Café George V Au Paris

120 Avenue Champs Elysees, 75008
Paris, France.
Tel: 01.45.62.33.51

My husband and I were finally able to save enough money to fulfill my lifelong dream of visiting Paris. As a little girl  I would watch the movie Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn or the latest version with, Julia Ormond and  as they would go through their training in Paris I would fantasize about my first trip to Paris. Our visit was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Initially we had difficulty learning how to navigate the Metro system. However after speaking with a friend ( thanks  you so much Luciana)  and downloading the Metro App to my Iphone ( thanks you so much Iphone 4 and AT&T)  we were able to navigate through the busy city.

After a long day of viewing the sites and taking an endless amount of pictures we walked down the Champs des Elysees searching for a place to eat. There were a number of awesome restaurants however our budget dictated that we looked for something affordable. We finally stumbled upon Café George V. A cute spot with your classic outdoor sitting area and a semi-modern interior. Although it was about 45 degrees the restaurant had the outside sitting area sectioned off and covered by a canopy. There were also mini heaters hanging from the canopy so it was quite warm. We were able to sit outside on a cool January day. Across from us a couple was heavily expressing PDA as most people do in Paris.

Although Je parle un peu de Francais, the waiter heard my American accent and immediately asked us what we wanted in English. I had a delicious cup of tea while my husband ordered the espresso. Of course my husband, being a devote carnivore decided to order the Foie Gras ( I expressed sympathy for the poor goose).  I ordered the Halibut with string beans and a side of mash potatoes. The halibut was perfect with a delicious crème sauce that I was able to pour over or dip my fish in. I think the Crème sauce might have been a roasted pepper sauce with Crème Fresh? I am not 100% sure.  The string beans were fresh  crisp and delicious and the mash potatoes were creamy and flavorful. We also ordered a glass of white wine, which  as you can imagine was perfect because it was French. My husband spent the better part of the evening trying to convince me to try the Foie Gras ( Also known as force fed goose)  insisting it was one of the best things he ever tasted,  I humbly refused.

I was pleased with the price, my meal came to about 14-17 Euros  and my husbands was about the same . All in all our meal came to about 34,00 Euros or $46.00 U.S.  When we visit Paris again hopefully we can visit here and try something different. The restaurant is located ideally between the Tour Du Effiel and the Arc du Triomphe, thus for a tourist it makes a great pit stop.

My only complaint would be that there were quite a number of people smoking in and out of the restaurant ( I really appreciate the smoking ban in Philadelphia now). While we were eating I had to adjust myself so that I would not be down wind from a few smokers and even after adjusting ourselves we noticed that we still smelled of cigarette smoke when we left. However, if you can get past the smoking I would highly recommend Café George V to anyone that decides to visit Paris.  

Dinner is on the Horizon

Horizons Modern Vegan Cuisine
611 S. 7th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147

C215) 923-6117

My husband and I recently visited Horizons cuisine for our Friday date night. My co-worker  told me about how delicious the food was and assured me that I wouldn’t be disappointed. So I googled the restaurant and called the phone number listed on their website to make a reservation.  My husband ( a devote carnivore) was not initially thrilled with the idea of eating vegan. He preferred at that time to visit a Rib Joint in Olney. However, with a little whining and nudging I was able to convince him to try the restaurant.

The restaurant is located on 7^th street a little less than a block off of south street. Of course we came close to not arriving on time due to our number one date night nemesis, PARKING!  After numerous attempts to avoid paying for parking my husband and I decided to cough up the cash and park in the lot across the street from the restaurant.

I adored the exterior and interior design of the restaurant. The place was quaint and welcoming, warm tones and  abstract paintings in a low candle lit setting.  We sat on the second floor not far from the bar ( to my delight).

I order a glass of wine and the Portobello Carpaccio appetizer to start.  My husband ordered the Jamaican BBQ Seitan and smoked potatoes (still reminding me about the BBQ ribs).  To his surprise though he thoroughly enjoyed the Seitan and potatoes. My portabella Carpaccio was also delicious and the plating, consistency and garnishes reminded me of a plate of smoked salmon and capers.  I was quite pleased thus far.

For an entrée my husband ordered the Autumn Mixed Grill which consisted of black futsu squash and  smoked eggplant crepe, rutabaga, braised white beans, and grain mustard. I ordered a roasted carrot dish with black beans. Both our meals were excellent I have to say the roasted carrot was extremely flavorful and I love black beans so I had no complaints. My husband noted that his crepe was light and delicious.

 For dessert we had a mojito inspired soy cream dish with a lime meringue. The soy cream did not have the richness and consistency of ice cream however it was sweet and very light. The lime meringue and wafers at the bottom were also very light with a sweetness that wasn’t as overpowering as most desserts.

All in all I’d say the food was delicious. If I had one complaint it would be that the portions were not as big as I had hoped and the bill was not as small as I would have liked. That  night my husband complained that he was still hungry and we ended up getting a large breakfast the next morning.  However with the romantic and beautiful ambience as well as the wonderful meal I have to agree with my co-worker and report I wasn’t disappointed.

My Visit to the Nile

So after work I finally made it to The Nile Café. The Nile Café is a vegetarian cafe and juice bar on Germantown Ave. I decided to take out my meal although the spot was cute, quaint and I was tempted to eat in. The store has two parts a very spiritual book store on the left with herbs, incense and books. On the right hand side is the vegan soul food cafe. I ordered BBQ chicken, greens and cabbage. All the food on the menu was cooked and on hand so my meal was packaged promptly. I also brought an Organic Raspberry ginger beer.


On to the tasting!  My food was delicious. A very hearty meal especially considering it was vegan. ( I have done vegan many times before and I have to admit I was a little hungry after)  For my carnivores out there the BBQ vegan chicken did not taste exactly like chicken (of course). However, it had a perfect meaty texture and a light sweet BBQ sauce. It is definitely seitan (Wheat gluten, pronounced /ˈseɪtæn/)). The greens are good too. For those of you used to the smoke meat flavor in the greens your grandma used to make  I am sorry to disappoint you, but the greens here don’t have that flavor. None-the-less, these greens were delicious. I adored the cabbage  it was sweet and savory. I also ordered a side of banana bread, which was fantastic. My meal had a home cooking feel without the added fat of meat. I think all and all my meal  ( including my beverage and banana bread came to $14.00.  I must say that if u like seitan and soul food, I think you’ll love this spot. ;)