I gave France multiple chances. One, two, three seven strikes you’re out…
I wanted very much to prove that you can in fact be a vegan in a country that celebrates meat and cheese. And maybe it’s easier if you speak the language, or aren’t in touristy places, but knowing how to say "sans fromage" and "je suis vegetarienne" didn’t seem to help much. Even smiling and saying in my sweetest, non-American accent "je voudrais une salade" wasn’t working out that well for me (how many boring salads can a girl eat!*). But trying to order outside the box in France is a pretty hopeless cause. Their national cuisine happens to be focused around things my stomach doesn’t tolerate (and for the record, neither do my taste buds). Almost every single dish had some component (fromage, jambon, creme…) that made my stomach turn.**
And yet, ever the optimist, I kept my hopes alive through it all, waiting for the French to redeem themselves. [To be clear, there were several non-food related incidents that contributed to the growing tally of annoyances we all had. So this isn’t some personal vegan vendetta against Paris]
Then, like a cat on it’s ninth life, we had the most pleasant dining experience and Paris was back in the game. I’m aware that I’m mixing metaphors all over the place, just roll with it.
Laura and I discovered this sushi restaurant (Cote Sushi) our first day in Paris, but pretty much ruled it out as a possible place to eat because it was so far out of the way. In reality, it wasn’t that far away, but we figured we wouldn’t be in the neighborhood of the Arc de Triomphe again given our highly packed schedule (FYI home base was The Latin Quarter). As it just so happened, we were! And so we navigated the streets off the Seine like we were pros, just to take the rest of our gang to the previous day’s gem of a discovery.
It was easy to find again because we were literally living by the map the day before, but for those who don’t have photographic memories or insanely impressive navigation skills, it’s a bit hidden by some construction and scaffolding.
When we entered my eyes immediately honed in on the wall of take-away goods. I knew everything was right in the world because there was Kombucha AND seaweed salad. Praise the Lord.
We had been doing some serious happy hour-ing prior to dinner, so there was a continuation of the fun (this time with Japanese beer). I, however, ordered a Kombucha. Or at least I tried to. The (adorable) waiter’s reaction was one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. I think the conversation went something like this.
E: I’d like a Kombucha, please.
Waiter: This? [pointing to it]
E: Yes.
Waiter: Uh. Ees no good. Not very good. [Imagine him speaking in a half French, half Japanese accent]
E: No, that’s ok. I like it.
Alene & Ethel (chiming in): She likes it.
Waiter: (looking skeptical) No. Not very good. Not very good. [Clearly he only knew one English phrase]
E: Uh. Ok. Water then?
If there’s one thing I learned while on vacation, it’s to trust the servers. They know the menu, and they know what dishes customers like, and (especially in touristy places) they know what foreigners want to try. I’d rather have someone who knows their sh!t steer me towards a menu’s MVP roster, rather than pick something I think I’d like (in another language no less). So that’s why I abandoned my precious swamp water order. Now I’ll never know if the fermented tea was any good, but at least I didn’t spend 8 dollars (5 Euro) going against the expert just to satisfy the stubborn side of my personality.
The place is small. Really small. There are a few seats at the window, a few at the bar, and then one table in the middle. That’s it. Pretty sure they couldn’t accommodate more than 10 people. We had the waiter’s full and undivided attention (which was a nice thing for a change since he was truly one of the nicest Parisians we had met thus far).
Anyway. Guess what I got as a starter!?!
Seaweed salad!
So happy. So so so happy.
Laura and Ashley shared edamame. And everyone else got miso soup, too.
For the rolls, we went pretty classic. Lots of salmon, lots of tuna, lots of avocado.
We got a huge plate of sashimi as well, which I didn’t eat.
Extra wasabi and extra ginger.
Time to dig in!
I diligently read the ingredients in each and every roll and STILL we ended up with a cheesy surprise. What’s with the desire to add fromage to every mother effing meal. Even sushi!?! Ugh. So obviously that roll was out of question for me and my sister (who’s also lactose intolerant). The other rolls were delish though. One of the rolls had basil wrapped in the rice paper surrounding the rice and insides. Not my favorite twist on sushi, if I’m being completely honest. However, I was so starved for veg-friendly food at that point, I was really in no place to be super picky.
Plus I had ginger, glorious ginger, by the pound(s).
And then we walked it all off going up and down the Arc de Triomphe. Twice.
*A lot.
**There are some qualifiers to this, which I will go into detail about at a later point in time. Trust me, I could will write an essay on the drama.
At least you finally sound something you could eat that wasn’t bread of salad! The language barrier definitely doesn’t make it any easier.
The pictures are all gorgeous though! 🙂
Oh no! One of my vegan friends went to France recently and eventually had to break down and just eat dairy because she couldn’t really eat anything else. I guess that’s not really an option for a lactose intolerant person though 🙁 Hope the rest of your vacation makes it all worth it!
Hope you’re having a fabulous time, that sushi looks amazing 🙂 Hope your vegan eating gets easier =/
Looks like a great seaweed salad – one of my favorites! And congratulations on finding something, hopefully Paris can make amends – they really are hooked on their meat and cheese!
Well even if the food situation isnt ideal, you sure make a great poster child for the seaweed salad…you look adorable in that pic 🙂
Hopefully everything else makes up for the lack of food options for you!
Wow, I would have never thought how hard it would be to eat in Paris! Great that you finally found a place that served some GOOD food 🙂
They probably put dairy in their kombucha! 😉
There are plenty of cous cous places in paris. Have u tried? 🙂
I remember being in rural France as an 8-year-old vegetarian many years ago. Absolute. Nightmare. Just wondering, did you check out happycow.net? Quick search came up with 74 veg-friendly locations in Paris. I’m a bit of a vegan nerd, so I always scope out happycow and plan my trips to new cities around what I find 🙂
Aw, it’s a pity that you missed out on the good veg-friendly places in France! When I was there over Christmas, I had some amazing food. (And some mediocre tomato-based pasta dishes, haha. Win some, lose some!)
that is hilarious about the kombucha!! glad you found your way to sushi, looks amazing!
Sushi to the rescue! Hahaha sushi is my favorite kind of food to go with to with friends because there are plenty of options for me!
I was vegetarian, not vegan, in Paris, and I had the easiest time! No issues at all. Speaking French probably helped a bit, but maybe I was just lucky!
I’m glad you found something suitable, even if the waiter didn’t let you have any kombucha! It sucks that dining hasn’t worked well for you. I really ate well in Paris! One of my traveling companions had a severe gluten allergy, so we did some careful dining research ahead of time. And asked lots of questions.
Can’t wait to hear more recaps!
i found it very hard to eat vegan when i was over there too. i only ate at restaurants that had English translations, haha
the sushi looks great!
I hope eating there gets better! Everything looks gorgeous and fun, though 🙂
I used to work in France (Grenoble, not Paris) and if you asked a chef to modify a menu item (leave off the cheese, for example) they would be very, very offended and literally couldn’t do it. But that was many years ago and I would have thought in Paris it would be easier these days. Ah well, at least they have wonderful bread (just stay away from the buttery croissants!)
Oh I feel you..I am vegan and went to Paris over the christmas period and I had the hardest time ever – it definitely didn’t help with the language barrier!
If you happen to go to the famous department store called Printemps, I really enjoyed a lovely lentil salad from a healthy cafe they have called Cojean in there. I really recommend it!
As a vegetarian living in France I really do sympathise, and I wonder if you should say végétalienne, to emphasise the fact that you are vegan. There is a veggie restaurant;
http://www.legrenierdenotredame.fr/
which is just opposite Notre Dame, and around the corner from a famous bookshop called Shakespeare and Co, which has an interesting history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Company_(bookshop)
I have been to both and really enjoyed them, but I am not sure if you will have enough time left…
However, bonne courage, (I remember in Marseilles, once I ordered a carefully chosen salad, only for the chef to add duck gizzards as a treat!)
Ick, I can’t imagine how frustrating that must have been. I practically well up with tears if I’m in an AMERICAN restaurant and can’t find something that suits me.
Also, I think it’s hilarious that the waiter wouldn’t let you order a kombucha. wtf?
this is why you have to always travel with snacks!! you look like you’re having so much fun (despite the food driz-ama). i miss you tons and tons. xoxo
Ugh, Americans like you are so entitled and a pain in the ass to placate when you come to our countries. Tourists are leeches. Good riddance!
Thank you! Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy when I say that I didn’t love Paris. Spending a day in Paris? Do-able. Any more? Nope! Thankfully when I was there we were in northern France most of the time and that was 10x better!
Yay for ginger! Hmm, kinda curious about the kombucha…wonder what they do to it to make it “not good”?
Love love LOVE sushi and I’m always up for trying anything but that basil one sounds a little odd. I’m not lactose intolerant, but I hate it when they put cream cheese in sushi rolls. It has the weirdest shmooshy (yes that’s a word) texture! Blech!
Can’t wait to hear more about your Parisian adventures! I’m off to read your next post!
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