{"id":2269,"date":"2019-05-10T10:15:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T10:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devourparisfoodtours.com\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2019-05-10T10:15:36","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T10:15:36","slug":"bouillons-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dev.devourtours.com\/blog\/bouillons-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Then & Now: The Bouillons of Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A bouillon<\/em> is not that kind of place. Instead, a bouillon<\/em> is an eatery that harkens back to another era of Parisian dining<\/a>\u2014when the menu never changed, the service was snappy and the dining room was big, loud and convivial; a time before open kitchens, when the diners, not the chefs, were the stars of the show.<\/p>\n\n\n Photo credit: Michel wal<\/a>, Text Overlay: <\/em>Devour Paris Food Tours<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n I first went to a bouillon<\/em> on a whim, back in my universit\u00e9<\/em> days. One of my classmates, Thea, and I were wandering around the 9th arrondissement when we suddenly realized we were very hungry. And because I\u2019m opportunistically hypoglycemic, that hunger quickly turned to hanger. Thea had heard from a friend that an old-school place called Bouillon Chartier <\/a>was a must-try. \u201cBig, traditional plates and great prices,\u201d was how she described it to me. It was nearing the end of typical lunch service time, so we didn\u2019t have time to dawdle. I was sold. When we arrived to Bouillon Chartier to find a line creeping out of the door, I cursed myself for agreeing to such a popular establishment. \u201cIt should go fast,\u201d Thea assured me. And it did. Within 20 minutes we were seated, and I excitedly scanned the long menu, with a huge variety of dishes and unheard-of prices. I didn’t think it was possible to find appetizers for two euros or less in Paris\u2014but here they were, and a generous selection of them. We ordered a handful of dishes and a carafe of the house red wine. For dessert, we split a spongy, brioche-like cake soaked in rum and piled high with fresh whipped cream\u2014baba au rhum<\/em>. By the time I asked for l\u2019addition<\/em> and the waiter scribbled our bill on the paper table cloth, I was slightly buzzed and completely charmed. It was a restaurant unlike any other I had tried. And, as I later learned, little has changed since the opening of this 19th-century institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The original bouillon<\/em> dates back to 1860, when a Parisian butcher with high-end clientele decided to open a casual eatery to make use of unsold cuts of meat. It was meant to be a place where workers could eat a hot, satisfying meal at a good price. The menu featured traditional dishes<\/a> like hochepot de boeuf<\/em>, served in broth, or bouillon<\/em>\u2014from which the establishment got its name. With the success of the first bouillon<\/em>, several more opened throughout Paris. At one point, there were nearly 250 bouillons<\/em> across Paris. But over the years, one by one, most of them shuttered\u2014until recently, when they\u2019ve started experiencing a resurgence in popularity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The most famous, the aforementioned Bouillon Chartier, recently opened a second location, across the Seine in the Montparnasse neighborhood. And in Pigalle, a pair of youngish restaurateurs opened a slightly modernized version, Bouillon Pigalle<\/a>. While the presentations here might be a touch more polished, the menu stays true to the original bouillons<\/em>\u2014and the prices remain refreshingly cheap, too. Lucky for us, they\u2019re opening another outpost near Place de la R\u00e9publique later in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Getting to know a classic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe bouillon origin story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBouillons in Paris today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n