A Night in Paris with Grouins

We had our final bottle of sparkling wine on our last night in Bannier-Charente France, staying up later than we had planned. We set the alarm for 6:30a allowing us enough time to put the home back in order, pack and be cleaned up for our ride from a friend of our host that morning. We both woke long before the alarm so we started our short trip for our single night in Paris with less energy than planned. The three hour train ride to Paris was easy but when we exited the largest terminal in the city we were unwittingly on the opposite side of the huge building. So, what could have been a five minute walk to the hotel took about 25.

Our hotel room was perfect with purple bed cushions and transparent red plastic light covers over the bed. We had intended to see several recommended places but did not have enough energy so we opted to find a restaurant bar close to the hotel.

Barb found several on trip advisor but settled on La Pointe du Grouin, pronounced Grow-au and the French translation is snout, as the one found on a pig. It is a wine bar serving small plates. The restaurant owner/chef chose a grinning pig as the emblem for his wine bar. The reviews were all very good and it was only a block away. Barb said we needed cash because the restaurant used a token system for payment.

We walked a couple of minutes, passing several places that looked nice to eat and drink, then saw some people sitting outside. Above a partially rolled up tagged corrugated metal door was painted the word Grouin and knew we were at the right place. We went inside and realized there was no table service so we grabbed a couple of menus and headed for a picnic table for eight with only two women seated at one end. I literally squeezed into the back corner blocked in by a heavy artificial tree and the table. The menu listed different types of wine priced by the glass, 2 Grouin, .5 liter 10 Grouin, and 1 liter for 20. At the top of the menu a note indicated 1 Groin equals 1 Euro.

The menu was all in French so we picked words we thought we recognized for the first two tapas, Grouin pane and Tapenade and Panache de Jambonde pays, we translated bread, olive paste and ham. The total was 28 Grouin, 10 for the wine and 18 for the two tapas. Since I was penned in Barb took responsibility for ordering the food and deciphering the token system and navigating a French menu with bartenders with adequate or no English. Luckily the bartender was cute and she flashed her smile so she didn’t have a problem. Here’s how the system works. On the wall, next to the bar is a “Grouin”, currency, dispenser that accepts paper Euros in any combination equaling 10 Euros. After inserting enough Euros the machine dispenses coins in denominations of 10 Grouin the equivalent of 10 Euros or 2 Grouin. Barb fed in 30 Euros and the machine dispensed 2-10 denomination Grouin and 5-2 denomination Grouin. She showed the bartender the menu and ordered our wine and two tapas returning to the table with a 2 Grouin coin. So, our two small plates and 16 ounces of wine cost 28 Grouin or €28 or $32. I will let that sink in while I describe the food, restaurant and atmosphere.

The Tapenade came with discs of hard puffed crackers and the Jambon plate was dried charcuterie, mozzarella balls soaked in olive oil and herbs on a small bed of arugula. I have only recently incorporated olives into my diet and am proud to say I have not shied away from one in 4 years. The tapenade was scrumptious even though the crackers used to get it to my mouth were flavorless and too crunchy the flavor of the tapenade was fantastic. The second dish was deliciously seasoned mozzarella and cured ham. The wine was dry and pleasant. The restaurant has a good wine selection for people that are knowledgeable.


There were about six tables, all occupied on the front walk. The inside of the restaurant was divided into two dining sections similar in size to the patio area separated by a bathroom area, and the bar with food prep and cooking space. The bar was in the corner of the restaurant immediately in front as you enter the restaurant. One worker takes most of the orders and completes the Grouin transaction, there is the dishwasher and food runner behind him and a third worker with his small work area behind the dishwasher.

After we finished a third appetizer, Andouille de l' argoat & patates which was just incredible, we went to the bar and bought another half liter of wine.

By that time most of the tables were occupied inside and there were still people outside although it felt chilly to us. The bar had a steady flow of customers there placing orders for tapas and wine. One woman ordered some take-away food and a magnum of champagne. While she waited I saw her give the bottle a slight kiss. There was a constant low roar of sounds coming from the two dining rooms with much laughter and talking. Behind the bar the three guys worked continuously and efficiently.
The cashier guided new people through the currency explanation, in French or English, gave tips on the menu items and different wines and completed the transaction by dropping the Grouin coins in a basket and giving the customer a rock with a number painted on it. Our barstools were directly in front of the dishwasher. He completed his primary job easily and had time to slice bread for the cook and pick up dishes and briefly converse with guests.

The bar was busy with a friendly energy and the workers completed their work and serviced customers promptly and politely. The walls were filled with odd decorations and the bar had just enough room for the customers with the remaining space taken up with menus, baskets, glasses, bottles of wine and other supplies. We contemplated more wine but were about out of steam so we left, satisfied and satiated.

I was curious why the restaurant would create a system of currency unique to a single relatively small business. There are several advantages I thought of immediately, employees don’t have to touch any currency for each transaction, less chance the place would be robbed and bookkeeping would be simplified and cash only.

This system would never be accepted in the US and only works for basic reasons, in France tipping is rare so the question of the effect of the token system being advantageous to customers or the workers is not relevant. The main reason this token system could be considered is the menu price is the exact amount owed by the customer. There are no additional taxes or other charges are added to prices. So, if the menu indicates €3.50 you pay only that exact amount. The owner has priced everything on the menu in €2 or Grouin increments so it is plausible to combine combinations of tapas and foods to equal €10, which is the only amount the Grouin machine will dispense. For instance, our initial order left us with 2 Grouins remaining. We wanted more to eat so we selected a tapa for 8 Grouin and two glasses of wine for 4 Grouins. Barb used a €10 bill in the machine and combined with the 2 remaining Grouins we had zero Grouins remaining.

We thoroughly enjoyed the food and the experience and from the reviews it seems we had many others that agree. I may never see a token system at another restaurant so we will remember that uniqueness as well.

If you would like to watch a short video from our night at La Pointe du Grouin, just CLICK HERE

Cheers!
John

Bilbao Spain

In between our Sits in Hereford, England and Poitou-Charentes, France, we had a couple of days open so we chose to visit Bilbao on the northern coast of Spain. Barb had read about Leon Spain and bars that served complimentary pinxtos, pronounced pink-saws, served free at bars when buying a glass of wine. Pinxtos are similar to tapas and popular in northern Spain. Various toppings are usually served on top of a piece of bread with a toothpick to keep it all together. Our dear friend Bob G. taught us how to have “app and go’s” (going from place to place and sharing appetizers) when snacking and drinking in Asheville so we knew it was a fun style of eating allowing us to try different foods. Also, neither of us ever thought we would be able to travel to Spain so we found a cheap flight and off we went to Bilbao for two and a half days.


We took a night flight into Bilbao and enjoyed a cab to our hotel down curvy mountainous highway roads to the flatland of Bilbao. The lights of the city looked very appealing. Our hotel was in the heart of Old Town but it was late so we unpacked our stuff and thought about what we might see in the morning.

As we exited our hotel in the morning we walked into beautiful old town! There was a nice energy from the many people walking on the pedestrian cobblestone walkway. To the left was a road with several buses and I saw train tracks I later learned were for the tram taking people around the city. We opted to walk toward the courtyard admiring the tall buildings on both sides of the walkway. We passed a couple of side streets with gorgeous old buildings with seating and canopies in front of some of them. We saw an opening a short distance from us and in a few minutes reached an open courtyard with many seats around small tables with huge umbrellas advertising the name of a restaurant directly in front of the seating areas.

Pintxos

We went into the closest restaurant, Bizuet. It was a narrow store with a row of tables and a counter filled with plates of pintxos, tapas, on two tiers with a section of small plates stacked with a spoon and a packet of sugar. There were a half dozen people seated at the counter and a few others scattered in the remaining seats. The man behind the counter was very busy working the cash register and setting fresh pinxtos in front of the customers and removing empty plates and coffee cups.


I perused the selection, cold fish omelette on French bread, fried octopus ball on top of salmon and French bread, ham and cheese on French bread and many others some with creams, cheeses, meats, fruit, you name it, both sweet and savory. I requested “Dos cafes y un con leche.”, perhaps a grammatical nightmare but understood and probably appreciated. The second worker behind the bar looked at me briefly then quickly turned to the coffee machine and began the process. After getting the café started he briefly explained he would bring them to me.


I went outside where Barb was seated at one of the small tables with an empty chair waiting for me. I explained the food situation and suggested we, I, select a couple and be ready for any type of food because it was difficult to discern what made up all the choices. She said she would trust my choices and anything would be ok to try.

We saw the many tiny terraces off the apartments above the stores and thought how nice it would be to get an AirBnB there and have coffee looking onto the scene we were in. Barb said she felt she was on a movie set. The town took her breath away. It was during that first encounter Barb declared she was in love with Bilbao. Oh, I almost forgot. Directly behind the seating area is the Santiago Cathedral, from the 14^th-15^th century.


Within moments our coffee arrived and we both sat talking, drinking delicious coffee and watching the many people flowing by between us and the store fronts. There were young people arm in arm, old couples, families, people being helped in wheel chairs, and dogs all to the backdrop of constant chatter, mostly non-intelligible words. An old man added to the entertainment of people watching by playing an accordion of pop tunes singing in Spanish. All of the tables eventually filled and the people ate pinxtos, drank beer or wine and, sometimes, non-alcoholic beverages, usually the children. It was a great people watching venue.


I eventually went back into the Bizuet and selected a couple of pinxtos, octopus and cheese, ham sandwich and the cold fish omelette. Our waiter brought them out with another round of cafes and we thoroughly enjoyed them.

Old town appeared to be built around the court we sat in with streets radiating to a main road. There were side streets down as you walked out toward the main road surrounding the center of Old Town some with smaller courtyards set up similarly to where we were. We walked around feeling safe with the many people out and about.

We stopped back at our lunch stop for some wine and more food when closing time, 10p, sneaking up on us. We paid our bill and headed happily to our hotel.

Guggenheim Museum

On our second day in Bilbao we decided to walk the mile to see the Guggenheim museum of modern and contemporary art. It was commissioned by the king of Spain to be built on the decrepit area of the port of Bilbao to bring the area back to its prior stature. The pre-opening of the museum was attended by over 5,000 people and the museum architecture being praised as one of the premier buildings of our time. We wanted a destination to see more of the city.

As we walked, we noticed the buildings were a seemingly well thought out combination of old and new all blending into a picturesque city. We ventured out during the heat of the day so we tried to navigate by traveling, as much as possible, in the shade between the buildings. I noticed the temperatures ranged from 75 to 92 degrees along our route with the difference being the shade. There was light traffic and some people on the streets but we both felt safe and enjoyed the beauty of the city. The restaurants and bars were all inviting and we stopped a few times to relax and enjoy a drink and all were welcoming. There were green spaces with benches and shade and the terrain was level.

It was a stark comparison between a “decrepit port area” and its appearance today, clean, vibrant with buses and a tram stopping frequently by the museum. The museum is fantastic and like nothing I have ever seen and striking difference from any of the architecture, modern and old, in the rest of the city. The bridge that spans the Nervion river appeared to have a modern and whimsical feel complimenting the museum.

We admired the museum from the outside before making our way back to Old Town. We didn’t take the same route home because Barb’s internal compass knows where we have to go so we make decisions on a street by street basis. Our return trip was as enjoyable and impressive as the first half.







Bilbao is a city of 350K with a heavy flow of tourists. We would love to go back and enjoy more of the city or perhaps find a smaller city in Spain offering a smaller, more local flavor. Spain is definitely on our radar to visit again!

Cheers!
John

If you would like to see more of Barb's photos of Bilbao, just CLICK HERE