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I actually discovered Coté Bac on the Deck & Donohue website, and was so excited to find somewhere in Asnières that served their delicious beer. If you didn’t know already, we live in Asnières, so just outside of the city’s northwest limits. The other few times we’ve tried to make it to this place it’s been last minute, and they were always booked up. One night during the heatwave, we made it for a dinner date.

If you haven’t noticed already, most neo bistros and seasonal bistros are in the 10th or 11th districts. Yeah, I know. Frustrating. People are definitely not getting creative with locations. I looked at my saved places on my mobile Google Map, and it’s depressing how many empty neighborhoods they are (I do have more exploring to do, of course, but most of my saved places are either favorites or “to try” places that I see on Instagram or hear about through friends). ANYWAYS. Long story short, I was thrilled there was something unique to discover in Asnières.

Côté Bac is a seasonal bistro. French food. Presented very nicely, on the pricy side. Bottled craft beer and good wine on the drinks menu. It’s definitely a gem in the sea of kebab places and opticiens in this particular suburb. Entrées were colorful and full of flavor, I went with a tangy shrimp dish and I don’t remember what Louis got. As for the entrées, Louis’s fish was far too grilled, sadly to the point where not edible because the taste was solely the burn and not the fish – but I think and hope it was just a one-time error – they docked the bill by a couple of euros as the young waitress noticed he had only like 2 bites when she took his plate after being “terminé”, ugh, a shame… is it American of me for wanting them to offer dessert or something? Whatever. On the contrary, my filet mignon was sublime with super-duper-thin-cut fried veggies and a perfectly sized portion of risotto. My dessert was a magical meringue cut-out paisley ball with fresh red berries and sorbet inside… oh là là… My date went with the chocolate profiteroles, one of his all time favorites. This joint is definitely on the pricier side, count on 50 euros a person or so if you plan to do appetizer, entrée and dessert with wine. Despite the heatwave (I think we went one of the days when it was 40 degrees celsius), the staff was friendly and rather attentive. They did alter the time of my reservation when requested over the phone that same day, which was odd because the place wasn’t full at all when we were there that night, but whatever. A nicely lit place to check out again for lunch or dinner. It’s nice to know we have a nice neighborhood joint with quality grub for when there are visitors in town.

Côté Bac
30 Rue du Bac, 92600 Asnières-sur-Seine

Reservations recommended

DATE NIGHT @ HOPS & PIE DENVER

Dinner dates with a homegirl are just the best. So for a little background, my best friend Liz loves her some pizza. Her house parties even in high school always involved delicious homemade pizza that I will never forget. Even when we did a summer internship in New York together during Uni, I always trusted her judgement when it came to pizza joints.

Anyways, she took me to one of her favorite Denver spots, Hops & Pie, for a dinner date when I was last in the Mile High City. I secretly wish there was one in Paris that I could go to all the fucking time because it was some top notch mountain pie. You can pair a brew with your artisanal pizza, with the help of their divine beer menu in a simple Mead binder (yeah, the kind you use in Elementary and Middle School… simplicity = key): cans, bottles and pours from both Colorado and other state’s craft breweries. The bar is impréssionnant, with the colorful taps lined up and loud conversation happening. It really is just a good place to be. That’s a nice feeling when you’re out to eat.

Simple and family friendly with a little hustle bustle, it’s some of Denver’s best pizza and the perfect spot for a dinner out or to be delivered to you while you’re binge watching a good series on Netflix.

Hops & Pie
3920 Tennyson Street
Denver, CO 80212
Tél:

DATE NIGHT AT BLUE VALENTINE


This date was a special one, with mom when she was in town. I had seen so many dreamy photos of Blue Valentine and heard nothing but good things so I knew it was the perfect place to reserve a meal out with mom.

To be completely honest, everything on the menu looked tempting, but we both went with the chicken dish. The entrée included for lunch was absolutely to die for and I’m not sure I could really say what it is but it was a purée with an egg yolk baked at a very specific temperature or something and it was just unbelievable and gooey and magical. All of the dishes were presented beautifully, so gourmet. Mom was really impressed with the wine list, but I stuck with a beer. The space was perfect and modern and tasteful, with bricks and artwork and beautiful tables and chairs.

Blue Valentine
13 Rue de la Pierre Levée, 75011
Métro: Parmentier (3) ou Oberkampf (5/9)
Tél: (Reservations needed)

DATE NIGHT @ SOYA


For my bestie’s last weekend in Paris before she moved to Munich for the next chapter in her professional life, we planned a little dinner date à deux at Soya, which I had been dying to try. I couldn’t think of anyone better to give this place a whirl with. This gal and I have made Paris our stomping ground, and have grown up so much since our arrival at the same Uni in 2008. It’s pretty crazy how time flies. I must say, the hard thing about expat life is that people leaving for new horizons becomes a common thing. I’ve been the one that’s left before – as I’m sure other expats totally get this feeling, too – so it’s a bittersweet goodbye, that is filled with so much excitement. Now I’ve gotta get my ass to Munich cos I miss her too much.

Soya is a magical vegetarian canteen that serves quality organic food (finding spots with a not as easy as you may think to come by in Paris). The deco has got that earthy yet industrial feel, big beautiful wooden doors, lit candles, some artwork, on the walls, wooden benches and a chalk board where they jot down what’s on the menu. It’s that “less is more” déco that is just perfect in my book. We kicked off the evening with Soya’s mezze plate which was yummy as. For the main dish I went with the lasagna, which I just loved every bite of. My date had the epic quinoa salad with falafel and a sort of veggie tajine with some hot sauce.

Ana Clara, the Brazilian bombshell photographed above, has always been someone I admire for many reasons. One of these one hundred reasons being that this girl truly cares about her body what she puts in it food-wise, which is actually pretty hard in this day and age (or at least I find). I’m not a vegetarian, but eating meals with no meat now and again comes more often than not in my house, and trying some colorfully crafted quality meals without meat is always fine by me.

Soya
20, rue de la Pierre-Levée, 75011
Tél: (reservations recommended)
Métro: Goncourt (11), République (3, 5, 8, 9, 11)

DATE NIGHT @ LES DEUX STATIONS


This restaurant is one of the few good ones in our hood. It’s got a cozy atmosphere with lovely decor – big ball lights, wooden tables, checkered knick knacks and some signage. They’ve got two terraces- one on each side of the building, which are fabulous in the summertime for a dinner out in the most western part of Paris.

Les Deux Stations features French classics on their menu: from chicken dishes to seafood dishes, I’ve never been disappointed. I totally forgot to get a picture of Louis’s drool)-worthy steak tartare. They also have a tagada dessert on their menu (you know, those little Haribo red candies that are addicting? This dessert tastes like that) that Louis’s dad got once that was utterly amazing.

Louis and I got out of the house one week night and strolled over to Les Deux Stations. I had never really thought about it but the name comes from the fact that there are old gasoline stations (those little side of the road ones) on the streets on both sides. I found that to make the place even more charming.

I find myself loving dinners out at random neighborhood treasures. Sometimes we don’t need to cross the town to go to “that new trendy neo bistro”.

















Les Deux Stations
161 Boulevard Exelmans, 75016
Tél:
Métro: Porte d’Auteuil (10)

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