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… :)
Ooh, looks like a fun evening! I loved the small restaurants in Paris. It seemed the one’s I went to heavily featured couscous.
I even had a restaurant patron ask me why I didn’t have bread on my table! He seemed in shock that I didn’t have any. He quickly changed that though by telling a waiter. Haha. :-)
That’s too bad the restaurant wasn’t as good as you had hoped! But it’s nice to at least know that you don’t have to travel across the ocean to eat at the best vegan restaurant. ;)
Heaven help me, everything looks AMAZING!!! I love authentic, quaint restaurants. Sounds like you’re having a blast in Paris. Pop those bottles, girl! ;)
Even on such little sleep you look so bright eyed! Time change is hard!! Glad you are having such a wonderful time in Paris…can’t wait to see the pictures of the wine tasting! Mmmmm….champagne! My fave!!
you all look great, even though your on little sleep.
your photography always makes me hungry. awesome!
You look gorgeous, Ange! The restaurant looks very cute ;)
Magnifique! Love the photos, love the things you’ve been up to in the lovely city of Paris, love the look of that food! :)
Bummer that it wasn’t super flavorful. I love when a restaurant understands that being vegan or vegetarian can mean having some of the best flavors and not restrictive at all.
You all look stunning!! I’m sorry to hear that the food was rather bland…however, it certainly was stunning!! …as were all you ladies! Gorgeous!! Cannot wait to hear about your champagne adventures!
I now realize I repeated myself…but you do look gorg! Worth repeating! haha
Ah, ma belle. Je ne suis pas surpris que vous avez essayé une meilleure alimentation végétalienne. À mon avis, il semble être le contraire de la cuisine française. Je serai heureux de revenir dans quelques années, avec vous bien sûr, pour vérifier si de leurs progrès ;) c’est nécessaire.
As for the champagne tour, I did a similar one while I was in France and it was absolutely divine. I cannot wait to hear the recap. I don’t doubt that you three enjoyed it to the fullest. Bon santé! :)
Your photos are beautiful – i can live vicarously through them! I noticed the restaurant menu had an English translation beneath the French, is that usual to have a translation in Paris? I might feel a little less scared of going if there were some translations around…
It is very common in the touristy areas :)
What a fabulous trip! And, amazing that you found a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. You should stop by Rue Cler, a pedestrian-only street / outdoor market that has fabulous food shops. Perfect for a spontaneous a la carte lunch!
Your mother and sister are gorgeous…..of course, so are you!
What a cool restaurant! Love that you found such an awesome vegan place:) You guys are all beautiful!
SO jealous!! It looks fab over there!! Enjoy Every Minute!!!
I am sorry to read that your meals were bland. Very disappointing for such a country as France. Our vegan experience in Paris was not great either. The guidebook gave us a restaurant that we found was renamed. It was within walking distance (if you like walking) of our hotel (same one you are staying at).
It may be closed now. From http://www.happycow.net/europe/france/paris/
Le Passage Oblige – maybe closed
29 rue Du Bourg Tibourg, Paris, France 75004
0140419503
The one good thing was that we found a small grocery store near it and got some food for back in the hotel room and for outings.
BTW I can see where you get your good looks from, your Mother is quite beautiful. Is she single? Oh wait I am no longer single having remarried so no going there (chuckle). I am still envious of your trip and I look forward to more blog posts (where you find the time and energy to travel and blog amazes me).
Well the food *looked* spectacular! I like a lot of flavor too though…
I’m guessing you were in Epernay? My hubby and I stayed at a B&B there and loved the champagne region :)
That food looks incredible, and you have the most BEAUTIFUL family – you are all gorgeous!
Finally! More than salads and dessert! Though you and I both know we could do better ;)
Totally agree with Jolene above! :) I love the updates! Keep ’em coming!