Une Noisette

Mr. Oil recently taught me how to order my coffee like a real Parisian. You walk into a cafe, up to the bar, and say, "Une noisette, s'il vous plait."  A minute later, the server places an espresso in front of you, with just a drop of milk - noisette is a nut (hazelnut, I believe), and the idea is that the amount of milk is the size of a nut.  You drink your coffee standing there at the bar - it takes about 2 minutes, since it's tiny - you pay, and you are on your way. Back to work, or the park, or wherever the day takes you. 

I'm quickly becoming addicted to the noisette experience.  It's just a brief time-out from your day - I can pop in with Baby Oil on our way home from running errands, or Mr. Oil and I stopped for a noisette on our way to the metro the other morning. Unlike the American experience of getting a mid-day coffee, which you then bring back to your desk, this requires you to spend at least a few minutes in the cafe.  Drinking out of a real cup.  In Paris. 

Une noisette!

This week, Mr. Oil and I got our first taste of Paris' Little Tokyo.  Rue Sainte Anne, in the 2eme,  consists of Japanese restaurant after Japanese restaurant.  Mostly sushi with a few noodle places thrown in.  We arrived at the un-chic hour of 8:15 so it was easy to get a table at Koetsu. Unlike Wada, our last upscale sushi experience, Koetsu was pleasantly busy and felt much less pretentious.  The sushi was excellent, but really the best part of the night was walking up and down the street, looking at all the great places we'd like to try and feeling quite satisfied with our Little Tokyo experience.

I know, yum.