How to feel guilty about eating a salad in Paris

I'm sure when I told my parents we were going to "this great salad place" that they conjured up images of a light, frugal meal to offset the jars of foie gras and wedges of cheese I'd been forcing into their craws since their arrival. After marching them up and down the hills of Montmartre for a couple of hours, they were famished, and may have possibly questioned this day to be the day I decided to feed them a well-balanced meal. Little did they know I was taking them to--the salad place.

 Le Relais Gascon looks like any normal brasserie on the street. It advertises service continu and, on a small, barely noticeable chalkboard salades geants. While many French restaurants elaborate a bit when using 'giant' in a description, these salads are served in viking helmet-sized clay bowls, and are overflowing with tasty delights.

The varieties are, well, various--ranging from french country ham & fried egg, to foie gras & smoked duck breast. I quite enjoy the chicken, gruyere, and hard boiled egg variety. And then of course, there's goat cheese & bacon. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. It is doused in french vinaigrette--a recipe all restauranteurs seem to have, and yet none of them will give it to me. Believe me. I've asked. And then in true french, gluttonous style, they top it all off with a dump truck load of crispy friend garlic potatos. Somebody call my cardiologist.

On this particular day, we were three people, and despite the Montmartre-induced aerobic workout, we failed in finishing the two salades geants we had ordered. The service is always speedy-gonzalez quick, as all they really have to do is throw a bunch of highly-caloric ingredients in a bowl, and the terrasse is quite pleasant in spring/summer. So if you are hiking up and down the stairs in Montmartre, and can therefore justify the calories--don't miss out on Le Relais Gascon. Seriously. It's the only place I've ever taken my mother that she's requested, more than once, to go back to.

Le Relais Gascon
13, rue Joseph de Maistre 75018