Green and Groovy Eats in Paris

While abundant with eating options, large cities can be overwhelming when you are looking for quality food, and particularly anything special like natural & organic foods, vegetarian, or good local food. Here are some wonderful local, green and groovy places to eat and drink in the city of lights and love for all you travelers to Paris.

For a local dinner - but not for vegetarians - try Le Petit Canard (Canard means Duck). This is where locals go to eat and while they have some variety on the menu (like a salad with goat cheese), it does remind me of the old Dudley Moore/Peter Cook comedy routine about the Frog and Peach Restaurant, where you can order “Frog a la Peche”, or “Peche a la Frog”, because at Le Petit Canard it is all about duck! But you will be in heaven if you like duck. Le Petit Canard, 19, rue Henry-Monnier, 75009 Paris; Tel: 01 49 70 0795; open 7pm to 2 am every day for dinner. Metros: Pigalle or St Georges a few blocks from the rue des Martyrs within walking distance of Sacre Couer.

For organic crepes try the Breizh Café in the quartier Marais - not to be missed. Breizh Cafe, 109 rue Vielle du Temple, 75003 Paris; Tel: 01 42 72 1377; Web: www.breizhcafe.com; Metro: St Sebastien Froissard.

The Gentle Gourmet~The Vegan Place in Paris, is a bed & breakfast with a restaurant serving vegan, local and organic foods in the 16th arrondissement. A room with vegan breakfast is 130 Euros/night for one person, 155 Euros/night for two people. Dinner is 50 Euros/person, and Sunday brunch is 25 Euros/person. They are open seven days a week and you need to book ahead for all meals. Rooms have wifi and are stocked with organic terry bathrobes. The Gentle Gourmet also offers gourmet vegan cooking classes for those wanting to expand their cuisine repertoire. The Gentle Gourmet, is on Rue Duret between Avenue Foch and the Avenue de la Grande Armee, a few minutes from the Arc de Triomphe; The Gentle Gourmet, 21, Rue Duret, 75116 Paris; 0145 00 4655; Email: gentlegourmetbandb@gmail.com; Web: www.gentlegourmetbandb.com; Metro: Argentine.

For fabulous local and natural food and wine in Paris, explore the excellent web site at More Than Organic.  This link will bring you to the page where you can find wine shops, restaurants, bistros and wine bars serving natural wines and local foods. The web site offers information about wines and wine-making as well.  

La Cremerie is a wine store and bar specializing in natural wines, a couple of blocks north of the Luxembourg Gardens. Housed in an old creamery - hence the name - it has been a wine store for sixty years. La Cremerie, 9, rue des Quatre Vents, 75006 Paris; Tel: 01 43 549 930; Metro: Odeon; open 10:30 am to 10:00 pm Tuesday to Saturday with special times for tastings; Web site: http://www.lacremerie.fr

And as I mentioned in my post An Eco Saturday in Paris, the Tearoom at the Grand Mosque is a delightful way to spend some down time sipping fresh mint tea in the delightful blue and white courtyard. The Tea Room is open seven days a week from 9:00am until 11:30pm. Grand Mosque, 39 rue Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris; Web: http://www.la-mosquee.com

Bon appétit!