The first time I saw L’As du Fallafel on a list of the best places to eat in Paris, my reaction was basically “falafel in Paris?? Get the hell out of here.”
The second time, I was like “did you not hear me? I said get the hell out of here.”
The third and fourth time, I decided to start paying attention.
I’m a tourist. I’m in Paris. So obviously I visited the Eiffel tower. I’m not a maniac.
Le Relais de l’Entrecote is so admirably single-minded about its dedication to steak frites that there’s literally no menu. The only questions from the waitress are what you want to drink, and how you want your steak cooked. That’s it. If you want to eat something other than steak frites? Get the hell out.
Despite the fact that France probably has the best food of anywhere I’ve visited so far, their version of McDonald’s has a surprisingly boring menu. It’s pretty much just the classics (and yes, the Quarter Pounder really is called the Royale with Cheese, so it’s got that going for it at least).
Of all of the food you expect to be mind-blowing in Paris, ice cream is probably not particularly high on that list. And yet! Berthillon, my friends. Berthillon. It’s a place that’s famous enough that I had heard about it even before I started preparing for this trip, so obviously a visit was absolutely mandatory.
Never mind what I said about the käsespätzle in Germany being the cheesiest thing I’ve ever eaten — it’s already been superseded by this insane bowl of French onion soup from Au Pied de Cochon in Paris.
My time in Sweden was brief, but memorable. And there were photos, of course.
If you’ve read the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, you’ll probably remember that there are several mentions of Lisbeth Salander’s meal of choice, Billy’s Pan Pizza.
You might have assumed that Stieg Larsson just made it up for the book, but nope — it’s a real thing. So of course I ate one.
I’m glad I’m only here for a few days, because this city will straight-up bankrupt me. Everything is so expensive here, it’s nuts. Most things seem to cost two or three times more than you’d think they would.
They have something called the McBean on the menu in McDonald’s in Sweden, and I think it’s the first veggie burger I’ve seen at a McDonald’s so far.