Voy Alimento - To the Amazonnn and Beyond!!

Sourcing the majority of their ancient originating ingredients from the Deserts, the Andes, the Amazon and the Oceans of South, Central and North America, Voy Alimento serves up simple and raw, yet daringly delicious dishes.

This petit cafe/restaurant (sorry, no coffee here) dictates grand ideals of balance - the importance of maintaining an equilibrium between nutrition, ecology, society and economy through their carefully selected and all natural herbivorical products.

There is a catalgue on each table which explains the various wonder ingredients on offer including chlorophyll, klamath, spirulina, jojoba, purple corn, maca, yacon, stevia, guarana

and cacao just to name a bunch. The catalogue commences with a mission like statement, desciribing the moral ideology of the restaurant - including its belief in the importance of respect for the earth and its people during the production, cultivation and preparation of the various plants on offer here.

I recommend starting with one of the marvellous hot drinks - I had the Xocolatl which was really nice, but the people next to me ordered the purple power and another steaming green mug of spirulina something.....and I had just a touch of envy.

Next, have the plate of the day - a colourful array of veges and salads thoughtfully prepared and presented with purple corn blinis (small, round healthy pancakes).

Lastly (and bestly) dessert!!. The chocolate creme with coconut is to die for. I went back here again after lunch at home yesterday to have one of these with a hot drink.

The staff are really lovely here (typically for a slightly hippy vegie joint they may seem a tad off with the fairies but really do a great job and are very helpful when it comes to advising what's what).

The restaurant was an addition to what was originally just a shop selling ancient wonder ailments. You can buy all the ingredients in the drinks on offer to make at home.

Voy Alimento - Packs a punch that may prove too much for some booster packs!

Voy Alimento

23 Rue Des Vinaigiriers

75010, Paris

Metro: Jacques Bonsergent

Caffe Moro, Paris - The Battle of Italian Coffee

I have been on a trojan horse ride with this cafe....



Close to my house - tick.



Quiet Skype conditions - tick.



Really nice Italian coffee - tick.



Entered into a small trench-like petty feud with one of the serveuses - tick!




The timeline of events leading to battle:



I came here for the first time with a couple of friends on a lazy Sunday arvo and we ordered wine and an antipasto plate which was delicious. Cafe Morro is an Italian cafe on Rue Charonne (10 minutes walk from the Bastille), and boasts an array of panino, insalate, pasta and mozzarelle to knock many Romans warriors from their steeds (I am currently salivating over a little old lady sitting outside tucking into her perfect looking antipasti filled toasted panini).

So my first experience here was great - the Parisian born, Italian owner custom made us little fuss pots a very particular platter (we wanted more than just bread, cheese and meat which is near impossible in Paris) and we got a bit tipsy on Italian wine. A few weeks later I came back to try the coffee with high expectations. It is a little more exxy than our other locals at around 3.80 for a cafe au lait however, it is well worth it. The beans are high quality and roasted by the best in Italy. I come back as a patriotic little customer around once per week.

I started to feel quite loved 2 weeks ago when the serveuse asked me if I wanted my regular coffee in a mug instead - oh yes please I responded with a smile. Then came time to pay and I was up for just under 5 euro! As it dawned on me that had not made a new friend at all, rather, I had been the target of a calculated upsell! I puffed that it was too expensive and huffed away.

Returning a few days later....

I have since started jokingly referring to Cafe Morro as The Moron (TM) yet I come back religiously - its very strange. The nice owner and her wonderful coffee seem to be able to drown out my current mild dislike for TM (during my last visit here I asked for a jug of water with my coffee. Apparantly the biggest water 'jug' available here is shot glass which she handed me with a pesky smirk....)

The coffee here is really nice! When I arrived today I started talking to TM (we are beginning a slow recovery and I expect the signing of the treaty is imminent) and asked where the beans were from...."c'est un secret" that she could not divulge.

The cafe also stocks a small variety of Italian goods - chocolate, pastas, sauces etc.

So I will continue to return to Caffe Moro/The Moron and I would recommend it for its great Italian food, Italian coffee and lovely little Italian owner....and if im honest I think what is quickly transforming into an almost playful (pretend sword) feud makes it just that little bit more fun.

Caffe Moro

31 Rue De Charonne

75011 Paris

Metro: Ledru-Rollin

Sweat Shop in Paris

I am on my way to my first day at the Sweat Shop. Lugging an oversized sack bearing the 'tools of the (rag) trade' and experiencing a certain anxiously awkward first day on the job feeling.


With a subtle blend of curiousity and nervousness I ponder the prospects of what will come of me when I enter the facility. Questions like how long do I stay, will they feed me, how are the work conditions? Entering this unknown, slightly secretive domain I am drowning with many different manifestations of excitement!



I take a left turn onto the named street and start looking for signs -plumes of dark industrial smoke littering the already grey Paris sky, darkened windows shielding shady, secret affairs within, noisy machines, people with half fingers....but no...once again the imagination bolted.










Sweat Shop, opened in March 2010 is self described as "Cafe Couture"- 10 Singer sewing stations surround a big central craft table equipped with various tools and materials.





Patrons may book in for one of the creative sewing and knitting classes (about 5 are held each week) or you can attend solo with your projects, find a seat and get to work - Singer machine hire is a very reasonable 6 euro/hr.

Open everyday from 1pm, Sweat Shop is much more than just your standard cafe. Its a cafe with environmental conscious and supports the notion of reusing what we already have - creative therapy over retail therapy.

The tea and coffee here is served in intricately crafted and painted tea sets - no doubt sourced by the sweet (and very helpful, English speaking) Sweedish owner from the local broccante (antique) market. The room out the back of the cafe has a nice comfy seating area where you can perch yourself with your tea and cake and knit, sew or just drink tea until your hearts content.



We spent about 3 hours here yesterday and I would highly recommend it. I am already rummaging through the drawers to find something I can revitalise for next time!










All without a bead of sweat...

Sweat Shop Paris

13 Rue Lucien Sampax
75010 Paris
Metro: Jacques Bonsergent
http://www.sweatshopparis.com/

Merci - No No Thank YOU!!

I was introduced to Merci by a friend a few months ago (thanks Kezza) and it has now become a bit of an inspirational hang out place for me when I feel like wandering the shops for nothing in particular, followed by some down time in the attached library cafe.

Located on the edge of the Marais, the store is fit out and arranged in a vast warehouse-like space. The store is large yet it has managed to keep its boutique, non-department store-like feel.

An array of beautiful and qwerky objects are neatly arranged over 3 levels - connected by staircases. Qwerky gift ideas, beautiful clothes and bags, one off jewellery pieces, raw furniture, homewares and stacks of concept 'things' (my fave being a fashion conscious pollution mask - bearing Angelina Jolie-like lips and a models angular jawline. I'm sure its only a matter of time until the increasingly popular yet still a tad strange lung protector becomes a must have accessory for city dwellers) - visually thought provoking and truly inspirational.

Back to the Cafe. I have introduced a few friends to Merci Cafe now and everyone loves it!! The staff are super friendly and deliver your coffee with a big glass bottle of fresh mint water, contrasted by a (complimentary) little shot glass worth of petit morcels of the daily cake on offer.

When you enter the cafe from inside the store you walk down a short hallway-like passage lined with a wall of books on one side (English included) and a tiny and very busy open kitchen on the other. Choose your book quickly and take a seat or you may end up with egg on your face - seriously.

Merci Cafe reminds me of one of my favourite cafes in Bondi, Sydney - Gertrude and Alice. Here, you can spend hours carefully selecting an array of books to devour in a dark corner whilst you sip away on your steaming latte. The perfect way to pass a rainy day.

The menu at Merci is small but there is still a good mix of sweet and savoury snacks. There is generally one plat du jour (plate of the day). I can vouch for the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel as well as the carrott cake. For around 7 euro you can also get 2 dippy eggs complete with soldiers and marmite.

Merci ....Thankyou!!

P.S - Vegemite is better!

Merci

111 Boulevard Beaumarchais

75003 Paris

Metro: St-Sebastien Froissart

Merce and the Muse - Took me back to Nan's Place

A tiny, quaint, inviting cafe - decorated in a way that stirs an incredible feeling of nostalgia. Vintage typewriters, cameras, and purple violets adorn the window sills whilst timber chairs, a bright green couch and a timber bench with a selection of blue cushions surround 2 timber coffee tables - yes just 2! and everyone shares in an ad-hoc, comfy fashion.

I love everything about the way this place is decked out - a big timber counter displaying the days goodies (today its heart shaped carrot cakes, salads, quiche and soup - made by Merce herself in the kitchen upstairs), the cream SMEG, the little diamond shaped blue and earthy coloured tiles on the floor. You sit where you can and you do what you like. Today, I brought along my knitting project and have managed to get a spot on the cushioned bench next to the brilliant blue feature wall.

The coffee here is good - I would probably say a close second to the coffee at Le Bal (my fav so far). However, it does win in size - the place to come if you feel like a quality, TALL , steaming latte.

A big jug of water sits on the counter next to recycled glass lavendar filled bottles. Its the little personal touches that give this space a warm vibe. Grandpa fedoras hang from the edges of the shelves in the kitchen whilst a blend of instrumental beats seem to humm along to the chit chatter.

A sweet spot where I can time travel for a couple of hours back to Nan's.... and I'm sure Pa Fred had that exact fedora.

Merce and the Muse

1 bis Rue Dupuis

75003 Paris