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Food Wednesday: Best pizza in Paris!
By Ann | January 28, 2009
Pizza. Is there any word more alluring in the English/Italian language? I think not, mes amis. And so, imagine my delight when I discovered that this week’s Le Figaroscope is dedicated to finding the best pizza in Paris!
Of course, this being Le Fig, there are all sorts of weird restrictions to the quest. Namely, they decided to make the universal test pizza the Regina, a pizza so shifty and complex it sometimes changes names and is known as the Isabella. Why didn’t they taste test the humble Margherita, which they admit to be “without doubt, one of the most consumed pizzas in the world”? We have no idea.
Anyway, that’s a Regina in the pic above, a pie topped with tomato sauce, ham, mushrooms, mozzarella, black olives, oregano and pepper. (Photo from Le Figaroscope.)
Who comes out on top? A place called Bistrot Napolitain (18 ave Franklin-Roosevelt, 8ème, tel: 01 45 62 08 37), with its perfect marks for appearance and toppings (and near perfect for taste). Number two is Pizza Chic (13 rue de Mézières, 6ème, tel: 01 45 48 30 38), which Le Fig critic François Simon loves to hate for being delicious and ridiculously expensive all at the same time. Their Regina receives perfect scores for toppings and taste.
Nary a word mentioned about my fave pizza place, Maria Luisa. Which means we can keep it our little secret. For the full list of Le Fig-approved pizzerias, click here.
Alors, so much other food news happening this week!
In Lyon, chefs are competing in the Olympic Games of cooking, the Bocuse D’or, which takes place every two years. Among the competitors, a self-taught chef from California, Timothy Hollingsworth, is aiming to become the first American to be awarded the title, and the LA Times documents his quest in this interesting article. (Except, the French errors annoyed me. And then I hated myself for being so pretentious that I get annoyed by French errors.)
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a British tourist licks the head of a tuna in the Tsukiji fish market causing said market to close briefly to the public. Good news: The market is now reopen (but with restrictions — no touching, no licking!) Bad news: Officials plan to move the historic market to a strip of reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay in 2014.
I don’t know why I find this so fascinating, but the NYT’s Mark Bittman blogs here and here about what he ate for fourteen days. I think what surprises me, is the moderation of his diet — he sometimes eats only fruit or nuts for breakfast or lunch, especially if he knows he’s going to have a hamburger for dinner. Also, I liked the sound of his savory oatmeal breakfasts, dolloped with a scoop of tapenade — sometimes I eat oatmeal with a small sprinkle of parmesan cheese and black pepper and drizzle of olive oil. Unlike Mark B., however, I have never “forgotten” to eat lunch.
Finally, also from the NYT, a piece on the burst of the pu’er tea market. Which could be a companion article to the one I wrote two years ago about the hype.
Happy Wednesday and happy eating!
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5 Responses to “Food Wednesday: Best pizza in Paris!”
Comments
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January 28th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
And to think I’ve been walking past Bistrot Napolitain nearly every day for 2 years on my way to and from overpriced smoothies and sandwiches. Will try to report back on whether Le Fig got it right.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Well, the pizza diva (another name for the regina) at Pizza Chic WAS truly delicious. As was the starter salad. Pizza Chic should be renamed Pizza Choc, as in sticker “choc” — but the big problem is, the quality is unbeatable. A dinner here after an apero at Cafe Cassette makes for a very nice, if extravagant, evening!
January 29th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Shira, I’m so excited to hear about Bistrot Napolitain! I love when good food is hidden right under my nose — at least, I hope it’s good. Look forward to hearing your thoughts! (BTW, I fixed URL of your blog).
As Chris knows, after writing the post above, I could not stop thinking about PIZZA. I dragged him to Pizza Chic last night and it was VERY good, and also very chic, which must be a euphemism for cher (expensive). I had the pizza aurora, topped simply with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella. It was a triumph — the crust crisp, the sauce bursting with tomato flavor, the mozzarella delicate. My only quibble: it arrived cold. Perhaps this is Pizza Chic’s style? Not sure, but at 19 euros, it would have been more satisfying hot.
January 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
More New York or Napoli than Paris then, no?!
February 4th, 2009 at 6:48 am
I’ve done some research into the the more economical end of the market…
Tried Rabit Pizza, which I thought was good value for money when shopping for cheap food in Paris !
Loved the authentic pizza when I visited Venice, they are simple but truly delicious and cheap.