Posts tagged Chettinadu

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CHETTINADU AND A STROLL

I’ve been coming to Chettinadu for 5 years now. I first discovered this magical place when I first arrived in Paris, when a professor took our class here. At the time I had never really been exposed to Indian food, but the bright yellow walls (at the time) and the delicious grub only left me wanting to come back all the time. I was destined to be a regular there.

Chettinadu is located in northern Paris, near metro stop La Chapelle. This is also sort of a Little India, and where they host the Ganesh festival every year. The streets are home to colorful storefronts and bling of all shapes and sizes. The choice of Indian restaurants is quite large, considering they are stacked up and down each one of the rues, but in my eyes there is only one that sticks out.

I highly suggest a stroll after your meal at Chettinadu, you’ll get a feel for just how small Paris is; around the restaurant itself feels like an untouched or real neighborhood, one that has breathtaking views over the tracks of Gare de l’Est and buildings that are worth a good look. Before you know it you can be at Place de Clichy, Strasbourg Saint-Denis or the Canal Saint Martin after just a short walk after sunset.

Chettinadu
15, rue Cail, 75010
Tél:
Métro: La Chapelle (2), Gare du Nord (4,5)

THE GANESH FESTIVAL IN PARIS

Today was the Ganesh Festival in Paris’s 10th and 18th arrondissements. The Ganesh Festival has been an annual event in Paris since 1996, organized by the neighborhood’s temple, Sri Manicka Vinayakar Alayam.

Ganesha  is widely worshipped as the God of wisdom and good fortune in the Hindu religion. You’ve probably often seemed him sitting in a cross-legged position, and have perhaps recognized him from his elephant head. And today, Ganesh Chaturthi, was the day to celebrate his birthday.

I haven’t yet had the opportunity to travel to beautiful  India, but I sure am a big fan of their delicious cuisine. The place where I tend dig in is at my usual spot, Chettinadu, which was the perfect location to also watch the parade pass by today. It was crowded and there were multicolored saris and smashed coconuts were  everywhere, lassis in to go cups. Walking up from below Gare du Nord, I could hear the music get louder and the streets became more full of people dancing and eating and celebrating.

After watching the parade pass, with Anne and Puxan we hopped over the rue Cail to indulge in Chettinadu’s cuisine with the locals  for the special occasion. Tables were set up in the streets, and brightly colored flower strands placed left and right, music blasting and heards of people slowly following the Parade.

This afternoon it felt like we were in a Bollywood movie.

     

in PARIS

ACROSS PARIS’S LINE 2

In Paris, the metro lines offer routes across the city, as we all know. Sometimes I like to think about all of my favorite things that are across one line, and how they could be visited throughout the course of one afternoon.

This post is dedicated to a few of my favorite things across line 2.

Paris’s line 2 stretches from westward past the Charles de Gaulle Etoile all the way to Nation, in Eastern Paris. Along this route across Paris’s north end, you’ll pass residential areas, Montmartre’s starting point, the red light district, views of Paris’s railroads heading northwards to Belgium and Germany, and of course a few pretty damn awesome neighborhoods that are full of culture.

Along with my trusted Paris trotter, Anne, we started our journey with a refreshing drink at Le Bal Café, located right by Place de Clichy.

Our final destination we already had in mind, so we decided to make a pitstop along the way, because well…. pourquoi pas. We were passing Chettinadu’s metro stop, and couldn’t resist popping by for a samosa or two and a Lion lager.

After filling up on Paris’s best samosas, we hopped back on line 2 to head to one of Paris’s beer havens, La Fine Mousse, to meet fellow beer lovers Ana Clara and Yann-Yves.

It’s funny how many different things you can do just crossing one metro line. Paris’s offers are endless.

Addresses:

Le Bal Café
6 impasse de la Défense, 75018
Tél:
Métro: Place de Clichy

Chettinadu
15 rue Cail, 75010
Tél:
Métro: La Chapelle (2) / Gare du Nord (4,5)

La Fine Mousse
6 ave Jean Aicard, 75011
Tél:
Métro: Ménilmontant (2) / Rue Saint Maur (3)

DATE NIGHT @ CHETTINADU

This is my favorite restaurant in Paris, as most people who know me are aware. One chilly spring evening, we decided to go on a little date here to cozy up.

Chettinadu is located up in northern Paris between Gare du Nord and La Chapelle. The streets are lined with Indian restaurants back to back, and grocery stores showcasing piles of ginger and rose liquor in the windows. There is always a hustle bustle, it’s always moving and busy, it adds to its charm.

I’ve been going to this restaurant for the past 4 1/2 years, and it always makes me so happy. Even though sometimes when I suggest it as a dinner venue, I get the eye-roll from my honey, I know he knows how much I love it. Hence this particular Saturday night, we went on a date here.

The ambiance of Chettinadu is rather noisy, but has got so much character. It’s often packed with locals, with hot pink walls and Bollywood music blasting. You get a whiff of the delicious ingredients as soon as you walk in the door. It’s fantastic. You’ll be greeted with a smile, which adds to the place’s charm.

An intimate table for two it was. We ordered so many little appetizers and sides that we could barely fit it all on our table.

The menu has everything from naans to biryani to thaali to dosaï, and features southern Indian and Sri Lanken specialties. The drink menu is simple but gets the job done, with staples like Lion Lager and Strong by the bottle, house wine as well as various lassies. To finish off your meal, top on a masala tea or ginger tea.

Most meals are around 6-8 euros. As an appetizer I highly suggest the samosa légume (vegetarian samosa), which is the best samosa I have ever had in my entire life and is a whopping 1 euro. I rarely step outside the box here as I love the meal I always get so much (le plat non-végétarien / thaali), but Louis has given the rice dishes a whirl and has been very impressed.

You can go light while here, or fill yourself up. The choice is up to you.

Don’t forget to wander the neighborhood before or after your meal. It has so much life to it, and really is refreshing in the city of lights.

Chettinadu
15, rue Cail, 75010 Paris
Tél:
Métro: Gare du Nord (4/5) / La Chapelle (2) / Louis Blanc (7)