Two Brasseries Worth Noting

[robyn]

We stumbled into these places for lunch on 2 sightseeing days. Petit Zinc is fairly well known. Labourdine apparently is not. In fact - I couldn't even remember where it was until I looked at my credit card bill (it's in the 8th). We still had a lot of jet lag when we ate there. Does anyone know the address (I looked it up and couldn't find it)? We thought both were quite good - and reasonably priced. Neither is worth a journey - even from another section of Paris - but they are both worth a 10 minute detour if you're in the neighborhood. Of special note is the interior of Petit Zinc - very nice art nouveau. Robyn

[John Talbott]

We stumbled into these places for lunch on 2 sightseeing days.  Petit Zinc is fairly well known.  Labourdine apparently is not.  In fact - I couldn't even remember where it was until I looked at my credit card bill (it's in the 8th).  We still had a lot of jet lag when we ate there.  Does anyone know the address (I looked it up and couldn't find it)?  We thought both were quite good - and reasonably priced.  Neither is worth a journey - even from another section of Paris - but they are both worth a 10 minute detour if you're in the neighborhood.  Of special note is the interior of Petit Zinc - very nice art nouveau.  Robyn

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Labourdine, 3 place de l'Alma in the 8th, 01 47 20 49 26.

[robyn]

Thanks for the address John - and - when you gave it to me - I realized Labourdin wasn't the place I was thinking about. Labourdin is a cafe near our hotel where we had a light late afternoon lunch (couple of omelets) the day we arrived in Paris. Good omelets - but not the place I was thinking about. Guess I got confused because the transaction date on the credit card statement was the next day (although the amount of the bill - only $28 - should have tipped me off). And the charge from the other brasserie hasn't yet appeared on the statement - so - unless I find a business card in the pile of travel papers currently sitting on my desk - I will have to wait to find out the name of the place (I assume the place will put the charge through eventually).

Also forgot to mention that I had oysters and grilled dorade (which - in the markets - looked like the dolphin we get here in Florida - they must be cousins) at Petit Zinc. One of the fixed menus. My husband had the special fixed menu (19.9 euros including a glass of wine) - which was hot potato soup (maybe with some leeks?) and grilled calf's liver in a nice sauce. The total bill was $59 - and we both enjoyed our meals. I wish I could remember the name of the other brasserie because I had rougets on a bed of braised spinach - and they were - unfortunately - better than those at l'Ambroisie. Anyway - when I get the bill - I'll give you the name of the place.

BTW - the credit card I used was a new one I got from Capital One (a No Hassle Rewards Card) before our trip. Reason I got it is because it is just about the only national Visa card left in the US (Visa is almost universally accepted in Europe) that doesn't charge a currency exchange fee (most cards are charging 2-3% and some even 4% these days). In looking at the charges coming in - I noticed that the exchange rates were also pretty good (I chart spot exchange rates on a daily basis). I realize this is totally off-topic. But the amount of money you can save using a credit card like this on a trip to France can easily pay for an extra meal at a nice place. No reason to feed your credit card company when you can feed yourself instead! Robyn

[TarteTatin]

Careful, Capitol One sucks you in because of that, but they charge outrageous fees for late payment and if you don't pay everything all at once.

[PhilD]

I had oysters and grilled dorade (which - in the markets - looked like the dolphin we get here in Florida - they must be cousins)

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You eat Dolphin in Florida? Where is Carl Hiaasen when you need him?

[julot-les-pinceaux]

A word to second Robyn about Le Petit Zinc -- art nouveau and a very decent place, especially for fish. There's a good chef in there those days.

[robyn]

I had oysters and grilled dorade (which - in the markets - looked like the dolphin we get here in Florida - they must be cousins)

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You eat Dolphin in Florida? Where is Carl Hiaasen when you need him?

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The dolphin I am talking about is a fish - not the mammal (it is frequently called mahi-mahi in the US). See this article for an explanation. If you go to the markets in France - you will see that European dorade looks much like our dolphin.

Regarding Capital One - I don't know about its fees because I pay my bill when I receive it. So all I can say is it's a good card for someone who is just looking for a way to save (more than) a few dollars on currency transactions. I will note that I put one charge on my AMEX card on the same day that I put a charge on the Capital One card (I split the hotel bill between 2 cards - thinking the entire hotel bill might put me above my Capital One credit limit). Not only did AMEX charge 2% - but its exchange rate was $1.40 while Capital One was $1.36. Quite a difference! AMEX is going to get a piece of my mind tomorrow. Crummy exchange rates and surcharges can easily add hundreds of dollars to a trip - money that is better spent on better things.

And alas - I looked through all our credit card bills - and we don't have one for the other brasserie (perhaps it didn't take credit cards). So I will never know the name. No harm done - it wasn't the "food find" of the year - just a decent place to have lunch.

Therefore - you will have to poke around yourselves and find some good places on your own. As Julot mentioned in another thread - it is harder to find a cab in Paris than a polar bear in Florida. And - IMO - the Metro - particularly on certain lines - was quite disagreeable - crowded and hot - even on cool days. So poke around in and near the neighborhoods where you are doing your other tourist things. With some exceptions. For example - we walked to the neighborhood of Petit Zinc from the Louvre - about a 15 minute walk - because we didn't like the area around the Louvre (apart from everything else - we ran into the "lost ring" scam outside the Louvre - luckily - we knew enough to walk away fast before someone tried to pick our pockets or worse).

FWIW - I looked up the history of Petit Zinc - and the exterior and a lot of the interior are original art nouveau. So the restaurant has architectural interest - as well as good food (even though it is currently part of a small chain of restaurants). Robyn