L’Arpège
GO HERE: to worship at the garden-bed altar of Alain Passard, whose vegetable tasting menus are a once-in-a-lifetime haute cuisine experience. Playful, colorful, radical. He will make you change the way you see, well, any veg.
ORDER THE: tasting menu, which is 145 euros at lunch, 390 at dinner. (Don’t worry: Lunch is more than impressive enough.)
THE VIBE IS: power elite of the political, intellectual, and food worlds. It feels like a sanctuary, but how snobby can an all-vegetable restaurant really be? Besides, the twinkly Passard—that’s him in the white patent leather shoes—wouldn’t allow that.
PRACTICAL STUFF: Book well in advance. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday from noon to 2:30 p.m. and 7 to 10:30 p.m. Open in August, unlike many Paris restaurants, which is one of the best months produce-wise.
