Taste of Paris Food Tour - Sunday June 1

Sunday morning I go for a run along the Seine, which is just as nice as you might think. The highway that runs along the left bank during the week is closed to traffic on Sundays so I join the other runners, walkers, skateboarders and rollerbladers. After around 2 miles I cross the Seine on a pedestrian walkway and return along the other side of the river.

Today we have signed up for a Taste of Paris food tour (www.tasteofparis.com). We meet just a few blocks from the apartment over on St Germain. Phyllis, an American expat that has lived in Paris for almost 13 years, is our guide. She takes us first to a bakery, where we learn to discern what makes a good baguette. We check the bottom for an irregular shape and tear the loaf open and admire the big chewy holes. Yes, it tastes divine! The bakery we go to is named Kayser. It's very close to the apartment and provides us with breakfast baguettes for the rest of our visit.

Then it's time for the cheese shop around the corner, Laurent Dubois -http://www.fromageslaurentdubois.fr/, where we buy The following cheeses. Phyllis was kind enough to email a summary after the tour otherwise I wouldn't be able to tell you any of this! I liked them all but the Comte and the Brie were my favorites.

1. lle sur Cher: A goat cheese with an ash coating

2. Brie de Melun (made with raw milk--not the pasteurized versions of Brie you often find abroad) Here is an article about fake Brie and why you want to avoid it: http://www.slate.com/blogs/entertaining/2013/09/12/_slate_s_rules_for_entertaining_never_bring_brie_cheese_to_a_party_it_s.html

3. Epoisse (Petit Gaudry): the stinky washed rind cheese from Burgundy with a rind washed in Marc

4. Comté AOC (cow, Jura) - Normally Comté is aged for a minimum of 3 months -- ours was aged for 3 years!

5. Carles Roquefort AOC (sheep, Midi-Pyrénées) .

Then we go to a wonderful chocolate shop, Patrick Roger. http://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-patrick-roger/. Here we try an assortment of chocolates and admire the chocolate sculptures as well.

Then it's down a narrow cobbled street to Premire Presson Provence, http://www.ppp-olive.com/, a shop that sells olive oil from Provence. We taste the stuff, and feel the bite at the back of the tongue that real olive oil will cause. Of course we can't resist and end up buying a few tins.

Then we go to a cream puff shop, La Maison Du Chou, http://parisbymouth.com/la-maison-du-chou/. These puffs are perfect. They are made continually all day long and Phyllis tells us to eat them right away because they can't be saved and are at their best right out of the oven. They are by far the best cream puffs I have ever tasted!

Finally we end up in the back of a little wine shop, La Dernier Goutte, http://parisbymouth.com/our-guide-to-paris-la-derniere-goutte/, where we sample some wine with the cheese and bread. We try a Francois Crochet Sancerre (2012) and a semi sweet Maury. Everything is delish. Now what should we have for dinner? Maybe a salad in the apartment.....