French Hen and Chez Arnaud offer Parisian charms

Check out more photos of Chez Arnaud...

Benjamin Carter Grimes

Macaroons at Chez Arnaud

Location Info

Map

Chez Arnaud

1085 Grand Ave.
Saint Paul, MN 55105

Category: Restaurant > Bakery

Region: Macalester/Groveland

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Details

French Hen
518 Selby Ave., St. Paul
651.222.6201; frenchhencafe.com
menu items $5-$13

Chez Arnaud
menu items $3-$11

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More About

• Paris (France)
• Chez Arnaud
• Cole Porter
• Food and Cooking
• Eating Out

It was Click|keyword[Cole+Porter]" >Cole Porter who many years ago, via the lyrics of the musical Can-Can, proclaimed his love of Paris in the springtime, and it's still the season everyone says is best for a visit to the City of Light. It may sound purely poetic, but the reasoning behind this advice is a little more practical: Spring is the pre-tourist season. Thus the city is less crowded, it's not so swelteringly hot, and prices have not yet mysteriously jumped on everything from baguettes to boat tours. Somehow I've only ever managed to be in Paris in the dead of winter, and although it can be a bit drab and the streets tend to be emptier, the city still maintains its ineffable magic. Besides, nothing has ever tasted better after a chilly day of walking around the Marais district or taking it all in at the Click|keyword[Musee+d'Orsay]" >Musée d'Orsay than a simple brasserie meal of duck confit or blanquette de veau. Mmm ... maybe a paper cone of hot pomme frites — that actually might beat the duck. Now I've spiraled into a daydream, but regardless of the season, when lunchtime in Paris draws nigh, you'll know it. Suddenly every other impossibly chic person you see on the street is walking around with a ham sandwich. There's not much to them — usually just a buttered baguette, a few thin slices of ham, and sometimes a lacy piece of Swiss cheese — but the high-quality ingredients and simple salty flavor make the jamon-buerre sandwich the number-one midday meal in France, with over 2.2 million sold every day.

Accordion music and the pale, romantic coloring of Paris don't generally spring to mind when you think of St. Paul, Minnesota, but that's slowly changing with the addition of two new francophone eateries. Both are small in stature but big on je ne sais quoi, and as we enter the true depths of winter we could all use a little of that, non?

The first of these cafes is French Hen, smack in the center of the Selby-Dale area and connected to a go