We tried to call Septime, the hot new bistro on rue de Charonne, for a reservation but there was no answer. So, we decided to wander that way and see if we could do better in person and find a lunch spot on the way. Walking down rue de Charonne from the Fauborg St. Antoine, we noticed a lot of hip new stores, including a gorgeous handbag boutique that strongly beckons. But, focused on food, we kept walking, crossing Avenue Ledru-Rollin, until we saw a chic looking dining room on our right. Only small printed signs on the window announced that this was, indeed, Septime. The friendly staff laughed kindly when we asked for a dinner reservation within a week -- but we did snag a lunch reservation for next Tuesday.
On our way back to rue des Tournelles to meet the man who is going to fix our badly warped parquet floor, we saw a small inviting Vietnamese resto called Paris - Hanoi, just a block or so from Septime at 74 rue de Charonne. Maybe holding 20 people (if we all hold our breath), it was nearly full of people happily chowing down on tasty looking food. Knowing we're going to dinner tonite at a friend's for traditional French home cooking, Vietnamese sounded good and we were able to squeeze in. Cheryl had a grilled chicken satay and rice dish, while I had bo bun, tender beef over vermicelli and greens. The woman next to us had a great looking bowl of pho. The food rivaled some of our favorite Vietnamese restaurants in San Francisco, and was relatively inexpensive (20 Euros for the two of us), particularly given the huge portions. We could have easily split one noodle dish or pho and a spring roll. It's not a leisurely lunch - the waiters and cooks moved at top speed non-stop, and people in line outside quickly filled up every space as soon as someone left. But Paris-Hanoi is definitely a keeper on our Paris list.
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