dépenser : to spend (money)
The first time I studied abroad in Paris, I took a two-week intensive French course (it was obligatoire) and amid running wild around the city searching for landmarks and preparing exposés, I picked up some handy and memoriable Parisian sayings.
One of my favorites among these is “La rive gauche est pour étudier, la rive droite, pour dépenser“. (The left bank is for studying; the right bank, for spending). I personally have always been more attracted to the boutiques and crafts-houses than the grand boulevards and department stores, so I do most of my (limited) shopping in the 11e or 4e or even on the left bank- malgré the aforementioned adage. But randomly, when I decided to flâner north of Les Halles the other day, I finally found a right-bank reason to happily dole out a fat wad of euros or fling around my carte bleu.
It all started when ma mère who is visiting from the Etats-Unis asked if I wanted to visit the cooking store that Julia Child used to frequent. It was deux pas from my favorite yarn store (La Droguerie, behind Eglise St. Eustache), so I obligingly agreed to seek out what I assumed would be nothing more than a tourist trap (given the recent release of Julie & Julia in Paris).
But E. Dehillerin was anything but. Rempli with beautiful casseroles, moules, (and I won’t even begin to discuss my joy at seeing an entire section dedicated to fouets) – this was cooking heaven. 
Except I don’t own my apartment and have no clue where I’ll be moving to next, so it was actually rather depressing to dream of all the amazing plats I might make if I had a cuisine stocked by E. Delhillerin (and the temps to do so, of course). However, I could see why Julia would’ve liked this store, with it’s homey, straight-forward, and almost hardware store-like atmosphere. Plus, I really liked that normal people like me were shopping right alongside the pros (you could buy a deli-meat slicer in the same aisle as the whisks!)
Cependant E. Delhillerin alone (glorious as it was), couldn’t cement the neighborhood north of Les Halles (despite LH’s history as the former central market) as a cooking mecca in my esprit. It was the happy discovery of quatre other equally delightful shops in the same quartier that made me so darn excited. Right on or near Rue Montmartre, (nearest metro : Etienne Marcel), I stumbled into La Bovida, Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie, Mora, & G. Detou.
They could all have their own equally interesting posts, so here’s the quick breakdown for the impassioned foodie:
- La Bovida, on the corner of Rue Montmartre (no. 36), is extremely clean, modern, and easy to navigate. Helpful
shopkeepers, and three different floors- everything from dried épices to wedding cake decorations and every metal and glass piece of cookware imaginable to man. They also had a book (with explicit pictures) of cooking techniques- the easiest to follow that I’ve ever seen. 
Le Comptoir de la Gastronomie (34 rue Montmartre) is also a restaurant, but this warm and stocked little shop had everything from unusual wines to a massive leg of Iberian ham- think le luxe. I personally sprung for a vin jaune from the Jura region (Franche-Compté) – definitely would’ve been a great compliment (or ingredient) in a cheese fondue or soup.
Mora (13 Rue Montmartre) reminded me the most of a high-end cooking store back in the States. A beautiful, modern wood storefront and easy-to-navigate layout. I almost bought an egg-poaching contraption (I have yet to maîtriser the art of an attractive poached egg that stays together in boiling water…much like Julie in Julie & Julia) but I thought better of it and headed to the extensive baking section where I paged through a bouquin called “L’amour des macarons” (Love of macaroons- note: these are Parisian macaroons, not the [also delicious] coconut blobs we make in the states).
G. Detou (58 rue Tiquetonne) is the furthest from the other stores and has the most “boutique” feel. It’s name is meant to sound like “J’ai de tout”, (literally, “I have it all”), so there were some pretty big expectations to meet. I’m not really sure such a small store could really have EVERYTHING, but considering they specialized more in foodstuffs than cooking supplies, they really did have an impressive selection. I noticed primarily an extensive chocolate section, dried cranberries (which I haven’t really seen in the grocery store), and a large variety of unique or rare baking products.
So there you have my 2nd arrondissement pantry & kitchen stocking roundup!
And for those of you feeling a bit déprimé after wandering around these gorgeous stores (who doesn’t want to buy a 12-piece spatula set and a meter-diameter paella pan for their home kitchen?)- je te conseille to check out the nearby Rue Montorgueil, a historic pedestrian and food district where you can buy everything from a delicious roast chicken (my pick) to the “best chocolate filled éclairs in Paris” (according to Figaroscope).
—vocabulaire—
obligatoire > mandatory, required
exposés > oral presentations
malgré > despite
adage > saying
flâner > to wander, stroll
carte bleu > French bank card
ma mère > my mother
Etats-Unis > United States
deux pas > two steps
Rempli > filled
casseroles > pots
moules > molds (for tarts, etc.)
fouets > whisks
plats > dishes (in the sense of a prepared dish of food, not glass or ceramic serving dishes)
cuisine > kitchen
temps > time
Cependant > However
esprit > mind
quatre > four
quartier > neighborhood
épices > spices
le luxe > luxury
vin jaune > yellow wine
maîtriser > to mastered
bouquin > book (slang)
déprimé > depressed
je te conseille > I would advise/recommend you
la vie franglophone 