Paris bistrot open on sunday

Sue, We had a lovely dinner at Fontaine de Mars many, many years ago.

Most recently I've enjoyed nice meals on the terrace at Le Recamier, known for their souffles, and Huguette, a seafood place. Both are open on Sundays and take reservations.

The first time I visited Paris, some time ago, was an opportunistic visit tagged onto the first part of a business trip that took me to Lyon and Geneva. I left early and stayed in Paris for a few days prior to starting the business part of my trip just to see the place.

The first night I was there was a Sunday. I was dead tired (coming from the west coast of the USA to Central European Time will do that to a person). But I still walked and walked amazed at the architecture, the monuments, and the overall feel of the city.

As darkness fell and I began to wonder about dinner (this was a last minute business trip with no planning and no prior exposure to Paris) I wandered around and eventually went into a bar that indicated it served food. There were a couple of older fellows hunched over the bar and a table with two middle-aged women along one wall, but no other customers. I sat down and ordered steak and potatoes and a carafe of red wine. I asked if I could have a salad, but was told no -- they didn't serve salads. The waitress asked me where I came from, and i told her.

Several minutes later, a plate was placed before me. It was what I now know to be the usual chewy French beef, but very tasty, It was accompanied by sautéed mushrooms with thyme and chives, piping-hot browned potato wedges, and, believe it or not, a lightly dressed serving of salad. Shortly after, the chef came out to my table, a young woman still in her twenties, and asked how my dinner was.

After a brief exchange and a sincere "Merci," I finished both my dinner and the wine, went back to my hotel, and fell into a very deep sleep.

Honestly, it was probably the most pleasant and satisfying meal I've ever had in Paris. And it was in what was essentially a faceless, nameless and almost empty bar on a small side street off of Avenue de Saxe.

My point? It's good to plan ahead. Doing so can yield good results. But sometimes it also is rewarding to just drop in; not to a touristic restaurant but some place that has no pretensions and largely caters to locals. Run the risk. It may be a bust, but it may very well be a memorable experience.

Bob, one of the best meals I've ever had was in a tiny trattoria in Palermo. I was tired and recuperating from bronchitis, and decided just to pop into a place tucked away into a side street near the hotel.

There was almost nobody there - just a couple from Canada - it being too early in the day for Italians to have lunch. I asked for a plate of simple pasta with mushrooms and a carafe of wine.

Sheer bliss. The pasta was perfect, the sauce so tasty, and after finishing my food I joined the Canadian couple as we finished our wine. The staff was so helpful and kind, as well.

It was just what I needed that day.

but it may very well be a memorable experience.

The most memorable sandwich I've ever consumed was in Paris in 2001, just over 3 months after 9/11. It was a jambon beurre, purchased from a cart just over the bridge from Notre Dame, a few days before Christmas.

Le Colimacon, in the Marais, is open on Sundays and has lovely traditional fare.

Similar to Bob, my first meal in Paris was at La Fontaine Sully - right off the main drag of Rue Saint Antoine, I was tired and cranky and needed to sit down. I'm looking at their google reviews, only a 3.9 but I had baked chicken in cream sauce that was just utterly divine - the sauce was barely discernable when you looked at the chicken but the flavor was there, etc., I would not have found the restaurant if I had planned anything.