Good evening!
I left you with a teaser about our special dinner out last night. I took my mom and sister out to a restaurant called Le Potager Du Marais. It is supposedly the best vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly restaurant in Paris. Le Potager Du Marais does traditional French Cuisine with a veg-friendly twist! Very fun.
We got all gussied up and hit the town!
To say this place is tiny would not be an understatement. The entire restaurant is just 9-10 feet wide!
It has a lot of Paris charm though and is VERY authentic inside. And this charm includes having to move the tables out to get in. It was quite funny.
We started with organic Bordeaux wine and appetizers.
The wine was very smooth. Loved it.
All Vegan items were marked with a V.
My mom and I split the Puree de pois chiches (hummus) and the pate vegetal aux champignons (mushroom pate).
The hummus was amazing and we enjoyed it with fresh bread.
The mushroom pate was not good…sort of cold, slimy, and blah tasting.
Sis had a vegan broccoli soup which was really good!
Then it was time for our main courses..
I ordered the Gratin de legumes aux noisettes (vegetable gratin with hazelnuts), my mom the croustillant de quinoa (crusty quinoa burger with tofu and goat cheese), and Kristi the spinach lasagna with goat cheese.
Spinach lasagna:
Quinoa burger:
My first time eating gratin and it was vegan! It tasted ok, but it was quite bland.
It was layered with hazelnuts, potato, carrots, on a bed of pesto.
The red and white quinoa was really good.
Dessert…
We shared the chocolate creme…
and fruit compote with green tea. It tasted like a green tea flavoured applesauce! However, our favourite was of course the chocolate creme, which was by far superior in taste. You couldn’t tell it was vegan at all.
All in all, I think Le Potager Du Marais is a wonderful option for vegetarian friendly foods in a sea of dairy, meat, butter, fish, and eggs. The presentation was beautiful and the service was very friendly. Our only complaint was that the food was quite bland (in all 3 meals). It doesn’t compare to the vegetarian restaurants I have tried in Toronto, Florida, or Chicago, but again, I feel that it is at least an option for many!
The battle of sleep rages on!
Last night I did not fall asleep until 3am and the alarm went off at 6am! Ahhh. I don’t know why I am taking this long to adjust to the time change. When Eric and I went on our honeymoon (we departed from Venice) we were back on schedule within 1-1.5 days. This is taking much longer! My mom and sister haven’t been sleeping well either.
I’m hoping tonight is the night I strike gold. ;)
Anyways, breakfast made getting up much easier!!
Granola, raisins, soy milk, oranges, kiwi, almonds, and hazelnuts!
So good.
A small bowl of sautéed mushrooms:
Toast with strawberry jam:
Grapefruit juice:
Love the free breakfast buffet!
Then we were off for our Champagne Country tasting all-day tour…
Things got a bit wild.
To be continued… :)
I said this yesterday, too, but DANG THAT BREAKFAST looks so fab!!! I can’t wait until it is breakfast time tomorrow so I can eat some granola.
So jealous of your trip! You have a beautiful family! =) Glad that you are having such a wonderful time!
You guys look so much alike!
Glad that your day is going well :)
I’m thinking you slept better when you went with Eric bc he was with you… I never, ever sleep well when Brian isn’t with me. SO hard to fall asleep.
Can’t wait to see what adventure comes next !
sorry about the bland food. :( the champagne sounds like it made up for it!!!
you, your sister and your mom are all sooo gorgeous!!
Well you all sure look fabulous for not the best of sleep. :) At least the chocolate dessert was tasty…Plus the champagne will make up for it, right?
Mmmm I love anything with hazelnuts and your breakfast looks amazing! It sucks that the veg gratin was so bland because it looks delicious from the pictures.
Aw! You ladies look gorgeous!
Definitely going to be stopping by Paris during my backpacking trip!
I love the red dress! It’s gorgeous!!
You ladies look great!! It’s great that you found some nice vegetarian options… my husband and I should have done more research for our trip last year!
I can totally relate to the trouble sleeping– it was almost like clock-work for us– we were awake at 3am almost EVERY night of our honeymoon! I don’t know why we couldn’t adjust! I studied abroad in Italy and didn’t have that problem, so maybe Paris is just “special” like that?!
Wow, what an upscale restaurant! Everything looks so fancy and delicious!
It is so frustrating that some people can’t seem to figure out that cooking vegan/vegetarian doesn’t mean skimping on taste!
Wow, that fruit compote thing really does just look like applesauce. Your sister’s spinach lasagna looked delicious!!
lady in REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED :) beautiful as usual missy :)
that gratin sounds amazing! i kind of want to make my own version…but super flavorful if possible :)
Oh my – what a wonderful restaurant!
Looks like you are having a super chic time in France! All of the food looks like something from my dreams, I absolutely must travel there soon. I think Paris is a great honeymoon destination, cliche as it may be.
You have pure photographic talent – able to even make the grapefruit juice look gorgeous!
On your next vacation you must go to Jordan. Lots of vegan options that everyone eats… stuffed grape leaves, hummus, tabbouleh, stuffed zucchini, fresh pita, etc.
Awww your so pretty, and you take amazing photo’s, looks like you’re having a great time! :)
What a beautiful 3some!!! That restaurant looks amazing! I’m sorry you’re having a hard time adjusting to the time change – that totally stinks!