Undiscovered Paris

Cafe Marco Polo

Moulins et frites at Leons

Haynes Bar

I recently went to Paris with my mother. It was my fourth time there, and along with my mother, it is one of my favorite cities. Unfortunately, during this last trip, we found out that our favorite restaurant, Haynes Bar, had closed down. Haynes Bar was a Paris institution, established over 50 years ago. My mother has gone to Haynes every time she has visited Paris over the last 15 years.

When we visit Paris we stay up the hill from Place de Clichy. We always stay at the Ibis Montmartre and enjoy walking to Sacré-Cœur Basilica. We also walk around the corner to visit with our friend Mike Sylla at his galerie and showroom on rue Lemercier. Mike is an artist and designer, originally from Senegal. We love to go by his shop and check out his latest designs while we munch on roasted peanuts and sip mint tea. His store, Biafall Dream and The Human Tribe, is a must on your to do list when you are in Paris. And if you are lucky enough to catch him on a day when he is serving dinner, you will be blown away!

One of our dearest friends, Uncle Benny, was the barman at Haynes for years. Benny Luke appeared in movies such as La Cage aux folles and La Cage aux folles II and the TV show Twilight Theater. After serving as barman and manager of Haynes, he left to start his own restaurant, Bojangles. Benny is originally from Los Angeles and has lived in Paris for over 40 years.

I have a few favorite restaurants in Paris. On our first day, since we are so tired, we usually jump on the metro line13 - Chatillon-Montrouge and head down to Saint Lazare; sometimes we get lucky and the 95 bus is passing by and we take it down to Saint Lazare. We love the French Onion soup at Café Marco Polo, a brasserie on Avenue du Trône. They also have the best blue cheese, walnut, tomatoes, egg salad you have ever tasted.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica

We also like to head up to Jules Joffrin, which is on the other side of Montmartre, and delight in African food from Côte d'Ivoire. Our favorite dish is the fried fish covered in tomatoes and onions, with a side of rice and plantain.