Merce and the Muse

Why is it that in a city that lives on cafés, the coffee doesn't live up to the standard? Recently, the culmination has led to a growth of little independent 'anglo' coffee shops (that you see in London and New York) around the city that sell small pastries, leafy salads and fresh fruits. 

The young American owner, Merce Muse, originally from D.C, whom we chatted with, opened 
the petite shop Merce and the Muse (Merce, actually said like Merci in French) in the hip upper-Marais on rue Dupuis after closing a short-lived cupcake shop nearby. Merce orders her coffee from Denmark’s Coffee Collective and went there to learn how to properly prepare and extract it.

The café reminds me very much of a New York style coffee shop in the East Village, keeping up with this vintage look including old magazines, a typewriter, vinyls spread out all over. There's a winding staircase that leads to the kitchen upstairs and right next to the coffee bar are several couches enough to fit up to 10 people. If it's a nice day out, you can sit on the benches but it was a bit cold for that today. 

Very good Arabica coffee that takes about 3-4 minutes to make, clients can enjoy their muffins or cake in the mean time. Too bad it's all the way in the Marais, I would come here if I was a neighbor, but it does fit very well with the Marais vibe. 


Merci Merce!


Merce and the Muse
1 Rue Dupuis
75003 Paris, France
Tel: 06 42 39 04 31
Metro: Republique (Lignes 3, 8, 9 and 11)

Robert et Louise

Robert et Louise is a small restaurant, easily missed on the Rue Veille du Temple.

Try not to miss this hidden gem for carnivores. The walls are adorned with kitchen utensils and pictures of the old days - makes you feel like you're back in 1930s. In general, the decor is rather minimal, everything around you is made of wood and in the back you can see the great big wood burning fire where most of the meats are grilled. Yes...that's the 'kitchen', at the back of the restaurant - actually it's an alcove with an open fire and a giant wooden chopping block. 

It's all about the meat - which the Chef grabs from the hanging fridge and slabs it on the grill, serving it on a hot wooden plate. The meat is cooked to perfection - saignant/rare and you can taste the smokyness of the meat coming from the burning wood. 

To start, we had an assiette de charcuterie and the boudin noir (yummy blood sausage and very sweet as well) which were both delicious and served with baguette and cornichons. 

The starters were a great introduction to the country-style food we'd be getting but it was the meats that came afterwards that were brilliant. All served with roasted potatoes and a side-salad. 


The confit de canard was juicy, tender and fell of the bone.

The plat du jour: Tête de veau melted in your mouth. It consisted of different pieces of the veal's head served with diced cornichons, eggs and caper sauce.

The entrecôte, served saignant is a meat lover's dream. It's dark on the outside, pink, juicy and tender on the inside, so tender you can cut it with a butter knife with fat to make it have plenty of flavor. 

I found out that Anthony Bourdain came here and loved it, and I can see why. Another great meat find in Paris with an inexpensive menu (try to come during the week, they have the best prix-fixe in town: 12 euros for starter and main or main and dessert - who can beat that?!). Prices here are kept at a low and the portions are generous so definitely a great value for money. No need to reserve here, perhaps only for dinner on weekends.

Robert et Louise
64 Rue Veille du Temple, 75003
Tel: 01 42 78 55 89
Metro: Saint-Paul (Ligne 1)

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges

Le Marché des Enfants Rouges (“ Market of the Red Children”) is the oldest food market in Paris. Marguerite de Navarre (sister of King François the 1^st) was a charitable member of the royal family who in 1534 built an orphanage constructed in what is now the Marais. The children were dressed in red as a symbol of their status. The orphanage closed down in the beginning of the 17^th century and in 1615 was transformed into a market dubbed the Marché des Enfants Rouges to commemorate the establishment. 

Located in the chic northern part of the Marais, the market is a small and held indoor with a small entrance that is easy to miss. 

The market sells the usual suspects: fruits, vegetables, meat and fish but what I like about this market is that there are several stands that sell prepared food that you can eat on tables nearby; this includes Afro-Creole, Moroccan, Japanese and Italian food. 

It remains a market today and has been on the list of national historical monuments since 1982. Currently, locals congregate to shop for produce and fresh products, to have a coffee and to converse with other locals, old-timers and merchants. 

An Afro-Antilles café serves up small bites

An Italian booth that proposes fresh pasta and truffles

Moroccan delicacies at the end of the market will blow you away with their lamb tagine 

(stew of tender lamb with almonds and soft fruits with couscous) - personally it looked the best. 

Le Marche des Enfants Rouges

39 rue de Bretagne
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday:  8:30-1PM and 4PM-7: 30PM
Friday, Saturday- 8h30AM-1PM and 4PM-8PM
Sunday: 8:30AM–2PM
Metro: Filles- Calvaire (Ligne 8)

Le Marais

School's off (a rare exception) so decided to explore Paris a bit more. I had been to Le Marais (literally 'swamp') in the 3rd and now stretching to 4th district in Paris before but wanted to walk through the small winding streets that encompass the Jewish community. It was an absolutely beautiful day and the perfect weather to sit outside in a cafe, eat some apple strudel (obviously kosher) and grab a bite in the best falafel place in France (hands down!).


The Rue des Rosiers (tucked between Saint Paul and Rambuteau metro stations is a small winding road housing all the Jewish (Yiddish) bakeries. You can't miss them!


I went into a couple of bakeries but two of my favorites were: Murciano Boulangerie et Patisserie and the famous Sacha Finkelszatjn. They sold all childhood favorite desserts and fresh Challah bread out of the oven. 


First, Murciano Boulangerie et Patisserie (16 Rue des Rosiers)

Great sugar coated cookies for tea/coffee!

A childhood favorite: apple strudel!

Luckily, I packed the desserts to go as I had to make room for L'As du Fallafel (34 Rue des Rosiers); a kosher fallafel place (surrounded by others - but this is proven to be the best one, even better than its rival across the street Mi Va Mi) - costs: 5 euros. 

Best falafel in Paris hands down!

A quick stop to Sacha Finkelsztajn (27 Rue des Rosiers) before leaving the arrondissement. 

Now the famous 'Sasha Finkelsztajn'

Yummy Kadaif (looks like chinese bean noodle) - stuffed with walnuts and pistacchios on top

How could you not take a Mazurka? It's a Polish dessert with raisins, walnuts, plums and almonds on top

Beautiful and delicious Challah bread 

Who could forget Lox and a Schmear (of cream cheese) in a Jewish bakery?

At the end of a long day walking, went to my neighborhood cafe, Dominique Geoffroy (on Chaussee de la Muette, across the station) and they gave me even more desserts!

Mini tarte aux framboises and an Eclair au caramel

Overall, a day well spent!