 Can I take your order? Le Train Bleu: Welcome to the Twilight Zone. I’m not sure why, though I suspect it’s my hobo lack of class, but every restaurant that I seem to like in Paris is located in some terribly drab building. Well, at least they aren’t in strip malls in Northern Virginia . . . which brings us to this week’s find—Le Train Bleu—aptly named, but horribly located, inside the Gare de Lyon. The Gare itself is less than impressive—you may have to maneuver between pickpockets and passed-out junkies to get through it—and the outside of the restaurant has tacky (shameful!) blue and red neon lights announcing itself as though it’s an all-you-can-eat midnight buffet on a cruise ship from Miami. But once you’re inside Le Train Bleu, you’ve stepped into a different world, a world of prestige and riches. You can pretend you are about to board the Titanic, or some other White Star Line ship that won’t be sinking. The restaurant décor is 100% belle époque. It’s thick in it. It’s the kind of stuff you came to Paris for. For my starter, I had chilled broccoli soup. How did they do this? It was creamed broccoli with a scoop of broccoli sorbet floating in the middle. Now that’s original. I have yet to be able to replicate this at home, but I could eat this stuff all day. For a main course, I had a very nice filet of salmon with potatoes. For dessert I ordered Baba au Rhum, which was served with an entire bottle of rum, so you can drink—I mean, pour over your dessert—as much as you wish. Yee-haw to that! Hobo delight. The food was superb and superbly served. The chairs were beautiful and comfortable. But what’s really special about this restaurant is the entire atmosphere. Pure Parisian. Bring your out-of-town guests here to impress them. It will be an evening they never forget. Getting grub here will set you back at least 50 euros a person. You can bring well-behaved kids here, but we left ours at home. I’d rather enjoy my bottle of rum without having to worry about what the kids are getting into.
| 
