Cheeseburger — EUR 12

Americans make the best comfort food, and HAND in Paris is living proof. Perfect for brunches or quick eats. The restaurants name which stands for Have a Nice Day brings vintage American food to the French consumer. The cheeseburger comes with hash browns and a small salad.

39 rue Richelieu, Paris, 75001, France
Tel: +33 1 40 15 03 27

Salmon a la Plancha – EUR 32

An establishment for excellence in Paris, located on avenue Montaigne features a variety of classic international dishes from the kitchen of Alain Ducasse. The salmon featured above was wrapped around from the center to form a circle with the top pan seared. The center of the salmon connecting the two ends is lined with spinach. Garnishes include ‘roseval’ potatoes and watercress. There is a flavor of French mustard present.

21  Avenue Montaigne, Paris, 75008, France
Phone: +33 1 53 67 64 00

Cheeseburger – Euro 20.00

Part of the freres Costes restaurants, Rival follows the same basic menu format as the others. Their cheeseburger is served in a lightly toasted bun, with bib lettuce, sliced tomatoes, peeled onions and of course a slice of american cheese. The dish normally comes with a side of fries but I opted out. Your fingers do get dirty while eating this, but on the bright side the burger does not fall apart, even though it is quite large.

20 Avenue George V, 75008, Paris
Phone: 01 47 23 40 99

Filet Mignon with Grenailles Potatoes – Euro 32.00

Presented at this new Parisian dining establishment is very standard menu but using the very best ingredients. This steak was extremely tender, breaking apart with the slight movement of my knife (which is also pictured above). The baby pebble like potatoes were also an excellent supplement. They were firm and did not crumble. One thing that was missing, in this reviewers opinion, was an option of sauces or mustards to accompany the dish. The sauce as shown above was merely as it seems for presentation purposes as it was stuck to the plate.

There are a list of side dishes you may choose from as well including: green salad, fries, quinoa, bushel of spinach, green beans, mashed potatoes, and grenailles potatoes. All sides were Euro 8.00.

37 Avenue de Friedland, 75008, Paris
Phone: 01 82 28 75 08

Crispy Southern Fried Organic Chicken – Euro 36.00

At this diners third foray at the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Paris, I ventured to try one of their poultry dishes. This classic came with home style mashed potatoes and sauteed baby spinach with cornbread on the side. While the food is excellent the service and attention to detail require some working on, surprising considering the 2:1 service to patron ratio.  I realize it is not standard policy of HighTea to inject strong personal opinon but I feel three times in a two week span cannot be overlooked.

The outer layer of the chicken was crispy and the inside soft and tender. The accompanyments fit the dish superbly complementing the flavor of the dish with watery spinach and puree mashed potatoes.

173 Boulevard Saint Germain, 75006, Paris
Phone: 01 44 77 76 00

Filet Mignon – Euro 36.00

The newest edition to the Costes family of restaurants, La Societe is hidden in plain sight with no signs or mention of the restaurant. Once inside patrons must take a side door to enter the restaurant which has been designed by Christian Liaigre, and is frequented by the Fendi family as well as Domenico and Stefano Gabbana. The filet mignon steak is presented simply with a portion of sauce bearnaise. The dish is also accompanied by a portion of mashed potatoes.

4, Place de Saint-German-des-Pres, 75006, Paris
Phone: 01 53 63 60 60

Ralph’s Burger – Euro 27.00

Ralph’s Restaurant in Paris is Ralph Lauren’s second venture into the restaurant business, with the first one located in Chicago. Ralph’s Burger is served with ranch style fries, American farmstead garden slaw, onions, pickles, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese and crispy bacon. All the meat is flown in from Ralph Lauren’s ranch in Colorado. The burger itself was extremely soft with the sprinkles of bacon adding a bit of crunch to each bite. The burger itself, as well as the rest of the portion, are noticeably smaller from their American counterparts, which seem to have been adjusted for the French palate.

173 Boulevard Saint Germain, 75006, Paris
Phone: 01 44 77 76 00

Beef Tenderloin With Gravy and Chips

The menu at this particular French brasserie changes daily, but once in awhile you may catch this delicious entree. The entree consists of beef tenderloin that is very tender at medium rare that is immersed in gravy and their special house sauce. On top of the tenderloin are puffed-up potato chips. The combination of chewy beef, crispy potato chips, and foamy potato puree is fabulous.

11, Rue Dupin, 75006 Paris, France
Phone: +33 (1) 42 22 64 56

Foie Gras with Brioche Toast and Pear

From one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, Bofinger’s homemade foie gras of duck is smooth and creamy. Two pieces of foie gras for the entree with one over a sliced pear and the other over a brioche bread. Extremely fatty foie gras was about 1 inch thick, enough to satisfy your intrail desires.

7, Rue de la Bastille, 75004 Paris, France
Phone: +33 (1) 4272 8782

Macarons

These mouth sized pastries are uniquely French. Ladurée’s macarons have extremely crisp and soft outter shell that sandwiches a cooled sweet chewy creme. Any attempt to pick up the macaron will crack the outer shells. This pastry is perfect with Ladurée’s unique selection of tea. In the picture are a variety of flavors more than 20 offered, but I don’t remembered what I had picked.

Champs Elysées 2nd Floor, 75 Avenue des Champs Elysées – 75008 Paris, France