PARIS - France 2014 - page 271

ambience. On a balmy evening, this is clearly a neighborhood favorite, with a handful of
restaurants offering mediocre cuisine (you're here for the setting). It's also kid-friendly:
Mostplaces serveFrenchhamburgers,andkidscandancearoundthesquarewhileparents
breathe. Study the square, and you'll find three French bistros with similar features and
menus: Le Marché, Chez Joséphine, and Au Bistrot de la Place (all open daily with
€20-32 menus on weekdays, must order à la carte on weekends, tight seating on flimsy
chairs indoors and out, Chez Joséphine has best chairs).
$ Several hardworking Asian fast-food eateries, great for an €8 meal, line Rue St.
Antoine.
On Rue des Rosiers in the Jewish Quarter: These places line up along the same
street in the heart of the Jewish Quarter.
$ Chez Marianne is a neighborhood fixture that blends delicious Jewish cuisine
with Parisian élan and wonderful atmosphere. Choose from several indoor zones with a
cluttered wine shop/deli feeling, or sit outside. You'll select from two dozen Zakouski ele-
ments to assemble your €12-16 plat. Vegetarians will find great options (€8 falafel sand-
wich—less if you order it to go, long hours daily, corner of Rue des Rosiers and Rue des
Hospitalières-St.-Gervais,tel.[phone]).Fortakeout,payinsidefirstandgetaticket
before you order outside.
$ Le Loir dans la Théière (“The Dormouse in the Teapot”) is a cozy, mellow tea-
house offering a welcoming ambience for tired travelers (laptops and cell phones are not
welcome). It's ideal for lunch and popular for weekend brunch. They offer a daily assort-
ment of creatively filled quiches, and bake up an impressive array of homemade desserts
that are proudly displayed in the dining room. Try the mile-high lemon meringue “pie” or
the oversized mille-feuille (€12-14 plats , daily 10:00-19:00, 3 Rue des Rosiers, tel. 01 42
72 90 61).
$ L'As du Falafel rules the falafel scene in the Jewish quarter. Monsieur Isaac, the
“Ace of Falafel” here since 1979, brags, “I've got the biggest pita on the street...and I fill
it up.” (Apparently it's Lenny Kravitz's favorite, too.) Your inexpensive meal comes on
plastic plates, in a bustling setting that seems to prove he's earned his success. The €7
“special falafel” is the big hit (€6 to go), but many Americans enjoy his lighter chicken
version (poulet grillé) or the tasty and massive assiette de falafel (€9). Wash it down with
acold Maccabee beer.Their take-out service drawsaconstant crowd(longhoursdaily ex-
cept closed Fri evening and all day Sat, air-con, 34 Rue des Rosiers, tel. [phone]).
$ La Droguerie, an outdoor crêpe stand a few blocks farther down Rue des Rosiers
withalight-heartedowner,isagoodbudgetoptioniffalafelsdon'tworkforyou,butcheap
does (€5 dinner crêpes, daily 12:00-22:00, 56 Rue des Rosiers).