PARIS Boulangerie Les petits Gourmands

Trip: Europe May 2022

On this day, we waited in line and were packed tightly in the elevator to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We spent an enormous amount of time taking pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower, then from Champ de Mars. Before wandering to other recommended locations to take more photos of the Eiffel Tower, we stopped by the Boulangerie Les petits Gourmands that was recommended to us by Philippe for lunch.

It was an excellent recommendation, and we highly recommend this for anyone who needs a quick simple baguette sandwich while in the area of the Eiffel Tower. We noted that this boulangerie won the best patisserie of Ile-de-France for 2022, so you may find a long line here. After we bought our ham and cheese baguettes and grabbed one of three tables, we saw a long line forming as we ate.

Rated "must try"

PARIS Au Pied de Cochon

Trip: Europe May 2022

After a full day of walking, we ended up at Au Pied de Cochon near Les Halles, Paris for dinner. This is a very big restaurant that is open 24/7, and their specialty is pork (cochon.)

We saw on the menu "pig trotters" and saw a very recognizable fried pig foot at a nearby table. We were not brave enough to order an entire pig trotter, but we did try a "crispy pig feet and escargots" appetizer. This was not our favorite thing to try.

Overall, the pork entrée dishes that we ordered were excellent, but the menu included a large selection of seafood that also looked fresh and amazing. We saw many people order fresh oysters. We would come back to try other dishes on their large menu.

Since we had not had a real lunch in Montmartre, we also enjoyed desserts here, and they were both delicious. The crème brûlée in particular was amazing: nice crispy caramelized top and a very light creamy custard.

Fresh seafood counter

Baguette

Croustillants de pied de cochon et escargots
(Crispy pork feet and escargots)

Échine de porc confite 14H
(Pork shoulder cooked for 14 hours on risotto)

Faux-filet de cochon du tarn aux morilles de la maison montalet
(Pork sirloin served with buttered mashed potatoes)

Purée de pommes de terre au beurre
(Buttered mashed potatoes)

Chocolat Liégois
(Chocolate ice cream)

Crème brûlée à la Vanille

MONTMARTRE Crêpes

Trip: Europe May 2022

We spent a beautiful sunny day in Montmartre, taking in the quaint small town feel that was only 10 minutes metro ride away from Paris. After lots of walking, we stopped at a non-descript little restaurant and ordered a single Nutella crêpe to share. We sat and rested while people watching before getting back up for more walking.

The crêpe was a welcoming snack, but we did not record the name of the small restaurant so we could not make recommendations to get you there.

PARIS Bistro Richelieu

Trip: Europe May 2022

We arrived to Paris around 5PM from Gare du Nord, so after checking into our hotel Renaissance Paris Vendome, we headed to our first meal in Paris at Bistro Richelieu at walking distance from our hotel.

This bistro was chosen specifically for the classic French bistro fares, so we were able to check off our list of French must eats quickly.

The food was overall pretty good, but not the best of what we have had. Still, it was a good start to our French food journey.

French onion soup

Escargots

Steak frites

Frites part of the steak frites

Lamb chops and French green beans

Famished after taking the chunnel from London to Paris

LONDON Bubblewrap

Trip: Europe May 2022

After our dinner of sausage rolls at the W hotel, we walked around the hotel looking for dessert. Our hotel was located in the middle of Chinatown, and we saw a lot of people walking around carrying Bubblewrap ice cream cones. We have had this back in Maryland, but due to lack of other options, we decided to try this to compare. It was about the same. There is no need to seek this out.

LONDON Bread Ahead Doughnuts

Trip: Europe May 2022

We read about gourmet doughnuts and scones with clotted cream by Bread Ahead Bakery and looked for them in Borough Market.

Sadly we did not get to them until 3:20PM and they were all out of scones. We drowned our sorrow with three gourmet doughnuts: Sea Salted Caramel & Honeycomb, Raspberry Jam, and Blueberry Jam.

They were delicious. I would highly recommend that you stop by here early enough to try the scones as well. Rated "must try".

Raspberry Jam, Blueberry Jam, Sea Salted Caramel & Honeycomb

LONDON Ginger Pig Sausage Rolls

Trip: Europe May 2022

Our search led us to the Ginger Pig at the Borough Market in London.

We first shared a sausage roll for lunch, but found it so delicious that we bought two more rolls to go, another pork sausage roll and a spicy lamb roll. We carried them back to the W hotel and ate them for dinner back in our room.

As our stay in London was only for 3 days and we repeated meals at the Ginger Pig, I would rate this as a "must try".

Amazing pork sausage roll

LONDON W Hotel Breakfast

Trip: Europe May 2022

We stayed at the W Hotel in Leicester Square on points, and enjoyed their free and very fancy breakfast.

English muffin piled high with delicious stuff

Egg Benedict on smoked salmon and avocado toast

Perfectly runny eggs

LONDON Bagel Bakery Bar

Trip: Europe May 2022

During our food search for London, we came across this interesting Bagel Bakery Bar in Soho, London. They are known for the Hot! Salt Beef Bagel that we had to try while in England.

The Salt Beef Bagel reminds us a little bit of NYC pastrami/reuben on a bagel. It was pretty good, and worth trying if you are in the area.

LONDON Poppies Fish 'n Chips

Trip: Europe May 2022

We made a stop at Poppies in Soho, London to sample fish 'n chips while in England. We carried out and ate as we walked, street-food style.

The fish was a very large fresh fish fillet, laid on top of large cut fries, served with vinegar and salt. No tartar sauce. The taste is on the plain side.

LONDON Arôme Bakery

Trip: Europe May 2022

This Arôme Bakery near Covent Garden in London has the best chocolate croissant of our entire Europe trip that includes stops in Paris, south of France, Barcelona and Madrid. Therefore the rating for this bakery is "must try".

They are closed on Monday-Tuesday, so plan your visit accordingly!

Layered and airy chocolate croissant

Apple tart