From a French pal (the email arrived too late for me to take advantage of it, but I offer it as a service to NRO readers anyway):
“John—Glad that you liked Paris, enjoying both unusually mild weather, and the least crowded (ie nicest) week in the year.
“If this email catches you before you leave, here is an address you should try : the Café de l’Homme. It is the restaurant/cafe of the Musee de l’Homme, on the Place du Trocadero (subway station of the same name, just in front of the Eiffel tower, on the other bank of the Seine). When on the square, the musee de l’homme is the big building on your right hand when looking at the Eiffel tower. Just enter and go straight ahead.
“The Café has a terrace overlooking the Trocadero gardens, very calm as the building shields you from the sound of cars, and with probably the best view on the Seine and the tower you can get. It is usually not crowded, and you can have a drink or eat there, the food is correct (not great but fine), and not too expensive, by Paris standards. If you have to visit one café in Paris, this is certainly the one.”
Thanks, Francois. Sorry not to have made it.
A restaurant for a restaurant: We are staying in East Dulwich (which is a district of south London). I’d promised the kids some real English fish & chips, and we found just the thing at The Sea Cow on Lordship Lane here in East Dulwich. Excellent f&c, served at rough wooden tables if you want to eat on the premises, made with a wide choice of fresh fish (we had cod, of course), and a good selection of wines & beers. The whole place — it seats about 30 — very lively & buzzing, like a pub. Good big American-size portions. If you’re in south London & want to try the fish & chips experience — original taste in only mildly yuppified surroundings — check out the Sea Cow.