Le Cafe Du Commerce ~ Paris (15), France

We found this restaurant quite by accident. We met an expat with a drawl who was raving about this place, and told us it would be easy to remember as it was named after the street it was on. Hmmm. Had it not been for the fact that we met her in a restaurant that knocked our socks off, and whose name esacpes me, we would have completely dismissed it. After we finished our meal and shared some lively discussions in french about the new conflict in the middle east with our hostess/ cook/ server/ owner we resolved to find this Cafe if possible the next day.

What a good choice.

The first and most surprising thing is the entrance. It's sort of tucked away and appears to be only a small door within a store foyer. The menu looked good, and the mannequin of the waiter holding business cards was quirky enough. We entered and found ourselves in a Tardis of sorts. The restaurant opens upwards through three balconies dressed in lush, hanging greens to an movable skylight letting in the light from our cool March sky. The small details in the wood and iron work harkened back to a day when you might expect to see Toulouse and the Moulin Girls dancing through the starry, absinthe night. The heady scent of the kitchen, and the long starched aprons of the professional waiters only made it more sensual.

But what about the food? Great traditional french food.
It's the best, most authentic bistro fare I have ever had.
The most memorable thing was the rabbit terrine. Good wholesome, close to the earth fare with an elevated soul.

It may only be a memory to me now, but whenever I'm back in Paris, I'm heading straight there...