Jessica's Dinner Party

by jessica yoon

restaurant

Le Pré Verre

Although I’ll be in Paris for about a year, I decided to pack light, or rather, as light as possible.  This is extremely difficult for someone who is a sentimental pack rat who likes to keep everything from useless trinkets won at state fairs to report cards from the sixth grade.  I did my best to cut back and consolidate, but ended up having to ship an extra bag and carry on a mini suitcase that was 15 pounds overweight.  It sounds like a lot of stuff, but once I got here I realized that I really did cut back on a lot (including an unconscious decision to leave out pajamas).

I wanted to bring a lot of books on Paris but narrowed it down to three: Clotilde’s Edible Adventures in Paris by Chocolate & Zucchini blogger Clotilde Dusoulier, Hungry for Paris by Alexander Lobrano, and Zagat: Paris Restaurants. Yea, they’re all about food.  I’ve been ferociously highlighting and jotting down addresses of places that sound good.  My list is probably already long enough to take a year to get through!

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Bread & Roses

I haven’t cooked in my “new” kitchen yet.  There have been plenty of other foodie distractions and interests that have kept me away from the apartment.  I’m actually hoping that I can keep on eating out so that I don’t have to face the kitchen. It was so utterly disappointing to walk into my new life as a to-be pastry chef only to find that the “kitchen” was actually the laundry room with two hot plates and a microwave almost as old as I am.  I just had to laugh because it felt like one of those moments when a kid gives you a hunk of mud and calls it food.  I’m being negative.  At least it’s kind of adorable when a kid does that.  I’m just trying to ease my way into that part of the house.  It’s only been a week since I arrived, so I’m giving myself another seven days to get over the hot plates and try frying an egg.

In the meantime, I have many restaurants and cafes I can write about to show how I’ve been avoiding you-know-what.

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Conveyer Belt Sushi

A few years ago, conveyer belt sushi became very popular in Korea.  Instead of ordering, small tapas like plates of sushi are placed on a conveyer belt.  Each person grabs what they want to eat.  At the end of the meal, the plates are tallied and paid for.  These restaurants are common in Seoul located everywhere from business districts to trendy shopping districts.  My family and I had lunch at the one at Shinsegae Department Store.  The sushi isn’t spectacular, but good enough and reasonably priced.  We ate our hearts out and until our shirts were snug.

I’ve never been to a conveyer belt sushi restaurant outside of Korea.  Does anyone have a favorite place or one they frequent?

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