Side Trips from Paris Restaurants

1. Auberge Ravoux

For total van Gogh immersion, have lunch—or dinner on Friday and Saturday—in the restaurant he patronized regularly more than 100 years ago, in the building where he actually died. A three-course prix-fixe menu is available, and saddle of lamb and homemade terrine are among Loran Gattufo's specialties. What makes eating here special, though, is the genius loci, complete with glasswork, lace curtains, and wall blandishments carefully modeled on the original designs. Table No. 5, the "table des habitués," is where Van Gogh used to sit. A magnificently illustrated book, Van Gogh's Table, by culinary historian Alexandra Leaf and art historian Fred Leeman, recalls Vincent's stay at the auberge and describes in loving detail the dishes served here at the time.