Le Trumilou

Le Trumilou David, 2015-07-21 16:24 I was walking down the Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville on a recent warm summer night and passed by the outdoor tables of Le Trumilou. I like eating outside on a terrace in Paris but when they implemented the non fumeur law in France for restaurants cafés, the smokers went outside. It was kind of vexing because it was so nice that everyone could go outside and enjoy the fresh air. But now the air was so smoky that if you don’t want to smell that while you are eating, you have to go inside. I think it’s time for separate areas, or to limit people to two cigarettes per meal, like the airlines do with drinks? A restaurant I worked at in California back in the day had a smoking section and even the waiters who smoked didn’t want to wait on those tables because people smoked so heavily. If people want to smoke, that’s fine with me. But as someone who spent most of his life cooking in restaurants, surrounded by very good cooks, I can’t recall any of the good ones smoking. The worst thing to me is to walk by a restaurant and see the cooks standing outside, puffing on cigarettes. How can they taste the food? (I worked for a chef that wouldn’t even let us drink soda, for that reason.) A good friend who works for a French agricultural associate said that the situation will definitely change, in spite of the fact that more people – notably women and teenagers – are smoking in France than before. My apartment is surrounded by two offices and I can’t open the windows during the day, which is a shame when the weather is so accommodating. That doesn’t have a lot to do with Le Trumilou, except I didn’t notice a lot of people smoking on the terrace, which faced a busy street next to the Seine. And it seemed like it’d be a good place to spend a summer evening, as I was dying for some fresh air, eating authentic, old-fashioned French cuisine, without a lot of frills or fuss. Like smoking, the French have a reputation for not working hard, which actually isn’t true, especially if you go to a bistro like Le Trumilou. The staff is well-dressed, in starched aprons and tight bow ties, and always do a good job racing around and serving the customers, whether they are locals or tourists. One waiter was even asked by a passing group of tourists to take their picture in front of the awning for the restaurant, and he happily obliged. Continue Reading Le Trumilou...