A Vegan Parisian Travelogue

Vegetarian Journal, Nov, 2000 by Katherine Ludwig Moses

While the idea of a trip to Paris may seem like a gastronomic hardship for vegans, a little hands-on research can easily and deliciously disprove that assumption. My husband and I (cruelty-free eaters, both) recently spent an extremely well-fed week in the city of the croissant, known for its meat and seafood dishes as well as for its rich, double-dairy sauces, desserts, and cassoulets. Undaunted by this reputation, we ventured forth with "our list" of fourteen exclusively vegetarian eating establishments located within city limits. We had carefully, yet quite easily, compiled this list from the Internet (just type "vegetarian" and "Paris") and library-borrowed travel books. As I was six months pregnant at the time, going hungry was not an option! While vegetarian restaurants are hardly in vogue in Paris, the ones that do exist offer healthy, French country cooking in gracious and warm settings. As they are not trying to win over the uninterested, there's not a deep-fried, sugared, overly sauced, or redundantly cooked morsel at any of them.

In addition to dining at five of these totally vegetarian restaurants, we also feasted at an Indian restaurant and an Italian trattoria, enjoyed local bistros (they offer lots of veggie side dishes) for light meals, took advantage of "The Universal Cafe" food court located at The Louvre, and catered our own breakfasts and some lunches in flower-filled public parks, plazas, and gardens along with the locals. A thirty-cent baguette is never more than a few steps away, and with a bottled drink, it often makes up a Parisian's on-the-go lunch. Fresh, inexpensive multi-grain breads dotted with sunflower, sesame, flax, or poppy seeds are available in bakeries everywhere, while l'alimentations (grocery stores) showcase beautiful fresh produce which is often biologique (organic). Health food stores are stocked with ready-to-eat vegan sandwiches, non-dairy yogurts, and homemade vegetable or "meat" pies, as well as the incredible Tartex brand of veggie pate hard to come by in the US and itself worth a trip to a European health food store. Where we stayed in the Latin Quarter, our local natural foods stores were NATURE A PARIS (45 St. Germaine Boulevard) and PLANET BIO (30 St. Germaine). There is endless opportunity for a vegan (vegetalien) to delight in appropriate food in "the city of light." This is just one collection of possibilities.

LE GRENIER, (18 rue la Bucherie 75005, Tel: 01.43.29.98.29) in the Latin Quarter, on the left bank very near Notre Dame, offers two lovely, plant-adorned levels (connected by a spiral staircase) and a small outdoor area of dining pleasures. We had the seitan dinner, which consisted of a pounded-thin, breaded, and lightly fried piece of the delectable meat substitute served with a lemon wedge, boiled potatoes, and snappin' fresh salad; and their cassoulet, a hot tureen filled with simmered beans, onions, seitan, tofu, soy sausage, and tomatoes--a bit on the salty side. Your efficient server will be happy to point out which entrees are vegan, both on the regular menu and as daily specials. Also on the menu are made-to-order, fresh juices, which are delivered tall and proud in their festive cocktail glasses. This serene place offers a pleasant and appetizing dining experience, though ordering a la carte does not garner a great deal of food foe the money. Like most Parisian restaurants, however, Le Grenier features a daily formule or menu du jour, which for one price usually includes soup, appetizer, main course, and dessert. Le Grenier's formule is about 150 francs. Our two entrees, with an extra salad and two tarte fruits for dessert, was 238ff. Figure about 6.5 francs (ff) to 1 US dollar.

Near the Louvre, LA VICTOIRE SUPREME DU COEUR (41, rue des Bourdonnais 75001, Tel: 01 40 41 93 95) boasts the cheeriest decor and service you'll find on either side of the ocean. Original artwork by, and photos of, the spiritual leader Sri Chimnoy adorn the walls and his good ways infuse every inch of this relaxing restaurant. We had the "Escalop" (seitan dinner), which was served in tomato sauce, with crispy fried potatoes (though not French fries!) and a dollop of split peas on the side. Along with this delicious cutlet dinner we shared the substantial "Shepherd's Plate" with its two "sausages," vegetarian pate split peas, couscous, and abundant green salad topped with julienned zucchini, carrots, and beets. We had started our dinner with two fresh juices--an orange and a carrot/lemon--and our bill came to 159ff.

Though not the friendliest place in town, we would happily revisit PETIT LEGUME (36 rue des Boulangers 75005, Tel: 01 40 46 06 85) for its straightforward menu with entries like miso soup, bowl of rice, rice with vegetables, and grain of the day with beans. With the excuse of eating for two, I went for the Chef's Plate which was packed with tofu cake (burger), millet, seaweed, sauerkraut, stewed vegetables, lentils, and a creative salad of lettuce, beets, cucumber, mushroom, nuts, olives, and wedges of lemon and orange. The salad my husband ordered off the menu for 33ff boasted the addition of dried fruits (prunes, figs, currants). His delicious stewed veggie bowl was kale, collards, carrots, onions, and celery over brown rice. Neither of us indulged in their wide selection of organic wine, but did drink a lot of their freshly-lemoned water. We liked the fact that each table was set with shakers of nutritional yeast, sesame salt, garlic powder, soy sauce, and pepper, and that we were able to pick up a few supplies, as this petite restaurant houses a health food store. After our meal, which was about 155ff, we walked to the Jardin des Plantes and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle.