Italian neighborhood food in Paris

It is my tradition on my first night in Paris to dine close to my hotel. Had I been in the old neighborhood, I would have walked to Alla Biche Au Bois or Chez Paul or maybe tried the Egyptian place I have eyeballing for some time.

However, my hosts and dear friends have moved to the 10th arrondissemont and so I was left to go with neither a favorite or something I have previously desired.

So, I decided on a safe and sure bet: Italian.

It was recommended by my sub-host, the cuddly Bertino. Men are not usually cuddly to me, but he seems very kind and sweet. His broken English, laden with a heavy Portuguese accent. He bore witness to its fair prices and its decent fare. So, I decided it would be the Italian place. One block away.

I readied myself and off I went with my travel materials for reading. In the short block of walking, I realized two things that one forgets about Paris when you separated from it for too long a time: a) the names of streets can change with every single block and some streets name can curve in the most illogical of manners; b) Paris is bright late into the night. At 9:00 it is still fairly light out.

The chilled late spring air tell me I ought to sit inside and once I am seated I know a place outside would have been a tinge better.

I review the menu. The salads are very unusual. Three of them are named for places like Florida, Arizona and the Bahamas. I read each ingredient carefully.

The Florida has grapefruit, avocado, apple, heart of palm, chicken, tomato and corn. The Arizona has carrot, cucumber, artichoke, capers, egg, tuna, anchovies and olives. And the Bahamas has oranges, tomatoes, avocado, heart of palm, corn, ham and fresh pineapple.

However, I remembered that last meal I had in Paris last year. I ordered something I order a lot. My dear friend Peet ordered beef cheeks. I would never order such a thing, but once I tasted his dish – Oh, My God! So, I said to my self: “Self, order different things than you normally would!”

So, I ordered the Rimini salad which has orange slices, crayfish tails, hearts of palm, tomatoes, and kiwi, oops no kiwi showed up on my plate! However, it was great and I have in my head concocted an even better salad of my own making, though inspired by Salade Rimini alla Parisienne.

For the entrée I ordered as the menu says: “green and white pastas with light creams sauces, fresh peas, mushrooms and ham of San Daniel.”

The spinach and durum wheat linguini was served in a large portion. Much larger than I have had in some places in Madrid and Paris, which I was grateful for however, I will have to research what ham San Daniel is. Roughly chopped cold cuts seems like a missed opportunity. Of course, that came out the wrong way. It looked like a roughly chopped cold cut, it tasted like the best ham I have had in a very, very long time. Think Boar’s Head Brand and then a step or two up.

The only downside to this dish was the peas, which were fresh, were also a bit over-soft. It would have been perfect to have a bit of a snap left in them!

I will return to this little eatery, I am sure, a couple of times in my two weeks here. It is very much a homey place. Besides some of the pizzas smelled amazing!