We got into Paris from Saint-Etienne last Saturday around 1 p.m., checked into our hotel to freshen up, then took off on a little walk along the Seine River. We found that we were probably more hungry than eager to sight see, so we found a little street that had a number of small restaurants up and down the way.
Many of the restaurants were packed (Parisians - actually all Europeans - have a tendency to eat later than Americans), 
but we did find one little place that was able to handle our party of 10 - Aux Anysetiers du Roy on Rue St. Louis en I'lle in Paris' 4th arrondissement (district). It's actually on the island of St. Louis in the Seine, just west of the Notre-Dame Cathedral. See map here.
Aux Anysetiers du Roy is a tiny place. It probably seats no more than 22 to 25 people. In doing some research on the place, it turns out that the restaurant was one of the more "hip" places to hang out and have dinner in the 60's and 70's with celebrities. Salvador Dali, Bridgette Bardot, Jerry Lewis and other celebs would grace the doors of Aux Anysetiers du Roy, primarily for their famous chocolate fondue.
In fact, Aux Anysetiers du Roy has a number of crocks of chocolate and herbs that are sold all over the world.
They sat us along the wall at Aux Anysetiers du Roy which afforded us a look into their very small kitchen. It was just one chef, a woman, and one waiter working in the place. The chef had no sous chef in the kitchen, it was just her.
The restaurant's specialty is grilled meat. One of our guys went with the grilled veal and he said it was just outstanding. I'd never had grilled veal before and he said it was moist and flavorful.
I opted for the chef's special of the day - Beef Bourgogne (Beef Burgundy) - which is basically a beef stew that uses cubed pieces of beef in a rich wine based gravy with some vegetables. I almost opted for the steak au poivre (sirloin steak in a black pepper infused sauce - the base of which they sell, as well), but I figured that after a week of eating rich foods I needed some comfort food - French style.
We got a bottle of the 2002 Chateau Cartier Saint Emilion Grand Cru from the Bordeaux region after we ordered lunch. Now, I don't know French wines at all, but even for a wine that probably needed a couple more years to go before we opened the bottle, it was outstanding with our lunch.
The food was just outstanding. This a picture of my plate after I'd eaten a couple of the pieces of beef. Man, it was great. The sauce had a robust taste of a good red wine, the potatoes were fried beforehand in a little olive oil. There were mushrooms and carrots added. It very much reminded me of my beef stew recipe.
We didn't do any of their chocolate fondue, although had I known the historical significance and how famous the place was for their chocolate fondue, I may have tried something. But I ate so much friggin' chocolate on this trip. I probably had more chocolate in a week than I've had in the past year. I just don't eat that much chocolate.
Our lunch gave us enough fuel to get us around on our little walkabout Paris. It was the ultimate in comfort food. It was definitely a "spot hitter".
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