…are the things that stick (hopefully!).
I had a reservation for lunch at Accents Table Bourse, one of my absolute faves, today. And it was the only reservation I could get this trip because they’re closed for the month of October. https://accents-restaurant.com/
So about 30 minutes before my reservation I requested a G7 taxi (they’re all over Paris, have great drivers/cars, have an app where you can enter your departure and arrival addresses, have GPS tracking, and have an automatic credit card payment mechanism if you have an account with them). Normally this is no problem, but I got a message that no cars were available on the regular service, would I like the slightly more expensive “Zen” service. Well, I needed to get there so OK. After their service searched for an available car for a few minutes, I got a “sorry, busy period, no cars available, please try again” message. So I waited a few minutes, but same result. So I jumped over to the Uber app. It found a car, but it would be a 14 minute wait. Oh, well, I ordered it and meanwhile I jumped back to the G7 app a couple times but still no cars. Then the Uber app said my car would arrive in 3 minutes, and after another 10 minutes that guy canceled the trip (and, to add insult to injury, charged me 7.2 euros!). Taxis were driving down rue François Miron, but the green “available” light was conspicuous in its absence! I had to give up on lunch at Accents. I emailed them; happily there was no charge for my no-show reservation, and they said they’d be happy to see me again when I’m back in town in January (I have been there several times!).
So, LESSON LEARNED! If you need a taxi at some particular time from some particular location to another, ORDER IT IN ADVANCE to secure a car. You can do it on the G7 app. Duh!
The good news is that I toddled over to Don Giovanni about 10 yards down the street and they had an empty table! Breadsticks were delivered, along with a plate of Parmesan shavings and sausage slices, when I ordered a tasty Kir vin blanc (Crème de Cassis with an Italian white wine – just on the sweet side, nicely balanced, a bit walnut-y).
My ravioli with Gorgonzola and finely-chopped walnuts was OK, warm and comforting, but I could barely taste the Gorgonzola in the filling (it was mixed with some starch – breadcrumbs? – and cream). And the sauce was too heavy. But that shaved Parm and sausage saved the day!
For dessert the “black” chocolate mousse with a baton of bittersweet chocolate was great (they also offer a white chocolate version – no thanks!).
Then a very fine espresso served with a side of grapes (that’s a first!). All in, 31 euros. Not bad. And one more lesson: don't depend completely on credit cards! Their WiFi was down, so the credit card reader didn't work. Happily, I had cash on me but yikes - it would have been a scramble to hit a cash machine if I didn't!
But it wasn't Accents Table Bourse. 😞
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