Dennis & Aimee's Big Gay Paris Adventure

Oh, funny you should ask! We went to this restaurant a few blocks away that was recommended by our friend Darin May. It's called Camille, and it's located on rue des Francs-Bourgeois, the same street as Place de Voges, but in the other direction. It was tres bon! I tried to use all French to the waiter, and after I ordered, he said "Your French is very good!" Which was embarassing, because obviously it's not so good. But it was really nice of him to say so. It's the little daily victories that make it so much fun.

Oh, and their menu is hand-written on big chalkboards that they prop up next to you in a chair. This is really quaint, and I like it, but it definitely makes the figuring out what to get, and ordering, more difficult. Not only do we have to try to translate each dish to figure out what it could be, but we also have to figure out someone's handwriting. Still, we did it, and the challenge was enjoyable. After all, if we mess up, we get something new... How bad can that be?

So, anyhow... I had:
Salade de chevre chaud (Salad with hot goat cheese) -- the two goat cheese wheels were melted onto a piece of toast -- oh so good! The salad was mustardy!
Cassoulet de confit du canard (White beans with duck and sausage) -- this is the classic French Brasserie (which we just learned means brewery, but has come to mean corner-restaurant) dish. It takes something like 24 hours to prepare, and when it's good, it's indescribably delicious. (We get this in cans at the grocery store -- think of it as French pork and beans -- it's so good.)

Dennis had:
Asiette de charcuterie (Plate of deli meat) -- this plate had a series of tasty meats on it, including some pork mixture that was salty and smoky and good. I'd almost definitely rather not know what it was. Also, there was a huge pat of butter on the plate. This after we'd just discussed why they don't serve butter with the bread. (They don't want to ruin the pure bread with the proletarian pollution that is butter.) Dennis ate the butter with the pate, and pronounced it delicious!
Blancettes de veau - (veal medallions) -- these were meltingly tender and flaky, in a mushroom cream sauce, and served with rice. We enjoyed exchanging bites.

With this, a bottle of cote du rhone. For dessert, deux cafe (two espressos) and some other thing. He went through the list of desserts that included chocolate mousse, creme brulee, gateau chocolate, and some other stuff... I had to ask him to repeat them, since the thing I wanted had egg white in it. (Si'l vous plait, répéter les dessserts.) We ended up with a plate of foam, suspended in cream, with toasted almonds. Oh man was that fine. (Darin wrote to tell me that it's called Ile Flottante (Floating Island) which is merengue in creme anglaise.)

So, yeah. I'm full. In fact, so full, I think it's time for bed. Thanks Darin!
Bon soir!

--Aimee