La Maison Rose

2 Rue de l'Abreuvoir, 75018 Paris, France

One time Nadya tried to cook for Mother’s Day and my mom cried because the pasta she made was so inedible. I had flashbacks to that La Maison Rose. (LOL don’t worry Nadya has been in charge of gifts since then while I do the meal prep).

Now let’s start with the positive. We made reservations at La Maison Rose at the recommendation from several Instagram friends, which makes sense considering Instagram is all about aesthetic - which this place nailed. What not to like about a little pink house on the corner of a Parisian cobble stone street in Montmartre (the Art District)? The placement of our table under the window sill of the bartender’s room almost made up for their lack of attention and awareness in their food. The voices of five French waiters wafting through the breeze of the window, as if they were whispering to us, almost was the perfect distraction.

Excited at the elegantly written daily specials on the chalk board, we ordered one chicken special, their classic pasta dish, and a focaccia to start - well, and to end. After chugging two glasses of over priced pear/apple juice (which quickly became the best part of this meal), our food arrived.

I have never had such dry, hard, and carelessly plated chicken. I stayed optimistic hoping the grilled peaches and potatoes would add some diversity to the flavors and textures of a bite. In trying this, my taste buds almost ran out of my mouth trying to follow a flavor. The half cooked, luke warm peach did not bode well for the overcooked potatoes and stone like chicken.

Now that I’m a college student living off of dining hall food and thrown together dorm cooked meals, I look back and think the pasta wasn’t too bad. With that being said, a college student dorm room meal is what this Parisian priced bowl of pasta felt like - thrown together from whatever was in the fridge. Every bite became a mush.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking for places to spend your hard earned and saved money on - let me save you the time, money, and energy. The focaccia was dense, oily, and stale. Not even the luke warm oily arugula or cheese spread could save it.

The Art District is full of small street vendors, creperys, and stands - save your time, money, and energy walking up the cobble stone street and explore those.