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!

Je Suis Parisienne

The View from my Patio

I’m officially a Parisian! I moved into my new apartment in the 7th arrondissement last Sunday so it’s been exactly one week. I could not be happier. I’m in love with my new place, my neighborhood and just being in the City of Light!

Brunch at Coutume Café

After moving in, Christophe and I went to have brunch at Coutume Café. I had read reviews about Coutume in multiple blogs because all the expats have been raving about their coffee. I was quite happy with my latte and it was one of the best cups of coffee I’ve had in this city. The vibe of Coutume was really cool, reminding me of Greenwich Village in New York. The brunch was solid. While nothing blew me completely away, I found the mango yogurt refreshing and I enjoyed my plate of chicken and rice with a side of sweet potatoes. Everything tasted clean and light; I didn’t feel like I was going to roll over and take a nap (which is often how I feel after brunch).

Tempura and udon at Sanukiya (top left and right); Korean rice cakes with kimchi and seafood at Dawa (bottom left); and my own Chinese cooking (bottom right)

Ironically, I had a lot of Asian food and hit up some of favorites like Sanukiya and Dawa. The first meal I made in my kitchen was Chinese food too (although I cheated because I bought that hot and sour soup).

Snow in Paris

On the Bridge by Notre Dame

It’s been an eventful week because it starting snowing this past weekend and the snow is actually sticking. As a native Californian, this is a big deal for me. I’ve been in snow when I’ve gone skiing, but I’ve never been in a major city with snow. This lead to a lot of wandering and taking pictures because this city is absolutely gorgeous in the snow.

Caramels, Hot Chocolate and Mille-Feuille at Jacques Genin

2003 Yearbook Flashback

I stumbled upon all my old yearbooks this weekend and sifted through the myriad of notes written in sparkly, multi-colored pens. One entry always stood out to me. I remember my senior year and having our graduation cap decorating party at my house. One of my classmates Jon* stayed behind. We had gone to the same school for 13 years (kindergarten-12th grade), but we weren’t close friends. The finality of high school graduation was hitting me. I’d gone to school for 13 years with the same person and now, we would be departing to our respective schools, across the country from one another. Would I see this person again?

As we sat across from each other in my kitchen, he asked to sign my yearbook. I watched in amazement as he filled up an entire page. I didn’t want to be rude or awkward so I read his entry after he left. It was the most poignant note that I’d ever read.

I always remembered Jon’s note as being touching, but I couldn’t remember the words he wrote. When I found my senior year yearbook, it was the first thing I reread. Nine years later, and it still evoked the same feelings I felt as a 17-year-old girl, getting ready to embark on the next chapter of her life.

Jon and I didn’t keep in touch. As fate would have it, we actually had a random mutual friend from his college and we hung out a few months ago for the first time since 2003. Ironically (or maybe not so ironically), he didn’t remember what he wrote in my yearbook, but I told him how much it meant to me.

It’s almost a decade later, but reading his note has served as a good reminder to stay true to myself. As cheesy as it sounds, I like the person that I was and still am. Thanks, Jon.

RBJello’s 2011 in Review

I know every single WordPress.com user got a report for 2011, but this is my first year having a blog–it’s all new to me! It’s been a great year and looking forward to more adventures in 2012. I already said my thanks earlier this year, but I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.

Here’s to 2012– a leap year, the year of the dragon and a summer Olympics year!

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 38 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

My Bucket List: Check!

Perhaps, this blog post is not correctly name. It should probably be “My list of things I accomplished but didn’t try to do on purpose.” No, it’s not the end of the year and this isn’t some impetus to start my New Year’s resolutions. Something about Thanksgiving and the start of all the holidays is definitely making me reflect on this past year. So, in no particular order:

1. Justin Bieber started following me on Twitter. I can die happy.
2. I ran 5 miles. I’ve only been able to do it once, but I did it (like a month and a half ago). This probably shows how weak sauce I am, considering my roommate just ran a half marathon. The goal is to be able to run 5 miles again and maybe even run farther.
3. I made friends with chefs. I ate some really delicious food (and met some really amazing people).
4. I rode a horse for the first time. Not only did I ride a horse for the first time, but also the horse galloped into “2nd gear.” It was exhilarating and scary at the same time.
5. Virgin America paid for my weekend trip to Vegas. Technically, my best friend won an all expense paid trip (courtesy of Virgin America) and I was her +1. Now, I can say that people actually do win those contests.
6. I tried acupuncture. Needles scare the crap out of me, but I’m hoping it will help with my wrist pain that’s been bothering me for the past 1.5+ years. I’m two sessions in. I’ll let you know how it goes.
7. I helped pitch and secure The New York Times’ Style section. Bill Cunningham came to one of our work events. My only regret is that I did not get to meet him. Then, I could have died happy.
8. I had my first New York bagel. On my 2nd trip to New York ever, I finally ate my first New York bagel. And yes, it was a life changing experience. Now, I know what the hell New Yorkers complain about when they eat our bagels in California. I no longer think you guys are snobs. I understand now!
9. I successfully stalked someone a decade later. Leave it to LinkedIn’s “people you may know” section to find the boy who you dated when you were 16 in China. We are now Facebook friends. He is also probably reading this and thinking I’m crazy for talking about it publicly.
10. I started a blog! It’s probably terribly cliché to talk about how I started a blog on my blog, but I’m really happy with it. It’s been almost 5 months since my first blog post and I’ve surprised myself at how much I’ve been able to actually write and maintain the posts (28 posts, baby!).

2011 has been very good to me. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I also want to  thank you for reading and supporting my blog! You made me really happy. Check that off your bucket list!

It's been a good year. Treat yo self!

What is rbjello?

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for awhile but have been intimidated for a number of reasons: 1) I lack any type of artistic abilities, 2) Going hand in hand with artistic abilities, I lack creative writing talent, 3) The time factor worried me, and 4) What happens on the internet, stays on the internet (forever!). What magically changed my mind?

It’s true that my artistic abilities haven’t improved, but I was given the opportunity to use WordPress more at my job and kind of learn it on the fly. I figured it’s a lot better to screw formatting on my own blog than screw up things on the website of a major organization. I still don’t think I am the strongest writer, but I find writing therapeutic. For all you foodies out there, you can understand how writing a Yelp review can be therapy. I like writing restaurant reviews during my lunch break and I find myself relaxed and happy afterward. I wanted an outlet where I could write about more than just food.

The time factor is still an issue so I’m not making any promises. There is no goal of “I will post once a week” because I will not meet that goal. I’m just going to say that I will write as often as I feel inspired. Let’s face it… you’re probably not going to want to read about the mundane details of my life either.

There’s no use trying to hide my identity. Everything is connected with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Profiles, etc. I’ve just come to the conclusion that there’s no use hiding when I’m one Google search away.

So what is rbjello? Rbjello = Rainbow Jell-o.

Rainbow jell-o at its finest

What was the inspiration for this wonderful screen name? Well, I was in 6th grade and trying to come up with a screen name for an AOL account. I don’t know how it popped into my head, but I started thinking about “Layer Jell-o” (more to come below) and how it looks like a rainbow. And BAM, Rbjello was born. It’s been with me since I was 12 and it looks like it’s not going anywhere. Rbjello has ALWAYS been available on every single thing I’ve ever opened an account on and it’s never failed to disappoint me. Yahoo! Mail recently congratulated me on being a customer for 12 years with that name. It made me feel old (and I am not).

OK, you’re probably wondering what is Layer Jell-o. I am so glad you asked because Layer Jell-o represents everything that is good and wonderful in this world (not to mention also delicious). It’s a time-consuming dessert made with jell-o and condensed milk. You have to do each layer one by one and make sure it sets before adding the new one; otherwise, you will not have layer jell-o–you will have blob jell-o.

I rarely make it because it normally takes a couple of hours (plus cleaning jell-o is a pain), but it always reminds me of July 4th because we used to make it at BBQ’s every year in the summertime. I’ll post the recipe after the page break, but I wanted to say thanks for reading my blog! I look forward to hearing from you too!