André Jorno’s Tunisian mother opened the first Sephardic grocery on this rue de Rosiers location in the early 50’s when the Marais was still the predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood it had been since the Middle Ages.
André Jorno’s Tunisian mother opened the first Sephardic grocery on this rue de Rosiers location in the early 50’s when the Marais was still the predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood it had been since the Middle Ages.
Falafel lovers will argue vociferously as to who makes the best on the rue des Rosiers but I like my falafel with ambience: Orthodox Jews in black hats and coats, young Sephardim in the contemporary togs of youth with yarmulkes bobby-pinned to their heads, pretty young girls with long blonde hair from Australia, America and Scandinavia, and from the gay community just across the rue Vielle de Temple-same sex couples of every description–a perfect place to enjoy a leisurely lunch of hummous, tahine, falafel, grilled eggplant, poivrons, pita, and a chilled rosé finished off with baklava and mint tea for less than 20 euros.
In summer tables practically spill out onto the street and around the corner onto a small plaza adjacent to the Elementary School for Jewish Boys that André attended, as did 165 who were shipped off to the death camps during the war. The plaque on the outside wall is a perpetual reminder.
The streets teem with shoppers and tourists–many stepping up to the take-out window for a giant falafel as sauce dripping down their fingers they window-shop up and down the narrow, ancient streets. As the unofficial Mayor of the Marais André can often be found, cigar in hand, schmoozing with pals and customers on the rear terrace.
2, rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais
Paris 75004
Tel: 01 42.72.18.86
Metro: Saint Paul
