As beautiful as Paris can be, it is not rich in restaurants with grand views or open terraces. Le Zyriab, perched high in the sky on the 9^th floor of the architecturally modern Institut du Monde Arabe on the Left Bank, fills that bill. Even if you don’t intend to dine there (and you should) you can take the elevator up to the terrace floor just to admire the spectacular view: Notre Dame is almost in your face. The towers of Montmartre and the Bastille are there for your eyes to explore. The cuisine here is authentically Lebanese, and comes from the omnipresent house of Noura, which has several restaurants, cafes, catering shops and patisseries around the city. (See www.noura.com for details.) The dining room, which seats 90 guests indoors, is bright, spacious and comfortable, and each table offers diners a stunning view. Service is efficient and warm, and the food clean, clear, well-seasoned and memorable. All the favorites are there, from the refreshing parsley-rich tabbouli to a particularly spicy version of the chickpea puree, hommos Beyrouti. The thick, white drained laban cheese comes well-adorned with crisp cucumbers, and the falafel (deep fried balls of seasoned chick peas) arrives crisp, crusty, moist, and satisfying.

Do try the mixed grill, kebabs of moist, seasoned chicken breasts, lamb, as well as a particularly assertive version prepared with ground lamb.. I could easily make a meal of the yeasted flatbreads --- including manakiche, a pizza-like pleaser topped with zaatar, or a local blend of thyme leaves, sesame seeds, sumac,  and the lamb-stuffed arayes, a dish that with a touch of leban could become a major snack of its own. There’s a good list of Lebanese wines, and we loved the  white  Chateau Kefraya from Lebanon Bekaa Valley, a complex blend of Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc,  Ugni Blanc, and Chardonnay. This is a great place to go with a group, so one can share in a multitude of flavors

LE ZYRIAB BY NOURA, INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE, 1 rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard,Paris 5, Tel: +33 1 55 42 55 42

Métro: Cardinale-Lemoine. Open: lunch only Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner Friday & Saturday. Closed Monday.

www.noura.com Lunch: 45€ menu. A la carte, 35 to 45€. Dinner: A la carte 35-55 € Reservations: Recommended

Designer Philippe Starck has finally given we flea market lovers a smart, trendy, easy place to lunch before or after wandering the stalls. I’ve been a regular visitor to the Clignacourt market since 1980, and have furnished many a room with treasures gleaned from long and leisurely Sunday strolls. His La Cocotte, right at the parking entrance of the Paul Bert market is conveniently located, and since its opening in October, 2012 has been a surefire hit, especially at lunch on weekends, when no reservations are taken. So go early, and walk off the lunch as you stroll the aisles. The food here is nothing more than “correct” but if you go with that in mind, you’re not likely to be disappointed. The huge open kitchen sports a giant rotisserie, with roasted chicken and beef often on the menu. Simple salads of beets, lamb’s lettuce, and soft-cooked egg arrive fresh and perky, while the first course of smoked salmon is divine. The bread is outrageously delicious, and the wine list – which includes some well-priced Burgundies from Olivier LeFlaive – make the experience all that much more digestible. The restaurant is comfortable and not an “in your face” Starck experience. There is plenty of space for outdoor dining, the all-white bathrooms are a must visit, and service was as the French would say, without a fault.

MA COCOTTE, 106 rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint Ouen, Tel: +33 1 49 51 70 00, Métro: Porte de Clignancourt

Open: Daily, 8 am-11 pm. No reservations taken at lunch on Saturday or Sunday. www.paulbert-serpette.com

Lunch and dinner: A la carte 28-40€.

Early in December,  having worked for illustrious cheese merchants Marie-Anne Cantin and Laurent Dubois, the young Claire Griffon set off on her own, opening a jewel of a shop just steps from the Rue Cler market in the 7th. Even from the warm grey and white store front you feel a sense of calmness, care, and honor for the treasures inside. Each cheese is displayed with respect and attention, many sheltered beneath glass domes, carefully labeled, with larger cheeses cut into convenient serving sizes. If she has it in the boutique, try the perfumed tomme de montagne aux fleurs sauvages, a Swiss mountain cow’s milk cheese, the rind coated with dried mountain herbs and flowers, which infuse the very special cheese with fragrance and flavor. Equally fine is the goat’s milk pavé de Pontlevoy a fresh, clean, lactic cheese from the Loire. The shop will be happy to put together a cheese plateau, either seasonal or an assortment of more unusual cheeses, such as the tomme de montagne and a fourme d’Ambert seasoned with raisins and Sauternes.

GRIFFON

23 bis avenue de la Motte Picquet

Paris 7

Tel : +33 1 45 50 14 85

Métro: Ecole Militaire

Open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-7 :30 pm. Closed Sunday & Monday.

Inexpensive, vest-pocket restaurants keep turning up in the most amazing places in Paris, and that’s great for all budget-conscious diners. Worth the detour is Katsuaki Okiyama’s latest venture, a tiny, “hole in the wall” steps from the Poissonière Metro in the 10^th arrondissement . Carefully decorated on a budget – simple but pleasant hanging lamps, exposed stone walls, an efficient open kitchen – Abri  indeed shelters us from some of the expensive, mundane fare one might find elsewhere. The Japanese chef, trained with Robuchon and at Taillevent and Agapé Substance – offers simple, carefully prepared food, no surprises but no real disappointments either. Fresh, seasonal fare prepared right in front of you. What more could one ask? The 22-euro lunch menu offers a daily choice of either fish or poultry/meat as the main course,  with a no-choice starter, soup, and dessert. A first-course carpaccio of daurade (sea bream)(photo) was a feathery light, protein-rich starter, showered with paper thin slices of  fennel and radish, alas a bit too salty for even my salt-loving palate. Next, an alabaster soup arrived, almost like an angel, a delicate parsnip soup with a heavenly jasmine mousse, almost more of a dessert, but instantly appealing.  Main courses might include carefully seared and roasted duck breast, meaty and full-flavored, adorned by a light port reduction, garnished with ratte potatoes; or delicate lieu jaune (pollack, in the cod family) in a yellow tomato sauce. The sure star of the meal was the chocolate tart, a delicate layer of pastry topped with a thick and soothing ganache, paired with a light chocolate sorbet. When a simple café or wine-bar meal can easily cost way more than 22 euros, Abri is definitely worth the Métro ride, unless you live in the 9th or 10th, then walk!

ABRI, 92 rue du Faubourg-Poissonière, Paris 10. Tel: +33 1 83 97 00 00. Metro:  Poissonnière, Cadet, or Gare du Nord. Closed Sunday. 22-euro four- course lunch menu. 38.50 euro six-course dinner menu.

It was one of those dark, dreary, damp Paris days when not even the sturdiest umbrella could keep you dry. So what a delight to walk into the pristine blue and white restaurant Atao near the Batignolles covered market in the 17th arrondissement. Dining in the  small, 28-seat restaurant is almost as good as a trip to the Brittany seashore (without an umbrella!) with an original selection of shellfish, including a must-have serving of plump langoustines wrapped in a "leaf" of tender blanched turnips, showered  with the bright, welcoming flavors of mint, basil, and chives and brushed with a touch of top-rate olive oil (photo). This is a dish I will surely copy at home: quick, easy, healthy, delicious. A beautiful serving of daurade (sea bream)  carpaccio was executed with elegance and flair, though even this citrus-loving gal found the seasoning  a bit on the tart side. The palourdes au saké were correct but no more than than, and the generous serving of lieu jaune (a version of cod) flavored with a  coating of the zest of the brightly flavored  Japanese citrus, yuzu, was a great idea, but the fish was a tad overcooked. Despite a few hiccups here,  I'll be back, hopefully on a sunny day to enjoy Aota's oysters and savor once again the incomparable mixed herb and green salad from  Annie Bertin, vegetable grower to the stars.

Atao, 86 rue Lemercier, Paris 17. Tel: +33 1 46 27 81 12. Métro: Brochant.  Closed Monday. About 35 euros per person.

Bretons seems to be storming Paris these days, and that's a good thing. The newest member of the Breton family is the Galette Café, a small, bright, casual creperie on rue de l'Université in the 7th arrondissment. The organic buckwheat galettes are downright  delicious, almost cracking on the edges, infused  with butter that all but seeps from the  pores of these lacy treats. Always the traditionalist here, I loved their classic galette complete, an almost crunchy perfectly cooked buckwheat galette filled with cheese, ham, and egg, a perfect small bite lunch. I was not as convinced about the daily special with an added touch of tomato sauce (photo), an ingredient that somehow seems at odds with traditional Breton fare. Briny oysters from Brittany are another specialty here, and arrive with a warm rolled galette and plenty of butter to go with it. Students from the various universities in the neighborhood have already turned it into a hangout, making the cafe a lively, fun spot. Service could not be friendlier or more sincere. I think I'll become a regular here.

Galette Café, 2 rue de l'Université, Paris 7. Tel: + 33 1 42 60 22 04. Métro: Saint-Germain des Prés. Open Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. Galettes from 7.50€, 6 oysters for 12.80€.

Anne-Sophie Pic's week-old La Dame de Pic near the Louvre is the sensation of the rentrée, a pure and calming all-white space,  with crisp white linen table runners, sturdy modern wooden tables,  her black signature knives from Forge de Laguiole in the Auvergne, all punctuated by a series of vases holding single, long-stemmed pink roses. The restaurant -- whose name translates as queen of spades --  is not a place for compromise. Nor is her herb, spice, and aroma-filled menu. Like the dining room itself,  it offers a balance of elegance and comfort, haute-cuisine and everyday fare, all bearing her unique, ultra-modern signature. She sports her feminine role, but does not flaunt it or play it cute. Ingredients are impeccable, preparations are complicated but not overdone, and the taste theme throughout is one of  softness and smoothness with a required touch of crunch. I would never think of pairing warm oysters with cauliflower, but Anne-Sophie offers a regal, cloud-like presentation of warm Gillardeau oysters bathed in a frank and fragrant cream of cauliflower and jasmine, surprising as well as satisfying. Sardines are paired with some of the best tasting leeks I have witnessed, punctuated by thé matcha, making for an exotic turn on the everyday fresh Mediterranean sardine.

Bresse chicken breast arrives meltingly tender, paired with a blend of cooked and raw spinach and a touch of finely sliced couteaux (razor clams) adding a bit of texture to the soft greens. But for me, the triumph of the meal was the vibrant pea soup (le petit pois de montagne) flavored with a touch of réglisse and galanga, and tasting as though the peas had been picked in palace gardens only seconds before (photo). Her flavored butters are not to be missed -- one anise, another thé matcha -- to be carefully if  not sparingly spread on whole wheat or rye-miso bread. The cheese course consists of three perfectly aged picodon goat's milk cheeses from the Anne-Sophie's home Département of the Drôme --- one young, one slightly aged, one firm and well-aged -- served with a delicate rosemary gelatin and another gelatin of beer and honey. Although I am not a huge fan of baba au rhum (usually too boozy)  hers is a delicate delight: tiny mouthfuls of light baba, paired with a burst-in-your-mouth passion fruit creation.The staff is casually but impeccably dressed in crisp blue jeans and  blue shirts. And they all actually seem to be having a wonderful time serving the guests at La Dame de Pic. A  tiny powerhouse of a woman with endless energy, Anne-Sophie will of course continue running her Michelin three-star restaurant in Valence, south of Lyon. She says she'll probably be in Paris a day or so a week. Most of the youthful chefs -- cooking in a beautiful all plancha and induction open kitchen overlooking the street -- spent the summer working in Valence to learn  the tricks of the trade. They seem to be playing their cards right, as well.

La Dame de Pic, 20 rue du Louvre, Paris 1. Métro: Louvre-Rivoli. Telephone: +33 1 42 60 40 40. 49-euro lunch menu. Other menus at 79, 100 and 120 euros. Open Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. contact@ladamedepic.fr and www.ladamedepic.fr

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I admit that I had not sampled Michel Bras's fare in decades, a bit put off by photos of the restaurant's ultramodern architecture and the hyped "nature boy" publicity. Now I am glad that I gave him, and son Sébastien, a chance. Perched at 1,200 meters in the open, verdant and rugged Auvergne, the Bras complex is welcoming, open, organized, and completely original. The food is kaeidoscopic and full of  Kodachrome flair, but most of all, tastes are  full-flavored and thoroughly delicious. A vegetable garden and  well-chosen plots of  edible herbs and plants provide a living larder for the chefs. You cannot say the Bras family does not make use of every single herb and vegetable that the earth offers. Their famed  gargouillou -- on our visit a colorful and abundant  vegetable salad mix of yellow and green zucchini, caulifower, paper-thin slices of turnips and beets, nasturium flowers, pimprenelle, garlic flowers and arugula, to name a few of the ingredients -- made me return home to appreciate the "supermarket" of herbs and salads I had in my own garden, and had stupidly ignored over time. But the star of the day was ther onion and summer truffle tartelette (photo), a generous, lively creation: a buttery pastry base, topped with soothing and mild young onions (here cébes de Lézignan), then a festive froth of cream and a generous halo of fresh summer truffles. An accompanying herb salad was reminiscent of Joel Robuchon's trademark salade aux herbes fraiches, a well-measured mix of fresh herbs and mixed salad greens. Even though I am not normally a fan of vegetable desserts (I don't like seeing carrots on my plate at midnight), the Bras dessert of dried, paper thin slices of eggplant paired with tomatoes cooked long and slow with a touch of sugar was beautifully architectural and  rapturous in flavor. Although one might not think of going all the way to the Auvergne to sample great Burgundies (or any other French wines)  Bras is worth the detour for the well-priced wine list alone. All the greats are there, and we sampled two favorites from the Lamy collection: including their white Saint-Aubin La Chaténiere 2009 and the red Saint Aubin Derrière chez Edouard 2009, both at their peak of perfection.

Michel et Sébastien Bras, route de l'Aubrac, 12210 Laguiole, France. Tel: + 33 (0)5 65 51 18 20. www.bras.fr. Menus at 120, 145 ,and 191 euros. A la carte, 170 euros. Rooms from 270 t0 580 eur0s. Open early April to end of October. Closed Monday ,  Tuesday lunch, Wednesday lunch (except July and August.)

As I complete work on the upcoming print version of The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris, I am testing madly, adding dozens of new recipes to the book. To celebrate, the week of March 11 to 15, 2013 of At Home with Patricia Wells: Cooking in Paris will be devoted to teaching and cooking recipes from my favorite Paris kitchens ----- bakeries and pastry shops, cafes and wine bars, bistros, haute cuisine restaurants, as well as those inspired by market visits. This means that if you have attended a Paris or Provence class before, nearly all recipes will be first-timers in the school.   The menus are far from set yet, but recipes in the running are the amazing Chocolate Terrine from Willi’s Wine Bar, the Bristol’s feathery Pizza Bites, homemade sourdough bread in the style of Poîlane, Semilla’s sublime grilled Shitake Mushrooms, Taillevent’s Crab Salad with Radish Crown, and Astrance’s mystery soup. We’ll be pairing each menu with wines from Juan Sanchez and La Dernière Goutte, and the week will proceed along the lines of my classic Paris classes: A morning cooking class and lunch on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, a market visit and lunch at a Michelin three-star restaurant on Wednesday, a visit to the Poîlane bakery and wine tasting on Thursday. The price remains the same, $5,500 for the week, limited to 7 students. To sign up now Click here to enroll

Tomatoes must be very happy. Everyone loves them. Craves them. I have always understood that the Japanese believe that the way in which you cut anything changes the flavor. I agree. Slice something too thinly and it looses its soul. Too thick and you miss the message. But at a celebratory lunch the other day on the new terrace of the the Bristol in Paris, with chef Eric Fréchon at the stove, my friend Susan Herrmann Loomis and I shared a landmark meal. There were many highlights, but as a cook and a  teacher, what I took away  was the "tomato corks" pictured here. I grow more than 20 varieties of tomatoes in Provence, and never tire of them, breakfast, lunch, dinner. I slices them thick and thick, make sauces, etc etc. But I have never seen them cut like this. After lunch, Susan and I emailed about how to do this at home. She was the smartest one who suggested an apple corer might be the right gadget. So I found a fabulous Zyliss apple corer that does a "twist and release" meant for the apple but even better for the tomato. There is no recipe here, but I will tell you what I have done: made tomato corks and drizzled them with olive oil and vinegar and salt, made them part of an antipasti platter paired with thin slices of ham, giant olives, slices of prosciutto, slices of mozzarella, pure heaven. I use any leftover tomatoes to make a tomato sauce. The best advice is to cut the top and bottom from the tomato and stick the corer into the tomato. Release each cork onto a thick layer of paper towels. Salt lightly. Then season and serve as you like!   Tonight I will serve a ravioli with that homemade tomato sauce and toss all of this with more tomato corks. To be continued! I have added the Zyliss apple corer to my Amazon Store if you want one!