Escargots in Paris

Quite honestly, any decent restaurant with escargot on the menu, they will taste the same. The recipe is the same for the garlic/butter/parsley sauce and the snails just get heated and put into the shells. You can browse menus posted outside each restaurant to be sure it is served. Kudos to a 15 year old for wanting, or agreeing to try it!

We've had really good escargots many times at our favorite cafe on Ile St. Louis. It's called "La Flore en l'Ile" and is at the western tip right by the pedestrian bridge. All their food is excellent and we've always had exceptional service. Sitting outside is very fun. And there's often really good street performers or a band on the bridge.

Mary, "Rick suggests Cafe le Bosquet near Ecole Miltaire which we found very disappointing on a prior trip" It sounds like I'm not the only one that has received deplorable service at Le Bosquet. I tend to be quite tolerant of different service levels in Europe, as I realize that the culture is different and I shouldn't expect the same type of service as at home. However, Le Bosquet was WAY beyond what I will tolerate. The service there was absolutely atrocious and I'll never set foot in the place again! Cheers!

A second vote for La Flore en l'Ile! Very good food and a fun place to sit outside.

Hi, Mary, La Varangue on Rue Augereau is a simple French bistro recommended by Rick Steves and features escargot as a starter. The food is not gourmet but is quite good and very reasonably priced; Philippe speaks English and is very used to American tourists. I have visited several times with no disappointments; I am leaving for Paris on May 30 and plan on dining with Philippe multiple times during my 9 day stay.

Whole Foods in the US has escargots from France in the frozen food section. You get a dozen stuffed escargots in the shell. Pick up a baguette from Whole Foods and go home and pop the escargots in the oven and after about 12 minutes your feast is ready at a much lower cost than buying them in a French restaurant. I'm on vacation in France at the moment, but I won't be eating escargots here as I normally do. I'll wait to get home!

Better yet is to purchase and bring home a special stainless steel escargot cooking and serving dish from France. These small dishes have indentations that hold the snails firmly in place while baking in the oven. It is also good to have a special utensil to hold the snail in place along with a small fork to extract the snail onto the slice of fresh baguette. One place that sells all these is Carrefor. We were fortunate to inherit several of these sets many years ago from my wife's French grandmother. John

^^^ Or go to a local art supply store and buy a small painters tray. They come in metal and have the perfectly sized indentations (about 5-6 of them). That's what I use to make my escargot... That is if your grandaughter likes it and comes home wanting to eat it all the time like I did :-)

For escargot serving items you can find what you need at De Hellerin (sp) where Julia Child shopped often. It is located near St Eustache. It is a fascinating shop with every cooking item imaginable.

Dehillerin. Good guess, Susan.