Paris part 3: Boutiques and Steak

[Qubert]

Good morning, I have just got back from Spain (photos coming shortly) but first I forgot to give my next set of Paris photos from October. I called this installment "Boutiques and Steak" because this time I found myself in the Le Mariais and Bastille districts. Little shops filled with beautiful clothes and fine furniture seems to be the theme in these areas, wedged between restaurants that I always seemed to find when they're closed. That leads me to the "Steak" part: I did manage to find this chain restaurant called "Hippopotamus" that specializes in steak, steak and more steak. Needless to say I'm well pleased.

I'll shut up now, here's snaps:

[mousquet]

Hi.

Originally Posted by Qubert

Little shops filled with beautiful clothes and fine furniture seems to be the theme in these areas, wedged between restaurants that I always seemed to find when they're closed.

Either they open at regular lunch and dinner times only, like most genuine French restaurants often do, or they're permanently closed and their commercial rooms are available on the rental market or for sale.
Unfortunately, Covid definitely caused some damage to hotels and restaurants here.

Actually, we've had more and more fast food restaurants, a lot of them being independent.
The latest trend in that matter would be what they call "smash burgers", something imported from the US.
They're trying to emulate American fast casual restaurants like those of Shake Shack from NY or In-N-Out Burger from CA, more or less successfully.
Some would go up to importing buns and Cheddar cheese from the US, trying to reproduce the original US feel.
I got to say, it sometimes works. Their stuff tastes pretty much like what you'd get from a regional fast food chain in your country.

Well, that would be some latest trend by locals trying to start their small restaurants, to fill in some of those vacant commercial spaces.

[Qubert]

Originally Posted by mousquet

Hi.



Either they open at regular lunch and dinner times only, like most genuine French restaurants often do, or they're permanently closed and their commercial rooms are available on the rental market or for sale.
Unfortunately, Covid definitely caused some damage to hotels and restaurants here.

Actually, we've had more and more fast food restaurants, a lot of them being independent.
The latest trend in that matter would be what they call "smash burgers", something imported from the US.
They're trying to emulate American fast casual restaurants like those of Shake Shack from NY or In-N-Out Burger from CA, more or less successfully.
Some would go up to importing buns and Cheddar cheese from the US, trying to reproduce the original US feel.
I got to say, it sometimes works. Their stuff tastes pretty much like what you'd get from a regional fast food chain in your country.

Well, that would be some latest trend by locals trying to start their small restaurants, to fill in some of those vacant commercial spaces.

One thing that I noticed is that the "Retail Apocolypse" that's been hitting NYC and other major American metros is no where near as pronounced in Paris. I never came across a street where it was 3,5, or even 10 empty storefronts in a row. I know covid caused damage everywhere but at least in Paris it seemed the physical retail space was not as affected as in the US.

As far as the restaurant thing, yes, it quickly came to my attention that hours of operation are a very variable thing there. Next visit I will know where I want to eat before hand and when. I can understand now why you see British and American tourists lined up outside the McDonalds on the nearest boulevard.

[EastSideHBG]

Nice!

[geomorph]

A very nice collection of streetscapes!