With the ice cold wind blowing across our faces while we were on our vespa tour, Terry (our tour guide) recommended that we have hot chocolate from Angelina to warm ourselves up. He told us that the best hot chocolate in Paris would be from Angelina. He thoughtfully ended our tour near this restaurant, which was located in the area of the Louvre.
Angelina is popular. They're famous for their smooth and rich hot chocolate, their desserts (mainly the mont blanc as I witnessed most tables order at least one) and apparently for lunch as well. As such, both locals and tourists were waiting in line for a table in the restaurant.
Since it was around lunchtime, we decided to have lunch at here. The wait wasn't too terrible, we were seated in about 30 minutes. My Husband purchased a cup of hot chocolate for us to enjoy while we were waiting - and it was the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever tasted - so smooth, so rich, so chocolatey and thick. It was as if every sip I had was a piece of dark chocolate melting in my mouth. I wish I had a cup right now!
As soon as we were seated, we ordered two more cups of hot chocolate - we both like chocolate, not huge fans, but we certainly enjoy a piece or two - anyhow, there was no way that I'd pass up the opportunity to have more of this chocolatey wonder in a cup.
For lunch, My Husband ordered their set brunch menu and I ordered the beef tartare - the French are certainly generous with their beef tartare portions! I love beef tartare - I don't always see it on the menu in Los Angeles, and when I do, I usually try and order it. Restaurants in LA completely skimp on their beef tartar portions perhaps because it's a delicacy? Or it's hard to prepare? I probably only get a quarter of what I was given here. It's also usually an appetizer, which I generally share, so it leads to only a few bites of it. It appears that beef tartare in France is generally an entree, so it's a good-sized portion. My Husband's brunch menu was also delicious; unfortunately, we neglected to photograph his seemingly endless plates of pastries. His brunch menu started off with a croissant, some more pastries, an egg and sausage patty, and more pastries. His meal ended with french toast (very different than what I've had previously), which I helped him finish. His meal was a total carb overload!
Lunch lasted over two hours. Actually, all our meals lasted over two hours in Paris. The French are strict with dining etiquette and are extremely respectful of the time you may need to order or enjoy your meal. Food presentation appears to be key - we haven't been to a restaurant where the food wasn't strategically placed on the plate for us. And we haven't once been presented our bill without asking. I've read that once you're sat at a table, the French assumes that the table would be taken for the entire afternoon/night. It took us some time to get used to taking it slow because My Husband and I are like monsters with our food, especially if it's delicious. It's almost like a race to finish first. And if it's extremely scrumptious, there's no time for conversation because we are so busy stuffing our faces. We've learned to eat slower, but if it's delicious, I can't help but quickly stick another bite in my mouth! Ah! Definitely room for me to be more lady-like with my food - I'll improve on that as I'm on my honeymoon.
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