The other day, James and I were ambling around in our neighborhood, St. Germain des Prés. We were almost home, around the corner from our apartment in fact, when we passed by a small lunch spot with a red awning that read L’Assignat across the front. There was something about the place, looking through the window we could see that it was full of people, full of life, and the food looked good. We resolved to come back the next day for lunch.
The next day, the place was full yet again, and we were lucky to find a place near the back. A little dog lay on the floor near us, right on the floor of the restaurant. We sat down, and a beautiful young waitress, probably 25, came to take our order. We ordered in our broken French, and she was very helpful, providing us full English translations of the menu as best she could.
For 10 euro, we were given two large rumsteaks with a kind of zucchini salad. It was incredible. It would have been 30 euro anywhere else. We noticed as we ate that nearly everyone who came in called back to the kitchen “Merci Gerard!” After inquiring to the waitress about Gerard, we learned that he is the owner, the sole chef, and the bartender. He was also her uncle.
Since that first meal, we’ve been back nearly twice a week. We’ve become close with the waitresses, and with Gerard. The last time we were there, which was just a few days ago when a friend was visiting from Barcelona, Gerard gave us a free bottle of wine.
L’Assignat is the place that I was dreaming of when I dreamed of being in Paris. It’s unpretentious but delicious. It’s local, almost no tourists beside ourselves (you’ll find on yelp that it only has 10 reviews). And, they treat us exceptionally kindly, which is rare for a group of young American boys in Paris.