Bloggers Who Lunch

I had a great lunch at Racines, 8 Passage des Panoramas (Paris 2; 01-40-13-06-41), a wine bar with exceptional food/ a bistro with exceptional wine, and I had it with great people, the bloggers, Meg Zimbeck and David Lebovitz. And at some point during the lunch, I had to giggle -- and snap a picture

 

As soon as we bloggers sit down, we pull out our cameras the way the generations before us pulled out their packs of Lucky Strikes.  And the instant the dishes are set down, it's click, click, click.  It's incredibly amusing and so interesting to see how each person gets a different shot.

And speaking of different shots, Meg and David got much, much better pictures than I did, so to see the salad of thinly shaved vegetables from Michelin-3-star-chef Alain Passard's garden, the hand-cut steak tartare (so good), the meltingly tender braised pork cheeks or the perfectly cooked pasta, you'll have to visit them.

Oh, and when you do, you'll also learn more about the talented, charming -- and very good-looking -- Pierre Jancou, Racine's chef/owner/wine ace.

Comments

[lisa Donovan]

Wow.
What a group of people at one table! I can only imagine the fun conversation that was had....

sigh...

[MH]

LOL I saw David's pic posted on his site a few days ago and wondered what he might have looked like taking the photo in the middle of the restaurant! Now I know!

[alice]

i was there last friday as well...too bad we did not bump into each other. racines is my new GQ. love this place, love the owner, the coffee, the cheese and THE wine. xox

[dorie]

Dana, I think that people who really love food don't let anything get in the way of their enjoying it. At my lunch with Meg and David, all three of us shot pictures of the food, but none of us let a single morsel get cold or lose its aromas. I am sure that if a blogger is eating with a group in which there are no other bloggers, it can get tedious to have to leave the food in place while a picture is being taken -- it can put a damper on good conversation (an important part of any meal) as easily as it can get in the way of savoring the good food -- but that certainly wasn't the case at this lunch, where the three of us snapped, ate and talked non-stop.

Catherine, it's true that if you must be gluten-free, you won't be able to have a baguette, but you'll be able to have so much other wonderful food. Starters and main courses only rarely have glutenous ingredients in them and, since you're coming to Paris in the summer, you'll get to have a huge variety of fruits and vegetables at every meal. Desserts can be tricky, but if you visit the great pastry shops in the city, you'll see that desserts in glasses (verrines) are very popular these days, and most of them are composed of creams and gelees and fruit -- all "legal" for you. And don't forget chocolate mousse and ice cream and crunchy meringues. I know you're going to have a great trip and eat wonderfully. Enjoy!

[Catherine]

Yum! I am so looking forward to coming to Paris next month. Any tips on navigating Paris/France gluten-free? Seeing all the baguettes I can't eat may kill me, but I still want to eat wonderfully!

[Dana McCauley]

Great candid photo! Swirling Notions blog raised a similar topic earlier this spring by posing the question that blogging can distance you from the moment when you have to pause and take a picture of your food before you eat. What do you think? Can the food blogger's lifestyle intrude on your eating experiences?