May 15 Bistro Benoit

We'd been here before on a previous trip and loved the classic bistro layout, very old school, with lace curtains and flower china and a raft of waiters. Benoit even has seltzer bottles in the windows, which makes us feel at home. It being Sunday night, we had an early reservation at 7:30. It was us and a troika consisting of two Japanese men and an Anglo who spoke the language fluently.

They started us off with an amuse bouche of cheese puffs. I had mine with my customary aperitif of Jack Daniels (avec des glacons). We both had the white asparagus, slathered in this cheese/butter sauce that was so good we dipped the bread into it throughout the meal. The spears were big and fat and tender and delicious.

Ira wanted to keep it simple, so he just ordered an appetizer consisting of an elegant concotion of veal tongue, thinly sliced, alternated with rich foie gras. It was so rich I had to help Ira out. Of course, he helped me by having a few white beans from my cassoulet. It came in a big cast iron pot, which the waiter showed me, then carried off to a nearby table to "decant" so to speak. He then placed an enormous portion of beans, volaille, sausage, and bacon on my plate. It seemed too much to eat, but I did, and washed it down with the perfect glass of Bordeaux Pomerol, the type of glass where the last taste is the best.

For dessert, Ira had the fraise bois with a touch of Chantilly. I ordered the orange souffle, which turned out to be an outrageously large portion of frozen orange sorbet, covered in thin strips of candied peel and then drenched in enough Grand Marnier to have my head swimming from just the fumes.

After this repast, we wandered through the area, which is stuffed with bars (including a bear bar!) and young people. By now, the alcohol was wearing off and it was cold, so we walked the laborious 5 minutes home. Have I mentioned how well placed our apartment is? If you're coming to Paris, stay in le Marais. It's where the action is.