Paris Is “Lit Up” For The Olympics!
Welcome to Paris – to many, the most beautiful city in the world! And with the Summer Olympic Games about to start, the Arc de Triomphe shines brightly!
At night, the city of Paris offers many classic images to enjoy, like this look at the Eiffel Tower all lit up as the river Seine prepares for opening night…
As you can see, the river is now lined with seating, as the world’s greatest Athletes will go down the Seine in special boats! It will be a spectacle for sure!
And beyond the sights of Paris, there is also the food – which we are digging into daily!
Behold The Pig’s Trotter!
OK, you knew this was going to be a food post, RIGHT? How can you go to Paris and NOT enjoy the amazing food?
Au Pied de Cochon – Celebrating Swine!
This classic french bistro in the Les Halles district of Paris is open until late at night, famed for their 3a pig’s feet – and their legendary french onion soup.
Their namesake greets you at the door, and just about everywhere else as well, including on the plate at your table – when they delivered me my French onion soup as a starter:
How can you tell if a French onion soup is good? Well, the “spoon and cheese” connection is one way and here was mine:
The restaurant has a classic bistro feel inside, and it is cavernous, which is why I was able to walk right in on a weekday afternoon – Alex had Olympics meetings so I was on my own~!
Onto The Trotter!
The specialty of the house is, of course, grilled pigs’ feet with béarnaise sauce – behold the pig’s trotter!
This is a full pig;s foot, which has been coated in bread crumbs and cooked up nice and crisp…
and of course, it comes with a side of bernaise sauce – but to me the flavor on this was more like a sauce gribiche…delicious either way and enough to dredge your fires through as well!
As you can see, it is very thick and rich, dotted with herbs…and it provides a perfect dip for the thick, crispy fries that come with the trotter:
And…How Does It Taste?
That is a very good question. Quick answer? Delicious! The skin is crispy and the meat juicy, with an intense pork flavor…and a texture like a micro-thin strip of jerky…
Once you dig into the trotter, you realize why this is a part of the pig that isn’t served too often:
Looking inside the trotter, you will find a LOT of gelatin – that is what a pig’s trotter is made of…knowing that, you pick through the trotter for small bits of cooked meat, you devour the crispy delicious skin, and you take on the gelatin to the point you feel comfortable doing so…
As it should be, as this is an iconic home to swine – and they give you a takeaway coaster to prove it!
The “Swine Sampler”
Other specialties include a platter named after the medieval patron saint of sausage makers, “la temptation de St-Antoine”, which includes grilled pig’s tail, pig’s snout, and half a pig’s foot, all served with béarnaise and french fries – in a sense a “swine sampler plate!”
Today I was on my own, but Alex and I have had quite the food adventure in Paris already.
As I told you, Alex is a “lover of potatoes”, and if you click here you can see our journey through Paris by way of all the unique potato dishes we ate like this!
And there were many more as well – click here to see them all!
Of course, my favorite dish of all is this potato pie:
Or maybe a potato cake – either way, click here for the recipe for making it at home – it’s incredible!
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Categories: Alcohol And Bars, Bacon, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Food Travel, Recipes, Restaurants, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
La soupe est merveilleuse!
Excellent, France is known for its food.
Pig’s trotters were the ‘poor man’s food’ in Britain for generations. I really don’t like eating them at all, even served up in a nice French bistro. But real French onion soup is amazing!
Best wishes, Pete.
Pete, I dod it as a tradition…not much meat, very gelatinous, but when in Rome!
Ahhhhh Pigs Trotters were one of my fathers favourite meals and are still my hubbies favourite…Tasty and delicious 🙂