
The Bistrot des Halles , conveniently located 15 rue des Halles in the 1st arrondissement (phone 01 42 36 91 69 , open 7 am-8.30pm , closed sun.) is the true "bistrot parisien" as well as a wine bar with a sizable wine list .
"Les Halles" were in the past the huge central market in the middle of Paris , dubbed "belly of Paris", and where individuals and restaurateurs came early in the morning to buy vegetables , fish , meat , flowers... for their household or their business . It was an architectural marvel wich was destroyed in the 70's and replaced by a commercial and shopping complex . The Halles neighbourhood had a high concentration of very professional brasseries and restaurants to serve these demanding customers . After the market moved elsewhere ( in far away suburbs ), it changed . But some of the restaurants and bistrots that catered for all these food professionals survived . Like this Bistrot wich outlived the neighbourhood transformations .
Jean Pierre Breud, who previously worked in a cafe near Beaubourg , bought the place 5 1/2 years ago and preserved its style & authenticity : Mosaic floor , real period bistrot chairs, copper on the counter and tin & wood on the work side .
He works with his wife Isabelle who does wonders at the kitchen .

The place is very busy for lunch , with usually two "plats du jour" , plus the menu list . The cuisine like the bistrot, have been the object of several articles in the printed media . Her foie gras , bought in southwestern France and prepared and cooked here , is a must , we were told . Two other persons work here .
Wines by the glass are either whites or reds . When we visited , 14 whites and 20 reds were on the list , from different french regions , plus 3 different Champagnes . Small producers have the big share . Some other wines can be had only by the bottle , to drink with friends or to eat with : A Saint Joseph 2000 , Fronsac 1999, Mercurey 1998 , Cote de Nuits 1999 (22 Euro), for example . The wine cellar of the Bistrot has 50 appellations, wich allows a regular change of the wine list
Continue reading "Paris Wine Bars : Le Bistrot des Halles" »



AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlée) label officially obtained in march 2004) . The Valencay wines are : Reds_Gamay Noir majority , Pinot Noir ,Cot(Malbec), Pineau d'Aunis . Whites_Sauvignon majority , Chardonnay . Rosés_ Pineau d'Aunis , Pinot Noir . The Valencay Appellation, named from the small town of Valencay (
and many other things . After this educational visit done along 1 1/2 km walk among the vineyard ranks, you reach a "loge de vigne", one of these shelters commonly built at the beginning of the century in the region to accommodate 2 horses and about 10 workers . There, in this small house sitting in the middle of the vineyard far from the villages , the workers and horses of that time rested and took shelter from the rain . Today, the "loge" , wich has been restored, hosts a free tasting of the different types of Valencay wines , selected from their different soils : "les graves", les cosses", les silex" . No producer name for these demonstration white wines that are selected for their strong terroir characterisics . Excellent whites, by the way . Majority Sauvignon , 10% Chardonnay in the first 2 , 20% in the last . Picture on right : An italian amateur enjoying the day .



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