A sharing planche

 

A generous planche mixte loaded with French charcuteries and cheeses, à partager.

***

  Most menus in Paris cafés now include an "à partager" (to share) section with a variety of appetizers and planches.

 

Throwback Thursday

Well, not all that far back.

(photo from April 2019 post)

 Le Brébant

Bear down

A couple of bears get in some down time in the Marais district.

Fountain café

 

 A café-restaurant on a cul-de-sac is set off by a fountain from bygone days.

Parasol

A gaily striped parasol in the 2nd arrondissement.

Un bol de café

 

 

Traditional French breakfast coffee bols bide their time on shelves waiting for the day this café-boulangerie will re-open.

 

Coquelicot
24 rue des Abbesses 75018

Café to go

 

 ***

 

All over Paris coffee lovers who've been cut off from their local cafés can be spotted meandering semi-conscious in search of a decent cup. But it's not just coffee they're craving, otherwise they would stay home and brew their own. No, these are the displaced, whose cafés were abruptly shuttered, thus cruelly shutting down a lifestyle, a French lifestyle, of savoring time, with coffee as the backdrop.  

 

But thankfully, with each confinement many cafés, boulangeries, pâtisseries and small shops that weren't in the business of selling drinks-to-go have risen to the task. No one is complaining about the once annoying noisiness of espresso machines, now a welcome sound. Or pointing at tourists carrying drinks while walking around, until now a very un-French habitude.

 

Parisians are finding these stop-and-go places set up to sell coffee their sole reprieve. Sometimes there will be pastries, sandwiches and crêpes. And if they happen to live in a neighborhood where many know each other, such as Montmartre, these quick coffee stops will provide a welcome excuse to speed socialize and catch up on local gossip - which makes taking a walk something to look forward to. - BPJ

 

Above: a coffee roaster shop makes use of its burlap coffee bags to show they now have coffee to go

 

Below: freezing weather doesn't deter this man in flip flops, T-shirt, and shorts; a café-turned-hot-drinks-street-food vendor w/plenty of hand gel on hand on a side table

 

Note:

 The latest curfew begins each evening at 6 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.

(exceptions: if you have a dog to walk, a signed attestation to justify why you are out. If nature calls toilettes will be off limits - however a need to step outside for a smoke isn't.

 

  

  

 

Five steps

A warming new coffeehouse / salon de thé just steps from Place Dalida became my new coffee meetup spot but has temporarily closed due to the latest lockdown, except for takeaway.

 Les Cinq Marches

Café-Cantine 

12 rue Girardon 75018 

Patch of sun

A sunny spot at a Montmartre cafê that didn't last long.

More empty tables

As the number of coronavirus cases climbs ever-changing rules for cafés and restaurants are keeping wary habitués at a distance.

View from a cup

 

Paris' cafés continue to be part of daily life, and everyone has their favorites.

Above: view from my café crème

Two tables for two

Flowers have been set out on a second table to insure social distancing.

Farewell to menus

Menu sans contact: Au revoir to hiding behind menus to discreetly flirt with someone at the next table or check if anything's stuck in your teeth with your knife. With coronavirus in the air, for health and safety reasons there are now QR code stickers on many restaurant and café tables to enable patrons to scan and read digitalized menus on their cellphones without having to touch a printed menu. Good idea. - BPJ

Le Pain Quotidien

31 rue Lepic 75018

Terrace turf

On rue des Abbesses, Montmartre

Cafés, restaurants and bars, with new permits to expand onto sidewalk and even street spaces as never before, have become laid-back second homes, with no pressure to pay and leave - one of France's most cherished cultural perks.

 

Paris it's nice to see you

Paris' sidewalk terraces seem to be hopping like never before. With many safety rules relaxed but still in place, locals venture out to enjoy the fruits of being extra careful - while it lasts. 

Tomorrow:

Montmartre cafés become home away from home

Then, and now

Back wall in local café-restaurant before its overhaul.

Below: same wall, after

Carpe diem

An expresso, a café crème and to share, a luscious Saint Honoré pastry.

***
  
"The ant had wasted its life and its beauty hoarding for winter only to discover a world of beautiful, carefree grasshoppers." 😱 - Coffee partner and local philosopher J. S.

Rainy morning

 

Finishing up a café crème at the Café Cassette.

 

Liégeois

Thought to originate in next-door Belgium, ice-cream and chantilly-rich café liégeois is a specialty at many local cafés.

 

*** 

 

This decadent dessert isn't actually from Liège, historic city in eastern Belgium. Originally, it was called café viennois (Viennese coffee) in Paris. During World War I, after Liège heroically resisted the German invasion, the French renamed it "café liégeois" in tribute. The name stuck, but in fact the name is French in origin. - BPJ

Chimney cakes

Street food from Czechia with sweet or savory fillings.
Excellent coffee.

Alma The Chimney Cake Factory

59 Boulevard Beaumarchais 75003