Food Review: The Paris Restaurant

I went to the "zinc bar and grill" with CBC, The Sister and The Dad.

For meeting family for the first time-ness, it was a great place to be. The restaurant is pricey for me, but it still felt comfortable. The vibe is definitely that of a family-owned French cafe.

The food was delicious. The bread was amazing. It's served with a special butter that is somehow creamier and sweeter than most butters.

Next we moved on to the appetizers, I had pomme frites and the winter soup special. The pomme frites were served sans fry sauce, but otherwise delicious. I imagine if you asked for mayonnaise the friendly wait staff would be happy to bring it to you.

The winter soup was awesome! It had delicious pine nuts, butter squash and other yummy bits in it. It was warm and comforting. Everything you expect from a soup on a cold winter night.

For my entree I had the linguine with mussels. For some reason, The Paris Restaurant has a menu that is heavily Italian. However the main course was just as impressive as everything else I sampled. The seafood tasted fresh and the pasta was cooked to the perfect al dente. I enjoyed the sauce as well although it was a little thin for what I think of as traditional Italian food. I wonder if that makes it more French?

Through all of this we had a wonderful white wine, The Dad chose. It was nice, bright and crisp. I'm not a big fan of the whites, but it was definitely one of the best five whites I've ever had. It made a great complement to the seafood as well.

For desseret I had a wonderful fruit tart. It was much bigger than I expected, but it was so good I stuffed the whole thing down. I was worried my button might pop open I ate so much. But the tart was worth it.

The Paris has wonderful coffee and it's served in a full French press so prepare yourself for several cups of coffee at once.

My one complaint about the evening is the service. The wait staff was extremely helpful and friendly. But the unshaven waiters and busboys banging into tables in the cramped space left an unprofessional and untrained vibe behind them.

I would definitely go back to The Paris for the food, but I would be prepared for some spilling and inappropriate remarks from the wait staff.

In the end, we had a great dinner and everyone went home stuffed with delicious food.