A Life Worth Eating

I know this may come as a shock, but beneath my intimidatingly macho 6′2″, 160lb exterior I’m a sensitive guy. There I was in Paris — a city others inexplicably call the City of Lights though I’ve always known it as the City of Macarons — and something was bothering me. I thought about what I consider to be the peripheral issues of traveling — things like monuments, museums, and parks — and how in the previous week I had completely ignored them. But my worries were squashed when Adam wisely pointed out that l’Astrance is just across the river from the Eiffel Tower. Surely there could be no better place for a walk while we all engaged in the sort of post-game commentary that inevitably follows this kind of meal. And besides, I always manage to see plenty of sites on the way to and from restaurants without even planning to.

We were having lunch with a certain Parisian friend of ours, so there was even more cause for excitement. Julien is a gentleman and a scholar of many disciplines, and over the course of the meal we were glad to hear his insight on topics as wide-ranging as macarons, poissonneries, and the best cookbook store in the city. We had plenty of time to chat about such things since we chose the longest degustation menu offered at l’Astrance — eight courses. Taking the time to experience other cultures first-hand has always been a priority of mine.