When looking for food when we first arrived in Paris we walked by Soya Cantine but after looking at the menu on the door decided to go somewhere else. It said that most things could be made vegan, but for some reason we just didn't feel like eating there are the time. Then a few nights later we were looking for food or dessert so we walked by again and again did not go in. Finally on the next to last night we were there we were tired but hungry so we were going to go to the closest restaurant to the hotel where we had eaten on the first day. This however was closed and Soya was the next closest, within walking distance so we finally ventured down there to actually try the food. The inside is cozy and dimly lit making for some nice ambiance. We asked our server what could be made vegan and chose from our options. The first thing we tried was the couscous soya. We actually opted for the quinoa instead of wheat as we love quinoa. This was a bowl with quinoa under a tofu steak and roasted red peppers. The bowl on the left held the broth with zucchini, carrots, eggplant, and yellow squash. Served with this was a red sauce and rum soaked raisins. Each individual piece had so much flavor it was great. Put everything together in the one bowl and you have an incredibly delicious bowl of food that was quite filling. Really really tasty.
Our second main was the plate of the day. This consisted of cabbage rolls filled with veggies, soy, nuts and rice. These were so delicious. I could have eaten a plate full of them. On the top corner of the plate are some roasted red peppers where were amazing and sweet. In the center is some rice with steamed greens and caramelized squash on top. Man it was tasty. Unlike Gentle Gourmet the rice was delicious as well as the greens but the squash was amazing. I love squash and this was some of the best I have had. Really incredible. Also on the plate is that ball which was deep fried tofu, chickpeas and green. Also really tasty, but didn't seem to go with the rest of the items on the plate.
Even though we were quite full we asked about the dessert options. They had an apple crumble or a tofu cream. We went with the tofu cream since we had no idea what it would be and wanted to try something different. I am so glad we did - I was a little hesitant as tofu desserts are not always my favorite. The cream had almost a marshmallow texture and was sweet and super tasty. On top was a mixed nut crumble that was so so good. Not overly sweet, but sweet enough. Also on top was a small piece of nut brittle which was amazing. Really delicious dessert.
Overall - Definitely stop in here if you are in Paris. This was probably my favorite meal of the whole trip and I am glad we finally gave it a try. It is more expensive than some place, but it is well worth it. The food was incredible.
When I saw that there was a veggie burger place in Paris I knew we had to stop by. East SIde Burger has two different burger selections every day and they can all be made vegan except the cheese one. We decided to try one of each with fries.
First up the day we were there was the L’Oriental - homemade houmous, seaweed and tofu steak, zucchini and eggplant with spices, red onion. The burger itself was pretty tiny, just a few bites to eat the whole thing. The patty was kind of mushy and the toppings...well it just didn't have much flavor in general. Which is a shame. I mean eggplant and zucchini, hummus and seaweed sounds like a weird combo to me, but should be flavorful. I sometimes wonder how people manage to take the flavor out of veggies...
The second burger of the day was the Le Basque= lettuce, basque style tofu steak , cheddar cheese, caramelized and spicy red pepper, tomato. The patty was a little firmer on this one, but still not much flavor over all. Caramelizes onions...no flavor. Peppers...no flavor. How do they do it? Really when eating them I couldn't really tell the difference...there was a visual difference, different patties and toppings but flavor wise...not much. If I closed my eyes and tasted one randomly I wouldn't have been able to tell you which one I had.
The fries at least were tasty. Nice and crisp and hot.
We also tried one of the apple tarts. This was not what we were expecting. It was creamy like cream cheese filling and just...it was just okay. I was expecting more apple less filling.
Overall - I would not go back to East Side Burger. Their burgers are tiny, and not very good. Neither of them had any flavor. When we were here the line was out the door the entire time and I am not sure why so many people eat lunch here. Is there no where else to go in the area? Even then I still wouldn't go back. Maybe the quiche and hot dogs are better....
Walking through the Louvre is tiring and mid-afternoon our feet were getting sore so we decided to stop in at Le Cafe Marly for some tea and possibly a bite to eat (if they had anything we could). A quick look over the menu and there was not much for us, though they did have some vegan sorbets. We tried a scoop of the peach (the light pink above) and strawberry. These were tasty, but really most sorbets are. It was a nice refreshing treat, especially since the museum was quite warm.
Overall - There is not much to eat here, but they do have sorbet. They also have a nice selection of teas and though it is expensive it is a nice place to sit and rest a moment. There is also a great view of the pyramid out the window.
We spent one of our days in Pairs exploring the Louvre and stopped by Guen Mai for lunch. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this restaurant. I couldn't find a menu or anything, but everything is vegan so we ventured off to see what they had. They have two plates of the day which change with the day of the week so we tried one of each. They are both served with the same side. Side note: I love the plates of small bites that seem to be everywhere in Paris. I wish this was a more accepted practice as I like trying out so many different dishes in one. Back to the food here we had the Tempura Veggies which was really tasty. The veggies were still crisp and the batter light. Also served with some carrots which were glazed and so so good, zucchini and leek dish which was buttery and delicious, bulgar which was tasty, lentils which tasted of thyme and were really good, sea vegetables which I enjoyed (I don't like seaweed of seafood and Raymond even commented on the fact that I ate them as he didn't think I would. However they were prepared or whatever they were I liked them), some rice, and finally some uncooked cabbage and carrots. Everything was so tasty and I am glad we got a little bit of everything.
The other special of the day was Gratinade Tofu served with the same sides. This was really like a little tofu scramble with some herbs and spices. Tasty, but there wasn't much of it (one bite for each of us).
Overall - I would definitely recommend Guen Mai. The menu changes daily, and they also have some delicious looking soups which we did not get to taste on this visit.
I was very excited when I saw there was an Ethiopian restaurant in Paris to eat at. Abyssinia is farther away from the center of the city, but we rode the subway out one evening for some dinner. We went in and browsed the menu and noticed they had a veggie combo so we just wanted to order that. We have eaten at many Ethiopian places and one is usually enough for the both of us so we tried to just order the one. The lady working however wouldn't let us...I almost just left then as I was not super hungry and I don't like having to order more food than we need, but Raymond wanted to try it so I finally relented and ordered the two. Two was way too much food so it kind of tainted the whole experience since it was kind of expensive and a waste of food (and we didn't really have a way to keep te excess though I am not sure it would keep very well). Anyways on to the food. The combo came with a standard salad with vinegary dressing which was tasty (bottom of the photo above). Next to the left are some pickled beets which Raymond didn't care for and even though I am a beet lover they were just alright. Next was some spinach which was alright, just spinach and a few spices. Then there was this paste like dish which was really spicy and I couldn't eat it. Next to that was a corn dish which tasted like corn and I enjoyed it. Then lentils which were my favorites, they were spiced nicely. Next to that was potatoes and carrots which at my favorite place in Seattle is my favorite dish. It wasn't as good here, though it was tasty. Really everything was good, it just wasn't amazing or the best we have had. The other issue, which really bugged Raymond, was the bread did not have that sourdough bite to it that I believe it should (or every other Ethiopian place has had bread that does). He just couldn't get past the bread being wrong and throwing everything off.
Overall - The food was alright. I did not like having to order way more food than we could eat, and the bread to eat with does not have the sourdough bite that we are used to. I probably wouldn't go back again just because we would have to waste more food if we did.
