Christmas shopping in Paris

[menton1]

I wonder why they are called "pots de crème" in English

This is just a name incorrectly translated by a commercial enterprise; I would not go so far as to say that is the English translation... Often in an American restaurant or store a French word is used incorrectly, particularly with gender issues. There is even a restaurant in NYC "Le Madeleine" which is the wrong gender.

Literal: The gift of the cows in Normandie perfumed with the flowers of Provence.

Actual: Creme Brulee with Lavender scent.

Well, menu translations are a whole other matter, they are so idiomatic. In Lyon, I remember being in a Bouchon and there was a dish on the menu referring to the firemen "Tablier de Sapeurs" (The exact name escapes me now) which actually refers to a type of offal dish (!) and has little to do with the "Pompiers".

[Ptipois]

Tablier de sapeur is, of course, a traditional lyonnais dish. Not a chef invention. I suppose that its color and aspect remotely recall what a fireman's apron looked like in the 19th century.

Raisab — chef poetry, yes. That can be quite a thing. However, things are not so bad as they used to be in the late 80s and 90s. Names seem to have shortened up a bit, except in some places. When i thought of "cuisine French" I wasn't thinking of literal translations on chef-invented names. Even I have trouble figuring them out at times

I also think that posh restaurant menus are often printed on large sheets of paper, and that the titles need to cover as much of that white surface as possible. That might be a reason.

That is also due to the fact that chef cuisine is "assembly line" cuisine, i.e. elements assembled on the plate, so there needs to be a description of each element. And if poetry comes in, there you have it. Andouillette grillée frites is just what it says it is. Once things start piling up on the plate, more ink has to be poured too.

[mzimbeck]

and fleur de sel....for SO much cheaper than fauchon or wherever...my mistake was "bonding" with the cashier, who looked puzzled at the vast amount of salt i was purchasing..."jolie cadeaux", i explained, at which her expression turned from puzzled to sour...some friend, bringing SALT home as gifts. (the giftees, however, were thrilled!)

bon voyage.

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Edited December 6, 2005 by mzimbeck (log)

[bleudauvergne]

Speaking of Monoprix and the idea someone had of picking up little pudding treats for kids, a friend who knows me very well stopped by to bring me a sample of her new discovery, which she knew I would get a kick out of - It is a product found in the milk products, in the Monprix Gourmet line, called TRIO. You get a package of three simple little pots de creme, each which hold 35 grams of creme dessert in different flavors. There are instructions on the pack about what order you should eat the contents of the pots, to appreciate them the best. They are small and cute. She said the chocolate ones were the best, which come in white, milk, and dark chocolate, but there are other flavors. Now you'd have to get this just before leaving and pack in your suitcase and refrigerate immediately. Aside from the novelty of eating them in order out of the little pots, the person has these cute pots leftoever that they can keep using for other things because they're made of glass and have screw tops.

[John Talbott]

You get a package of three simple little pots de creme,

the person has these cute pots leftoever

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Thus achieving the summum bonum of PtiPois' lesson, being able to combine pots de creme and pots a creme in the same sentence.

[Ptipois]

Thus achieving the summum bonum of PtiPois' lesson, being able to combine pots de creme and pots a creme in the same sentence.

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That's right, children. These cute things are pots de crème allright, and once empty they become pots à crème. And I think the teacher is going to try them (for pedagogic reasons).

Edited December 6, 2005 by Ptipois (log)

[wkl]

If you haven't already left for Paris, I would suggest a trip out to the flea market in Cligancourt. In October I saw lots of crystal carafes, wine glasses, table linens, etc, both old and new, for good prices.Also, a stop at the Batchelor stand for old copper cookware, wine carriers, old bottles, and old crocks.

My kids love all the different candies I brought back. Just stop into any grocery store and you can get all sorts of candy not seen in the US.

[LindaK]

Where else can you get la cuisine et la grammaire in the same discussion thread?

It was worth getting buried in work for few days to come back to so many good ideas. I love the kid friendly suggestions, I have a niece and nephews who will adore trying French sweets and pastries (and the niece studying French in college wants things to share with her roommates, what better than French junk food?). The fleamarket is an intriguing idea, let's see what the weather is like. I may be from New England but I'm a wimp about cold weather.

Suggestions that have come my way from elsewhere: La Grande Epicerie on the rue de Sevres in the 7th and Lafayette Gourmet on the bd Haussman in the 9th. I've never been to the latter but ducked into the Epicerie once on my last trip. Huge.

Also, a requested item from a friend: flavored syrops for drinks, baking etc. Good idea, only problem I have is that bottles are heavy. Maybe just a few...

As for transporting perishable foods, what do others do? I've never tried to bring back anything but cheese. I've found a few fromageries that will vacuum pack (sous vide) their items, it keeps the odors at bay. I don't bring it carry on, I always put it in the suitcase that will be in cargo. It gets pretty cold at 20,000+ feet, I don't worry about refrigeration. What about customs?

I don't leave until Sunday so will be back before then. Merci tout le monde!

[John Talbott]

I won't repeat what I said on the other gift thread but these vom Fass liquids and bottles at GL are equally approprite for gifts to return to the US with.

Edited by John Talbott to give correct cross-reference to other thread.

[bleudauvergne]

On the cheap gift for multiple family members in stores like Monoprix and Price Champion line of thought:

The peanut flavored cheetoes (I don't know if these are available in the US but they weren't last time I was home) are a must for the niece studying French in school.

While you are in the candy asile, something else that certain members of my family appreciate are the large bars of dark chocolate, for eating, and for baking. You don't have to bring back the very best most expensive kind from the chocolatiers if you're looking for stocking stuffers. They should run you 2-3 euros each. The bars always state in the ingredients what percentage chocolate they contain. Choose your chocolate bars based on that, and on whether or not they're made with cocoa butter (and not hydrogenated vegetable oils).

Thinking back, Olivier & Co. has nice little gifty things. It's a chain and rather expensive, and they might have already crossed the pond into places like NY and Atlanta but I found that their bouquet garnies were cute gifts.

For kids, the kids shampoos come in lots of cool flavors and wonderful novelty packaging, plus you might find some mouchoir packets with a pretty design to give to kids for their knapsacks. You can also use these to cushion your baggage.

Pickles, little pickled jars of things are cute gifts. Also the various mustards.

For packing your little glass jars, etc. I suggest that you pick up some freezer bags and wrap them individually, just in case.

A couple of years ago I found a cool way to present gifts from France to kids is in the recyclable grocery bags from Price Champion. They are the store with the best ones because the bags are brightly colored, cheerful, sturdy bags with simple pretty graphics, easily a gift bag. I think they cost about 50 centimes. You can get them in Blue, Orange, Pink, and Yellow, I think. After the kids open their gifts, they can use these sacks to put their toys in. When you buy them, tell the lady they are gifts and she won't scribble all over the bar code on the bottom with a pen.

What else. Savon de Marseille in large blocks is cheap and people appreciate it, being so expensive in the States.

[bleudauvergne]

I won't repeat what I said on the other gift thread but these vom Fass liquids and bottles at GL are equally approprite for gifts to return to the US with.

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I think John means this thread!

[VivreManger]

Perhaps the thread he had in mind was the one I started - - now merged - - on gifts FOR France.

As for transporting cheese, I have been doing it for years with no trouble. Cryovaced or not it is perfectly safe for the hold of the plane. On one return home in the summer my bag was delayed for two days and all the cheeses came through in good - - in that case cryovaced - - form. In general Americans impose more cold storage on food than is needed. Technically raw milk cheese aged under 60 days is contraband in the US, but genteel customs officials never ask a cheese her age. Over the years the Logan inspectors are the most genteel. On the other hand meat is a problem, particularly if it walks or hobbles - - in the case of bovine spongiform encephalyitis (sp) - - on four legs. So that toothsome terrine of ruminants may not pass muster. If you really crave a pate bring it on board and finish it on the flight over with some mustard, cornichons, and good bread, before you land. I have done that on a flight or two, always more satisfying than the plastic food on offer.

Both La Grande Epicerie and Lafayette Gourmet are excellent, though I have a slight preference for the left-bank store. Large bars of dark chocolate, for eating, and for baking, and also as the base for a Burdicks-quality hot chocolate are also an excellent gift idea, but they run afoul of the delights of globalization. Trader Joe's with multiple locations around Boston stocks precisely that product in multiple varieties. I think that L'Olivier has a branch on Newberry St. Certainly l'Occitaine has become almost as ubiquitous as McDonalds. Unfortunately with the rise of the Euro and the ubiquity of VAT, the price of a lot of French products - - Marseilles soap for example - - is not that much lower in France than in the US. At least you should not take a favorable difference for granted.

Other packing suggestions: certainly ziplocked freezer bags, if you have some bubble-wrapping lying around the house, bring it along. Since you are allowed two bags in the hold and for a quick trip you may need only one, take two anyway, with the second to carry home the loot. Check on the precise weight and size restrictions Air France allows and push your bags to that max. I usually take a hard wheelie and a soft expandable bag which I stuff inside the other on my outward bound passage, watching it expand with my belly on the way back. It is true that if you return with heavy suitcases you will have to spend at least fifty bucks to get to Charles De Gaulle since the RER will no longer be practical. Adding that cost into equation might mean that the slightly cheaper bottle of olive oil on the rue de Rivoli is really not that much cheaper than what you can get on Newberry St.

Edited December 8, 2005 by VivreManger (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Although I had known of it for years, Tuesday saw our first visit to G. Detou, Epicerie just off the Montorguiel market street. This is a tiny shop that sells both retail and wholesale qauntities of wonderful things: chocolate (Valrhona, Michel Cluzel, etc.), marrons, exotic mushrooms, griottes in kirsch, candied violets, all kinds of sweet and savory confitures, and so on. Customers where snatching up beautifully boxed chocolates and wrapped candied chestnuts, while others stocked up on luxury ingredients for holiday specialties. It was early evening on our last day, and I hadn't presence of mind to take advantage of this unexpected but extraordinary shopping opportunity with the exception of a sealed container of 10 vanilla pods for 10,10 euros, very cheap indeed. On top of it all, the staff is very cordial and helpful. I will definitely put this shop on the top of my next shopping spree.

Detou

58, rue Tiquetonne

Paris 2e

01.40.39.96.43

[LindaK]

The peanut flavored cheetoes (I don't know if these are available in the US but they weren't last time I was home) are a must for the niece studying French in school. 

She will love them, though they don't whet my appetite. But nothing quite compares to the meat flavored chips that friends from the UK bring over. The roasted lamb flavored chips nearly defeated me...I ran for a toothbrush.

[bleudauvergne]

Although I had known of it for years, Tuesday saw our first visit to G. Detou, Epicerie just off the Montorguiel market street.  This is a tiny shop that sells both retail and wholesale qauntities of wonderful things: chocolate (Valrhona, Michel Cluzel, etc.), marrons, exotic mushrooms, griottes in kirsch, candied violets, all kinds of sweet and savory confitures, and so on.  Customers where snatching up beautifully boxed chocolates and wrapped candied chestnuts, while others stocked up on luxury ingredients for holiday specialties.  It was early evening on our last day, and I hadn't presence of mind to take advantage of this unexpected but extraordinary shopping opportunity with the exception of a sealed container of 10 vanilla pods for 10,10 euros, very cheap indeed.    On top of it all, the staff is very cordial and helpful.  I will definitely put this shop on the top of my next shopping spree.

Detou

58, rue Tiquetonne

Paris 2e

01.40.39.96.43

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Thanks Margaret, that sounds like a nice shop to visit. I will check it out the next time I'm in Paris!