Resto reviews

C and I have been doing some exploring in my neighborhood lately, and it's allowed us to discover a few good (and inexpensive!) new restaurants. The first one is Parnasse 138 - not surprisingly found at 138 blvd Montparnasse. I came across it the other day while walking home from the cinema, and was surprised by their menu offering entrée+plat+dessert for 14.90€. That's a pretty normal price for bistro fare en province, but is pretty rare for Paris (especially in the 6th). You had the choice of seven or eight different things for each course, which I found pretty surprising. And the service was fast, the portions generous and the wine list decent - what more can you ask for from a small Parisian bistro?

The second place I wanted to mention was a tiny Chinese restaurant near les Gobelins - I'm not sure of the name, but it's at 65 blvd Saint Marcel (right next to the Champion). C's SIL is Chinese and she read about it on a "chinese in paris" sort of forum. And true to form, we were the only non-Chinese speakers in there. The food was fabulous - unlike any Chinese food I've had in the States or in France. I choose the semi-spicy aubergine dish, but the SIL took the lead and ordered us all kinds of dishes, some of which I'm not even sure were on the menu. We ended up with various kinds of ravioli, noodles, several cooked veggies that I'd never seen before and another dish with a sesame (peanut?) sauce that was to die for. The prices were also very reasonable here - most main dishes cost around 6 or 7 € (without rice). Tip: The dining area is minuscule, so reserve in advance or show up early if you want a spot! Also, take a few minutes to watch the video screen out front - it shows them making their homemade pasta the traditional way.