Paris: Jackie’s 50 Things to Eat Before You Die

Escalope de foie gras chaud à ma façon at La Fontaine de Mars

Affogato at Pozzetto

Oeufs de poule mollets roulés à la mie de pain, toasts de beurre truffé at Le Violin d’Ingres

It is a little crazy to think that around this time last year, I was leaving San Francisco and developed my own list of 100 Things in San Francisco to Eat Before You Die. This past year in Paris has flown by and I’ve done so much (understatement of the year). I still can’t believe that this is my last week as a true Parisian.

Éclairs at L’Éclair de Génie

While I cannot claim to be an expert on the crème de la crème of the food scene in Paris, I thought I would compile my own list of my favorite things in the City of Light. I believe that there is SO much good food still out there; alas, I can only vouch for the things that I’ve personally eaten.

Truffle risotto at Dans Les Landes

I wish I lived here long enough to develop 100 things to eat before you die, but I guess you will just have to settle for 50. You’ll notice that some restaurants have multiple dishes listed because they just simply excel at gastronomy. One dish is not enough to list. Also, you’ll probably notice that there are a lot of desserts on the list. What can I say? No one can beat the French when it comes to pastries and dessert. In no particular order, I present to you:

Jackie’s 50 Things to Eat Before You Die (Paris Edition)

1. Escalope de foie gras chaud à ma façon at La Fontaine de Mars (pan-seared foie gras with pears)
2. Oeufs au Madiran façon meurette at La Fontaine de Mars (eggs baked with bacon, shallots and a red wine reduction sauce)
3. Financier at Le Moulin de Rosa (32 rue de Turenne)
4. Pavé de cabillaud at Les Cocottes
5. Langoustine ravioli at Les Cocottes
6. La fabuleuse tarte au chocolat de Christian Constant at Les Cocottes
7. Any crêpe with salted caramel at Breizh Café
8. Kakemiso udon at Sanukiya
9. Croissant at La Pâtisserie by Cyril Lignac
10. Affogato at Pozzetto (fior di latte gelato is amazing!)
11. Foie gras royale at Frenchie
12. Grand Marnier soufflé at Joséphine Chez Dumonet
13. Lemon or vanilla macaron at Ladurée (I’m not a fan of the other flavors)
14. French toast at Ladurée
15. Carnard à l’orange at Le Petit Carnard
16. Mango passion caramels at Jacques Genin
17. Hot chocolate at Jacques Genin
18. Fallafel at L’As du Fallafel
19. Salted caramel macaron at Carette (I’m not a fan of the other flavors)
20. Brunch at Bobby & Bobette
21. Ground pork noodles in miso soup (炸酱面) at Happy Nouilles
22. Madeleines at Blé Sucré
23. Bakesale Betty, fried chicken sandwich at Verjus (lunch only)
24. Any cocktail at Experimental Cocktail Club
25. Ice cream macarons at Martine Lambert (my personal favorite is vanilla)
26. Oeufs de poule mollets roulés à la mie de pain, toasts de beurre truffé at Le Violin d’Ingres
27. Truffle risotto at Dans Les Landes
28. Fish and chips at Dans Les Landes
29. Any ice cream flavor at Berthillon
30. Profiteroles at Café Constant
31. Tarte fine aux pommes at Café Constant
32. Kimchi with pork and tofu at Dawa (5 rue Humblot)
33. Salted caramel éclair at L’Éclair de Génie
34. Lunch at Soul Kitchen (menu changes daily)
35. Lemon meringue tart at Le Loir dans la Théière
36. Ratatouille at Chez Janou
37. Chocolate mousse at Chez Janou
38. Egg custard tart/pastel de nata at Comme à Lisbonne
39. Escargots at Benoit
40. Mille-feuille at Benoit
41. Coco Meurette at Eggs & Co.
42. Crème brûlée at La Coupole
43. Lunch at Pierre Sang Boyer (menu changes daily)
44. Sashimi at Foujita 2 (7 rue du 29 juillet)
45. Steak tartare at Ma Bourgogne
46. Coffee from Coutume Café
47. Apple panna cotta at Les Papilles (seasonal)
48. Salad at Les Fabricants (giant filling salads for around 10 euro)
49. Strawberry shortcake at Aki Boulanger (Japanese-style bakery)
50. Karaage at Kunitoraya (has nice hints of ginger to it)

I’m feeling really lucky because last year I talked about how it had always been my dream to live in San Francisco. Another one of my dreams has been to live in Paris. I am a huge Francophile and Paris has always been my favorite city. I’m happy to say that it still is my favorite city, but I’m extremely sad to leave. I have a feeling this won’t be my last trip. In the mean time, I’m hoping this list will keep you very busy. Bon appétit!

Ice cream macarons and ice cream from Martine Lambert

Salad at Les Fabricants

Pear, salted caramel and Chantilly cream crêpe at Breizh Café

Vive la France!

Hometown Glory, Bay Area Edition

Christmas Treats: Prime rib, homemade macarons, baked brie and Peking duck.

I had a brief but wonderful trip back home, full of good times with family and friends (and lots of food). I flew back home on Christmas Eve and was welcomed to a wonderful feast of Chinese and Western food. My cousin made amazing homemade macarons and baked brie (he even has a special wood-fire oven in his house). However, nothing could beat the Peking duck. My aunt has a brand-new steamer oven (I didn’t even know those existed) so we had freshly-steamed buns to pair with the three ducks. Yes, we had three ducks and prime rib. That’s my family for you.

Pizza from Tony’s and cheeseburger and garlic fries from Super Duper Burger in San Francisco

One of the best days of my vacation was spent in San Francisco trying Tony’s Pizza Napoletena. The line for Tony’s is always CRAZY long (like 2-hour wait long), but I was determined to try their margherita pizza, which won the world pizza cup in Naples, Italy. They use special dough so they only make 73 margherita pizzas a day (talk about a good marketing tactic–exclusivity). My friends and I also ordered the Cal Italia pizza, which was the gold medal winner of Food Network’s pizza champions challenge. This pizza had asiago, mozzarella, gorgonzola, sweet fig preserve, prosciutto, parmigiano and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

I loved the pizza. It was even better than Delfina’s because even though it was thin crust, it didn’t get soggy. While the margherita was delicious, the Cal Italia pizza completely won me over. I loved the combination of the slightly sweet and savory that came from the fig preserves and the prosciutto. The pizza was cooked perfectly with a thin, crispy dough, but fluffy crust. The Cal Italia would have definitely made it on my list of 100 Things to Eat in San Francisco Before You Die. If you go, I’d recommend going early to put your name down (they don’t take reservations) OR even ordering your pizza to-go and eating it in Washington Square Park.

While in SF, I also got to check out Local Edition, an awesome bar that opened up right before I left SF last year. It’s the same owners of the Rickhouse and Bourbon & Branch so you can expect highly-skilled bartenders making quality cocktails in ’20s Newsies outfits. No night would have been complete without some garlic fries and a cheeseburger from Super Duper Burger, one of my favorite SF burger chains.

I love you, Pinkberry.

My sister got me hurricane popcorn for Christmas!!! Mexican food from Fiesta Del Mar, sushi from Masa’s and brunch at the Rick’s Cafe.

SF: Jackie’s 100 Things to Eat Before You Die

Poulette Mussels at Plouf

Egg Custard Tarts at Golden Gate Bakery

Salmon Ochozuke at B Star Bar

If we have met, you’ve probably heard me mention 7X7′s  100 Things to Eat Before You Die. It’s been the unofficial guide to my eating adventures in San Francisco for the past three years. I get excited when I can try something that’s on the list and check it off (I’ve eaten 40 things off the list this year). While I have a lot of respect for 7X7, I find that I don’t always agree with everything on the list. I question why some dishes made it, while others were overlooked.

Strawberry Fields Drink at the Tipsy Pig

Considering that today is my last day as a San Francisco resident (sniff), my parting gift is my list of 100 things in San Francisco that you should eat before you die. This is the best of the best (at least in my world). Some of the things overlap with the 7X7 list. I’m sure there are so many other delicious foods/drinks that could be added, but I can only vouch for the items that I’ve personally eaten. In no particular order, I present to you: