Not to be that girl that spends her junior year abroad in Paris and never shuts up about it, but I did, in fact, live in Paris for almost a year, the entirety of my junior year of college.
When I moved in August of 2017, it was I believe the third time I'd been in the city; before and since then, I've had very different visits, from my first very touristy visit as a kid, another time on a school trip, the nine months I lived there, and since then, some "bougier" trips with family.
Because of that, I'm fortunate enough to say that these days, when I visit Paris, though it's not often, I do get to just "chill," without the pressure of having to squeeze in tons of restaurants or sightseeing.
© HELLO!Such was the case during my recent visit, a five-day stay with my parents, where mostly, we just walked, and walked and walked, and ate, and ate and ate.
Though we certainly have our favorites in Paris, and they are not at all niche (who can resist L'ami Louis), this time around, there were two new restaurants (for us) that made me feel as local as it gets, at least for a basic, formerly-fluent New York City based girl.
The first, which we went on our first night, was Auberge Bressane, a folksy, vaguely medieval decorated bistro in the 7th arrondissement.
© HELLO!The restaurant was quick to strike a balance between it, at least in my eyes, being a spot mostly for locals, while also being seamlessly accommodating for Americans and other tourists.
The menu had a focus on morel mushrooms, and the food was as no frills as it was delicious.
© HELLO!My mom and I shared both the comté souffle to start and then the chicken with morels, which was simply an extra large chicken breast topped with morels and drowned in a creamy sauce.
Of course we had it with a side of fries, and for dessert, crêpes suzette, with barely evaporated Grand Marnier.
© HELLO!Next up was an early lunch at Le Stella, which felt like the much nicer equivalent of a New York City diner, in that it felt like it had been there forever, a neighborhood spot that anyone can just pop in for a quick bite, or sit for hours having some wine and seafood (the latter scenario being very much not like a New York City diner).
The restaurant sits on Avenue Victor Hugo, and after enjoying a green bean salad for appetizer, dover sole as an entrée and chocolate mousse for dessert, walking around the very quiet, residential neighborhood reinforced the feeling that we once again found a spot more commonly visited by locals, or at least I hope that was the case.
