Emily In France Exclusive 🇫🇷 My 25 Bites to Try in Paris... Part 2: Lunch

What to eat in Paris, lunch edition.

Just over a week ago, a New York Times story began making the rounds of Paris foodie Instagram: a collection of the 25 essential dishes in Paris, curated by some of the best palates in the city. I read it with interest, bookmarking more than a couple for later visits, and then, Sara Lieberman, one of the journalists who contributed to the original (and the author, among other things, of the newsletter Overthinking It...) released her own list of the 25 essential dishes to try in Paris, as far as she and a handful of her nearest and dearest were concerned. I think you know where this is going.

While I had initially set my heart on rounding up my top 25 places in one big email, I realized it might be more palatable (and easier to digest) if I broke things into meals. Last week, I addressed breakfast, which, as I explained, is a far smaller affair in France than it is in the Anglo world. But lunch… lunch is another story.

As I explored on the podcast with historian Martin Bruegel, author of Food History: A Feast of the Senses in Europe, the French lunch break (pause déj) has a long history, and in the past, most schoolchildren – and even working parents – would return home for a two-hour, four-course repast. While these days, most kids eat in the school cafeteria (they still get two hours and four courses…) lunch remains a pretty Big Deal in France.

In Paris specifically, lunch for both locals and visitors will probably fall into one of three categories: the long lunches the French are famous for, particularly on Sundays, when lunch can easily stretch into the early evening hours (at which point, if you're lucky, you’ll be invited for yet another apéritif), a quicker prix fixe in a restaurant, or else the quick lunch of a salad or sandwich, the most famous of which is the Parisien, a combo of ham and butter on a baguette that manages to somehow transcend the simplicity of its parts.

I will undoubtedly devote another newsletter to the best prix fixe lunches in Paris (often the most affordable way, by the way, to visit Michelin-starred restaurants), but for the purposes of this particular missive, I’ve focused on lunches that are relatively quick, if not grab-and-go, as well as on spots that only serve between those holy hours of noon and two.

1. Croque Monsieur from Laurent Dubois

Laurent Dubois is one of my favorite cheesemongers, known for his pastry-inspired approach to such cheesy creations as Roquefort layered with quince paste or Ecume des Wimereux topped with maple-scented pecans. But on the top floor of the Printemps department store, the MOF fromager has taken a different approach entirely, concocting, with help from his culinary team, cooked dishes starring his expertly sourced and aged cheeses, to be enjoyed with views over the Opéra Garnier.

The menu evolves regularly, and the cheese-averse among you (…why are you reading this newsletter?) can rest assured that it boasts not just cheese-focused dishes but also meat-adjacent ones from Regain and pastries from Nina Metayer. And while I’ve eaten many lovely dishes there over the years, my go-to remains the "Incontournable" (Literally: Unmissable). AKA the croque monsieur.

Dubois' croque features 20-month-old Comté, ham from the Prince de Paris (who I visited while producing the pilot of Emily Eats Paris), and walnut mustard, all piled upon a special brioche-like bread baked specially for the restaurant by Boulangerie Leparq. While there are often other croques on the menu as well, this classic is undoubtedly my go-to, and no matter how the menu evolves, I can rest assured that it will always be on offer.

Laurent Dubois au Printemps du Goût (64 boulevard Haussmann, 9th)

2. Jambon-Beurre from Chez Aline