Bread and Cheese Lunch at the Pompidou

[robyn]

I love bread and cheese - but am usually quite full when it arrives as a 3rd or 4th course for dinner. When we went to the Pompidou on a Sunday - we were looking for a place to eat lunch - but many promising looking places were closed. OTOH - there were some great looking food stores on a street a couple of blocks away. A place that sold bread and desserts called Pain de Sucre. A lovely cheese store across the street. Some great fruit a couple of stores down. We bought a loaf of the bread of Marais - a beautiful dessert - some fruit - and - something I had never seen before - a "mini" Vacherin (which turned out to be fabulous). A veritable feast.

Now - where to eat it on this rainy day? We went into the museum - and there was no place to sit down except the cafe. Which had big warnings against doing a picnic in the cafe. I am usually a law-abiding person. But on this day - with this feast - I broke the law. We bought some drinks at the cafe - and then surreptitiously ate our "picnic" (I kept it hidden under my jacket between servings). It is a good thing we were somewhat secretive - because one woman did spread out a picnic - and was promptly thrown out of the cafe.

We couldn't possibly eat everything - but the solution to our leftovers appeared. A man and woman - apparently homeless - appeared in the cafe (this was a free museum day) and they were looking for food on the trays that hadn't been cleared (quite sad - but that is what they were doing). We wrapped our leftovers - gave them to these people - and they walked off with a nice little bag from Pain de Sucre. I hope they enjoy Vacherin!

I do recommend this area for buying food - but perhaps there is a better way/place to eat it. Robyn

[John Whiting]

Close by is Pain, Vin et Fromage, 3, rue Geoffroy-l’Angevin, 4th, Mº Rambuteau.