Surveying the Paris food scene: a mecca again -- but is it French?

Filed under: Food and Drink, Europe, France

The blogosphere, social media and even some normally sober dead-tree publications roar 24/7 about Paris's contemporary food scene. Hyperbole artists daily declare this the globe's greatest restaurant city, rebooted after lengthy decline. Upstarts in New York and London are fini, and eternal Rome is ancient history.

French cuisine is back, again?

Well, maybe.

One thing's certain: Paris is a favorite of food lovers and peripatetic hedonists. They wing and waddle here for the cosmopolitan dining scene and the peerless patisseries, world-class bakeries, chocolate-makers, specialty food emporiums, wine and cheese and butcher shops, and scores of open markets. Goods and services range from the sublime to the ridiculous. But the overall effect, the sense of epicurean opulence, is mesmerizing.

Paris also happens to host one of the world's great hayseed jamborees, the annual agricultural fair. Earthy, nose-twitching and kitsch, the Salon d'Agriculture transforms the Porte de Versailles into a farmyard feeding frenzy for nine days in late February. The 1,000 exhibitors draw an average 650,000 gawkers. Showcased are the combines, farming techniques, Far Side bovines, and rustic eats that make France the world's number-two agricultural power. Thirty-five countries participated this year. But as always, France was the star. Its roosters crowed louder. And when it came to prize-winning cattle, there was plenty of French bull.Continue reading Surveying the Paris food scene: a mecca again -- but is it French?Surveying the Paris food scene: a mecca again -- but is it French? originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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