Blogger Meet Up - Paris 66

Last night, SP & I attended a Food Blogger Meet Up. This one was at Paris 66, a place at which we've dined several times since it opened. The Meet Up was scheduled for 8 pm, which was great for us because SP had plenty of time to come home and get me and then head out again. Plus, we eat late anyway!There were a lot of food bloggers at this meet up! It was nice to see bloggers we've met before (Luke, Lauren, and Mike) plus meet new people whose blogs I've been reading. It's always nice to have a face to connect with the blog! Here's who we got to meet, starting at one end of the table and going around:

Luke - the Paris 66 event organizer
Mike (Foodburgh and food blogger meet up group founder)
Erin + guest (Community Cucina)
Clara (Food Collage)
Roddy (Rodzilla Reviews)
Janelle (VegOut Pittsburgh)
Laurie (founder of Tuesdays With Dorie and French Fridays With Dorie plus she has her own blog Slush)
Em + guest (Forked!)
Lauren (Burghilicious)

I know I always say this, but Pittsburgh bloggers are a friendly bunch! It's always great to spend time with people who share a passion: food.

Luke organized this meet up. He used to work at Paris 66 and knows the owners well. Lori & Frederic Rongier came out to say hello and talk to us.

Unfortunately, the Paris 66 site seems to be unable to fully load for me, so I'm not going to be able to provide detailed information since I just can't remember everything!

Paris 66 recently introduced a new menu. My thoughts were that they are maybe moving a bit away from crepes - there were only 3 savory crepe options instead of what I remember being maybe about 8 savory crepe options. There now are several entree options instead of just daily dinner entree specials. I can't remember all of the entree options, but I remember there were tuna, duck, chicken, steak, and scallops entrees. There also seems to be more appetizer options than I remember on the old menu. And there now are three moule-frites options on the menu

SP & I ordered an appetizer of scallops au gratin, which is pictured in the two above photos. It was quite tasty - but as I said to SP, how can something creamy and cheesy be bad? I suppose it could be too floury or too cheesy (rubbery) or bland tasting. These scallops were yummy. I think I tasted some thyme in them, but I could be wrong. I'm not always good at identifying ingredients! I ordered Quiche Lorraine for my entree.I thought at first it was burnt because of how brown the top was and felt kind of sad. But it wasn't - it tasted just fine. Bacon, cheese, egg, and a nice thick crust, which I really like because I love quiche crust.It comes with a side salad. The salad seems to have changed a bit. I don't recall the salad having chopped pepper and I think the dressing used to be simply a vinaigrette while this dressing was a creamy vinaigrette.

SP decided to try one of the 'new' entrees: the duck.I don't remember the description, but it came with potatoes and a small salad. He ate everything and said it was really good.Of course we ordered dessert! I can never resist a dessert crepe and I ordered the one with nutella, but asked for no banana since I don't like bananas for dessert.It looked a little different that I remembered, more whipped cream maybe, and maybe folded differently, but it was tasty.

I have no idea what SP ordered. It was a dessert special of the day, a wild berry something:I tried a bite and it was good, nice berry flavor, but it just isn't really my kind of dessert. Not when there are goodies like chocolate mousse, crepes, and apple tart on the menu!

I didn't take photos of the food other people ordered, but some dishes ended up being passed around for sharing. I remember trying a bite of an endive salad with cheese and ham. There was a berry muffin like cake that appeared. Some salmon carpaccio was passed around. A cheese plate made the a trip around the table. Since I only had a small bite of some of these dishes, I can't really say much other than nothing tasted awful!

Paris 66 now serves alcohol. So they are no longer BYOB. There is a wine list and a cocktail list. I think Em & her guest ordered martinis. A few of the carafes of house red & white were ordered for everyone to share. I had a taste of the red. I am always nervous about house wines but this one was quite good.

For me, the food was secondary to the chance to meet fellow bloggers and to talk with them not just about our food experiences but other topics as well. It was a lovely evening of 13 people sharing food and wine and good conversation.