Paris in a Haze

 at Cafe Janou they have this huge basket of walnuts and a huge bowl of olives at the bar...

We landed around noon on Saturday, and by the time we got through the airport and into town, it was 2pm. We were starving, so Mike, the owner of the apartment we are staying in, sent us on a walk through the Marais (the neighborhood we are in), to a delightful cafe called Cafe Janou. It was late afternoon on a Saturday, and was super boisterous and filled with locals. We had a pot au feu that was so good, and Clara had some baked mussels. Afterwards Matt and Clara went back to the apartment to rest, and I walked around the Marais. That night, Mike gave us his reservation at the restaurant L'Ami Jean, as he couldn't make it, and the three of us had an amazing meal there. It's another bistro, albeit a very beloved one, so difficult to get into, especially on a weekend. Our favorite thing there was the basket of salamis, sausages, rillette...and the rice pudding, which I usually don't like. The waiter said it was the best in the world, and of course I was skeptical--but it was. It came with two sides, a salted caramel sauce, and a topping like a granola, and I ate entirely too much. Even though this restaurant was packed, and would seem to be a non-family kind of place, they had a little canister of pencils and a drawing for Clara to color, and fawned over her. Pretty much our experience at any restaurant we go to--she is like a VIP badge.