Musee D'Orsay and Good Food

We finally made it over to the Musee D'Orsay, even though the DeYoung in SF had been acting like they'd provided sanctuary for just about every impressionist painting the D'Orsay had ever owned, as the D'Orsay is remodeling their 5th floor. So you can imagine our relief to find the side sections of the amazing main floor with almost all the collection intact, and presented in different ways that made one take new notice. There were many rooms filled with most of our old favorites. Only problem was we under-estimated the crowds at 4:00 PM, so we hope to make it back right at opening to see it all before the group tours and afternoon tourists arrive. We were ejected at 5:30, and couldn't actually say we'd been kicked out of better places as neither of us could think of one.

Why did we not arrive before 4:00PM, there is a reason. We had reservations for lunch at L'Agrume in the 5th arrondisement. We had a full bottle of wine which was wonderful with lunch but rendered us sluggish afterwards. So, highly satisfied, full and a bit drowsy, we walked to the Jardin des Plantes for a lovely stroll and sitting spell;

then realizing it was about to rain and the time, we scurried to the Metro and to the Musee.

We have found three small Bistros run by innovative chefs that we've really enjoyed. They are out in the neighborhoods and appear to be populated by locals. The foods are perfectly prepared. To us, some dishes were very special, others merely very good. We went for their prix-fixe lunchs, about half what dinners cost but not the full blown array of courses. After the first one, we learned to order wine by the glass, to remain more spry and alert for the rest of the day.

• L'Agrume in the 5th e. at 15 reu des Fosses St. Marcel. 01-43-31-86-48 Lunch was 2 courses for 16E. The first course was three different appetizers. We should have stopped with our 2 lovely courses, but Paul ordered a poached apricot dessert that will have me forever trying to get that depth of flavor from apricots. (I'm compiling a list of French cooking questions for Jane Greene.) We're returning to this one for dinner Saturday night.
• Bistro Paul Bert in the 11th e. at 18 rue Paul Bert. 01-43-72-24-01. A 3 course lunch was 16.50E, very interesting and well executed. (But beware the Fountainbleu dessert, a rich white cheese whipped with cream and topped with raspberry sauce - we actually left half of it.) We loved the interior, a former Butcherie with tile walls and floors and metal racks on the ceiling from which to hang carcases, but warmly remodeled with friendly service.
• La Gazzetta in the 12th e. at 29 rue de Cotte 01-43-47-05. About the same prices as above. A NY Times article says the chef's experiments and pairings are as progressive restaurants in Scandinavia, Spain and Chicago (whatever style that is) but still personal. We enjoyed this, but would recommend the other two ahead of it.

Here's happy Paul in La Gazzetta:

We prepare breakfast, a few lunches and about half our dinners at home, and always after one of these bistro lunches. Dinner is often a salad with a baguette and some great cheese or Bresola (thin sliced beef) and if hungrier a delicious melon with thin sliced french ham. Salad greens are wonderful here, so we buy them fresh at the outdoor market at Place L'Aligre every 2 days. We have dinner around 9:00, as the days are so long here it's not dark til after 10:00. We add a bottle of Rose, and it feels like a party.

Paul keeps finding English DVD's in our hosts library to top out the evening. We've enjoyed watching: "Dogville" (heavy), two Ken Loach British working class movies, "Breaking Waves" (heavy), " Blue Moon" (light), and "The Human Factor" ( based on a Graham Greene book, so a sad tale of espionage and love).

We do miss San Francisco and our friends, but we are loving this life for a while.