It was minus 4-degrees this morning in Paris. Tempting as it was to stay huddled together inside Aleau, we decided to go for a brisk walk – and a hot breakfast. We didn’t have far to go. Just about every restaurant we have been to in Paris has been a short walk from Aleau. We have taken the Métro twice – mainly because of the weather. If we had been braver on those occasions, we could have walked. This morning’s restaurant was so close, if we took the Métro we’d have to get on and off at the same stop.
Our destination – our first time there – was Café de l’Industrie.
It is what is known as a “Bouillon.”
Bouillon is French for broth – which back in 1854 when the first Bouillon appeared was the primary ingredient. Apparently, the English word for bouillon is brothel. Maybe I’ll just stick to the French word. I’ll put a bit more about bouillons at the bottom of this page. But for now, breakfast at Café de l’Industrie.
The interior is quite large – and quite charming. Once again, we were the first to arrive. It seems Parisiens (and Parisiennes) not only like to eat dinner late, they also prefer to sleep in and have breakfast late. At least on the weekend.
Breakfast was far more than the traditional French breakfast of coffee and a croissant.
It began with a croissant, tea, and freshly-squeezed orange juice for Jeannie – and pain-au-chocolat, hot chocolate, and orange juice for me.
Next came eggs, bacon, and sausage. Way more North American than French. Although considerably smaller than the “Full English Breakfast” we have experienced (and never fully finished).
We weren’t really the first ones there. There were two other guests – originally seated at their own table.
When they saw we had already been served, they weren’t shy about joining us. (They didn’t even ask.)
They eyed my pain-au-chocolat – but weren’t really interested. It was Jeannie’s bacon and sausage they kept trying to sneak off her plate. She had to keep one hand up as a barricade while she ate with the other. But she couldn’t resist putting a piece of meat on the window sill – if only to keep them off her plate.
I think she wanted to take the younger one back to Aleau with us.
More on bouillons (or in English, brothels). Taken from Wikipedia:
The original concept was to serve good quality food quickly and at affordable prices, for less than 2 francs .
The first broths appeared in 1854 in Paris thanks to a clever butcher, Adolphe-Baptiste Duval (1811-1870) [ 1 ] , who was at the origin of the Bouillon-Duval company, developed by his son Alexandre , a company which was listed on the stock exchange. Father Duval offered a single meat dish and broth to the workers at Les Halles . In 1900, you could find nearly two hundred and fifty Duval broths in Paris. They became the first popular restaurant chain . [ 2 ] Faced with this success, competing brothels appeared offering a reading room or entertainment.