48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very moveable feast., May 17, 2005
This review is from: Gourmet Shops of Paris: An Epicurean Tour (Hardcover)
`Gourmet Shops of Paris', translated from the French written by Pierre Rival and Christian Sarramon is a high end oversize book which is almost as sweet and luscious as the comestibles on which it dotes. This is a foodie's travel guide to Paris, with photos which are just rich enough to make you want to get on to your favorite ticket vendor and book a flight to Paris. It especially makes you wish your passport were up to date, if it has been collecting dust for more than 10 years.
The $40 American list price may be just a little pricy, raising the risk of landing the book on the discount table at Borders and Barnes and Noble, but if you do find it well priced by Amazon and you like food, I strongly recommend you acquire a copy. This is especially true if you happen to do high end entertaining, but more on that later. As far as I can see, the translation is transparent, offering no impediment to appreciating the book.
The book is divided into four main categories.
The first is `Sweet Paris', which is further divided into sections on `Confectionery and Chocolates', `Cakes Large and Small', and `Tea and Coffee'. The first of these three parts claims that while Paris is coming to the game late, behind major players such as Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, it is becoming one of the world leaders in creativity in chocolate, plus a dealer or two who goes so far as to actually manufacture their own chocolate in house from the beans rather than depending on chocolate processed by the big dealers such as Vahlrona or Callibut. I give strong credence to this Paris boosting, as it agrees with Mort Rosenblum's assessment of French chocolatiers in his recent book, `Chocolate'.
The second is `Savory Paris', divided into `Bread and Cheese' and `Fine Food Stores'. Bread and cheese are easily products for which France can claim world primacy. And, some of the very best bread bakers are certainly in Paris. The most famous is Poilane, who has been featured in more than one Food Network show. Their flagship product is a giant 4.2 pound boule with their initial emblazoned in the crust. If all this were not enough to run to the Internet for plane tickets, there is the section on fine food stores. I confess none of them looks quite as fully stocked as Zabar's in Manhattan or the Harrah's food court in the London department store, but the cachet is impeccable (If the lure of the pictures is stronger than your pocketbook, you can get a fix of continental food by visiting De Palo's in Manhattan's Little Italy).
The third section is `Paris in a Glass', covering some of the leading wine merchants in the city. While I suspect that New York City may have specialist wine merchants, I doubt that you will find as great a variety of specialties anywhere in the world to surpass the variety in Paris. What is even better, Paris offers vendors who offer tastings of great wines so you can get a sip of an expensive vintage without breaking your bank account.
The fourth section, `Small Snacks' starts off with the fact that the first major restaurant item in Paris starting around 1765 was the serving of soups. This trend became `bouillons' or shops specializing in soups. This trend seems to be the French speciality paralleling the tapas of Spain and the Mezes of Greece. This reinforces the notion that if you want to learn soup making, concentrate on learning French culinary methods. Unlike almost all the other establishments pictured in other sections, many of the soup and snack outlets in this section have a hypermodern design.
One is almost surprised that the book stops at this point. Where are the brassieres? Where are the bistros? Where are the Michelin rated restaurants? There is a sense in the title of the book that this is about `walk-in' establishments, but you almost wish they would have gone one step more, but then, that is probably more than enough material for another book.
Any disappointment felt at not seeing the inside of a name brasserie disappears when you get to the last section, `The Gourmet's Notebook'. Hock the ticket you just ordered and get onto the Internet, because this section gives the Internet addresses of all the shops covered in the book, with the means of ordering from these shops. Just imagine the impression you can make at a party when you serve bread, petit fours, olive oil, and preserves from shops in Paris! It makes you think that someone could really make a go of a store featuring these items locally at a reasonable discount.
I think this book is absolutely essential if you are a foodie who has any plans to visit Paris in the next five years. Even if you are a stay at home foodie, this gives you lots of ideas of what to look for if you happen to go to New York, Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, or San Francisco.
Personally, I think Air France should give this book away, but look for it at a good price and you will be rewarded. It is an especially good source for anyone interested in getting into food retailing.
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