Finally a good restaurant

The goal today was to get haircuts and go shopping. Zach and John have both had their hair cut already and both look pretty good. Asia needs a trim. I was thinking of getting something new. Every now and then, I like to go to a good salon and ask them what they think I should do with my hair. The hairdresser inevitably asks me about my lifestyle. After finding out that I'm a work-at-home mom who spends very little time on my hair and gets haircuts once every 6 months, I usually end up with a bob that if I really wanted to, I can curl under or out. I can't seem to get away from this haircut. So I thought, maybe I can go to some French hairdresser and not tell her about my occupation or lifestyle and see what happens. Of course, the risk is the language barrier. I could be trying to say, keep it chin-length, and they might think cut it as short as possible. I called one place nearby and made an appointment for 5:30 PM (I think) with dismay after hearing that no one there spoke French. They didn't even take my name down so I didn't feel too guilty about not showing up. I read some reviews from ex-Pats about a place that would take me some time on the Metro to get to, but both hairdressers speak English. I just didn't think it's worth the trip. I also found a place called Alternative that's in the area that I planned to go shopping in, so instead of calling, I decided to walk by it and see what clientele they had - like to make sure some lady doesn't come crying out of the shop or someone with a really bad hairstyle or find that only men get their hair cut there. The name worried me a bit too - Alternative. Would this be a place you go for a mohawk? Anyway, when Asia and I walked by during our shopping excursion, the place wasn't even there. It was a more expensive hairstyling salon. This is not the first time that a restaurant or store that I've wanted to go to has been renamed to a different restaurant or store. I wonder if it's just a change of management and still the same chef.
The good thing about the day is that John and Zach had gone out earlier to do some shopping for school clothes for Zach and we ended up meeting up unplanned. Asia and I were taking a break eating a late lunch at a restaurant when I looked out the window and saw John and Zach waiting to cross the street. So they joined us and we did some more shopping. It's a little daunting when you're not exactly sure what a sale sign says. Is that buy the first one and then get the second one for 1 Euro or is it that the second is 1 Euro off or what? Does the red smiley face card mean something different from the blue smiley face card on the sales item? Anyway, live and learn.
We also hit the jackpot on a really great restaurant. A lot of the places we've eaten so far have been fine, at least one good dish, but nothing really exciting. This time, we ran into a place called L'Ebauchoir on Rue de Cietaux. We first went to this one restaurant that looked really neat inside because it had all these different kinds of sofa's, but they only served sandwiches. Asia and I am not a fan of sandwiches for dinner, so we turned the corner and saw this other restaurant. It was 7 PM and the restaurant opened at 7:30, so I made a reservation and then we hung around the outside of the restaurant. John walked off to grab a snack and drink since he was starving. The kids recorded a video for another of their Harry, Buzzard and Goober shows. Their imaginary radio characters have been to the Pantheon, the cemetary, and the apartment. Now the rue Faubourg area. I haven't put the videos on Youtube or anything yet because they're pretty long but quite funny.
So the bill for L'Ebauchoir was quite expensive, but what you would expect for the service and quality of food. This is the first restaurant that refilled our water carafes without us asking. The waiter spoke great English and was very nice. He explained the menu for us since we couldn't figure out most of the menu. One pork dish that we ordered - when I looked it up, the definition was something like filthy pig. One of the tricks of the restaurant is that they give you a bottle of wine, if you want wine, and you pay for how much you drink. So of course, we drank the whole 21 dollar bottle - a 2005 Massereau Bordeaux. So here's an idea on the bill in euro's:
1 Tartare - a white fish - excellent - 11.00
1 Oeufs Poches - poached egg in mushroom sauce - also really good - 9.00
2 rascasse (rascasse a la plancha, legumes a l'huile d'olive de Provence citronee)- this was a white fish entree. John told the waiter that we haven't had any good fish yet and the waiter recommended that we try this dish. It was so good and I didn't even try it at first since John and the kids devoured it, so we ordered another one. The dish was 19 euro's each.
1 puree truffe (puree de pomme de terre aux brisures de truffe) - this was a potato puree with some truffles in it. delicious. Asia and I really liked it. 6.00
1 cote de cochon fermier cuite a basse temperature, peche rotie et miel de l'Ardeche (if I wrote it down right) - this was the pork boneless ribs with a roasted peach and side of mashed potatoes. the gravy was sweet brown and we ate it all and wanted more. 19.00
1 gauteau riz - I think the restaurant must be famous for this. It was called something like grandmother's recipe rice pudding and there was a replica of the dish on the wall as part of the decor. You get this 11 inch rectangular baking dish full of rice pudding that was caramelized and tasted somewhat like flan. We couldn't finish it and weren't even sure if we were supposed to eat the whole thing. I was thinking it was another one of those pay for how much you eat, but John said that'd be unsanitary. The whole dessert was only 6.50. It could have fed 6.
1 millefeuilles - this is a dish that the kids ate up. it had these small thin wafer cookies with caramel ice cream in them and caramel whipped cream.

So the total bill? A whopping 117 euro's which includes tax and tip. But it was all worth it.