricot, pear, and the like. But it also has some that really intrigue me. Chocolate and banana? The photo looks luscious. And some savory versions that look kind of like upside down pizzas. I have tried my hand at savory tartes tatin before so I am primed to like the idea. Pear and Roquefort! Onion and raisin! Artichoke and anchovy! Endive, all caramelized and sweet with a hint of curry! In my current kitchen-less state I can only translate and drool.

Back at the hotel, napped and rested, we met our buddy at 6 and took a walk down to the river. Hung out at the Pont de Arts in the dusk and felt lucky.

Back to the rue de Buci district for some aperitifs (warm enough to sit outside) and then over to Allard for dinner.

Allard is an old (old!) bistro. The NY Times wrote it up a couple of years ago and now it’s always full of Americans when we go, but we are Americans and so we don’t complain (much). The food is still great – classic bistro fare. J and J had the canard aux olives for 2 -– a crispy roast duck smothered in green olives, and I do mean smothered.

I had a mâche and beet salad (fresh and wonderful, with a creamy vinaigrette) and coquilles St. Jacques, sautéed.

The scallops were fabulous. Fresh from the shell, roe still attached, sautéed in butter and shallots.

Some sautéed potatoes weren’t so great but that was probably my fault. I should have shut up and taken the boiled potatoes that were supposed to come with the scallops – they would have absorbed every last drop of sauce. Tarte tatin for dessert, of course, with a bowl of very cold crème fraîche — thick and rich and really the perfect touch for the burnt sugar taste of the apples. One of my all time favorite desserts (can you tell?)

Then some good, strong coffee, and a slow walk home.