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Paris' Coutume Café Boasts Imported Beans and a NYC-Imported Barista

This week, Jaunted correspondent Heidi Atwal takes us along to Paris, uncovering the hidden bits found in between sessions of copious macaron and butter consumption. And we do mean copious. Make sure to check in daily for dispatches from the City of Light.

It was a passing tip in a free magazine we picked up on London's streets that led us to Paris' Coutume Café, a coffee shop as decidedly anti-Starbucks as it gets. With a barista flown in from New York to head up their java producing operations, a carefully curated selection of imported beans, and monthly coffee tasting sessions for hardcore aficionados (think wine tasting, only sniffing and dry tasting rather than swirling and sipping), it's clear that Coutume is a place where the art of Joe is taken very, very seriously.

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Restaurants / Monuments / Attractions / Alain Ducasse / → All Tags

About that New Eiffel Tower Restaurant

Yesterday we told you about Alain Ducasse's new restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. It has an interesting back story, and it's certain to be better than the previous tenant. But those two pluses aren't making it any more palatable to Jaunted's Paris correspondent Monica Guy:

Okay, so the view's good. But for €155 or €190 (not including wine) you'd get a far better meal--or six--in a proper modern French restaurant. Such as my favourite-of-the-moment, the canal-side Hotel du Nord.

You want proof this place is just for tourists? For one thing, it closes at 21:30, which is when most French diners are just considering an aperitif.

And for another, Ducasse claims his new place is "100 percent French...in harmony with French wines." But the French aren't interested in 100 percent French any more--least of all in the matter of wine.

There you have it. Le Jules Verne restaurant: Great for rich tourists, bad for savvy Francophiles.

Related Stories:
· Haute Cuisine Travel: Alain Ducasse at the Eiffel Tower [Jaunted]
· Jaunted Embedded Travel Guide: Paris Wine [Jaunted]
· Paris Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Restaurants / Monuments / Attractions / Alain Ducasse / → All Tags

Haute Cuisine Travel: Alain Ducasse at the Eiffel Tower

After four months of painstaking renovations, Alain Ducasse has reopened Le Jules Verne restaurant, more than 400 feet up inside the Eiffel Tower. The superchef had the outgoing fittings weighed to avoid adding any unnecessary burden to the 19th century landmark, and new glass was installed to ensure that nighttime views aren't obscured by the restaurants lights.

While Ducasse has earned a mind-boggling 16 Michelin stars with more than 20 restaurants, the Jules Verne probably won't add one to his tally. Ducasse himself says it's more of a nice restaurant than a world-class one.

Still, it ain't cheap--especially for Americans spending Euros. Lunch is €75 ($110), while the two dinner menus are €155 and €190. At least you get to use a private elevator to get up to the restaurant floor.

Related Stories:
· Le Jules Verne [Official Site, in French]
· Chef Aims High with Eiffel Tower Restaurant [AP, via CNN]
· Adventure Dining: The 150 Foot High Restaurant [Jaunted]
· Paris Travel coverage [Jaunted]