FRANCE - Best of Europe 2014 - page 384

$ Le Pick-Clops bar-restaurant is a happy peanuts-and-lots-of-cocktails diner with
bright neon, loud colors, and a garish local crowd. It's perfect for immersing yourself in
today's Marais world—a little boisterous, a little edgy, a little gay, fun-loving, easygo-
ing...and no tourists. Sit inside on old-fashioned diner stools, or streetside to watch the con-
stant Marais parade. The name means “Steal the Cigarettes”—but you'll pay €11 for your
big salad (daily 7:00-24:00, 16 Rue Vieille du Temple, tel. [phone]).
More Options: The best scene for hard-core clubbers is the dizzying array of wacky eat-
eries, bars,anddancehallson RuedeLappe. Justeast ofthestately Place delaBastille, it's
one of the wildest nightspots in Paris and not for everyone.
The most enjoyable peaceful evening may be simply mentally donning your floppy
“three musketeers” hat and slowly strolling Place des Vosges, window-shopping the art gal-
leries.
On Ile St. Louis
(See “Marais Restaurants” map, here .)
Thisromanticandpeacefulneighborhoodisfilledwithpromisingandsurprisinglyinexpens-
ivepossibilities; itmerits atripfordinnerevenifyourhotel iselsewhere. Cruise theisland's
main street for a variety of options, from cozy crêperies to Italian eateries to Alsatian bras-
series and romantic bistros. After dinner, sample Paris' best ice cream and stroll across to
Ile de la Cité to see a floodlit Notre-Dame. These recommended spots line the island's main
drag, Rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile (see map on here ; to get here use the Pont Marie Métro stop).
$$$ Le Tastevin is an intimate mother-and-son-run restaurant serving top-notch tra-
ditional French cuisine with white-tablecloth, candlelit, gourmet elegance under heavy
wooden beams. The romantic setting (and the elegantly romantic Parisian couples enjoying
the place) naturally makes you whisper. The menus, which start at €31 (two courses) and
rise to €40-54 (three courses), offer a handful of classic choices that change with the season
(daily, reserve for late-evening dining, fine wine list, 46 Rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile, tel. 01 43 54
17 31, owner Madame Puisieux and her gentle son speak just enough English).
$$$ Nos Ancêtres les Gaulois (“Our Ancestors the Gauls”), famous for its rowdy,
medieval-cellar atmosphere, is made for hungry warriors and wenches who like to swill
hearty wine. They serve up a rustic all-you-can-eat buffet with straw baskets of raw veggies
and bundles of sausage (cut whatever you like with your dagger), massive plates of pâté, a
meat course, and all the wine you can stomach for €41. The food is just food; burping is en-
couraged. If you want to overeat, drink too much wine, be surrounded with tourists (mostly
French), and holler at your friends while receiving smart-aleck buccaneer service, you're
home (daily, 39 Rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile, tel. [phone]).