It's Like This

Maggie promised a story from me about lunch on Sunday, and I'm going to deliver. Here goes:

A few months ago, Maggie and I met my cousin Joan for dinner at Fish La Boissonnerie, on Rue de Seine in the 6th arr. We loved it - creative menu, great wine selection, slightly funky ambience, and amazing, fresh bread. We couldn't help but notice that the bread kept getting carted in through the front door - it was coming from a bread/sandwich place (not a boulangerie) right across the street, and eventually we learned that it and Fish La Boissonnerie were owned by the same Kiwi/American pair.

Fast forward to Sunday, when I decided that the bread/sandwich place - called Così - would be a good spot for everyone to meet up for lunch. We instantly loved it - menu written on a chalk board, a choice of about 15 sandwiches, a view of the wood-fired oven and the smell of fresh focaccia coming out of it. And it's a true sandwich shop - you order at the register, then either take out your food or take it upstairs to a seating area.

We ate in. Maggie and I shared a delicious pumpkin soup, I got a "Cheesy English" (roast beef, cheddar, basil, mayo, and vinaigrette), and Maggie got a "Medwedd" (goat cheese, red onion, cucumbers, black olive tapenade). Sitting upstairs, we started talking about how closely the fresh-baked bread (on which all the sandwiches were made) resembled the bread you get at Così in the US - you know, the corporate chain. In fact, we even panicked momentarily thinking that we had, in fact, just sat down for lunch at a French branch of the same chain. But when we thought about how delicious our sandwiches were, how non-corporate the decor was in the sitting area, and that this restaurant was owned by people we could identify ("the guys across the street") we were reassured.

Finally, I went back downstairs to get bags to take our leftovers home, and decided to confirm that the two places were, in fact, owned by the same guys. I also asked the woman at the counter, who happened to be talking to the chef, whether there was any relationship between this Così and the ones in the US.

It turns out, there is. Once upon a time, the chef told me, two American students on semester-abroad in Paris started hanging out at Così quite a bit. They were totally unremarkable - torn jeans, friendly guys, studying and having a good time. They established a friendship with the then-owner and chef, and even got him to teach them his focaccia recipe. After their semester abroad, they went back to the US and got their banker executive dads (torn jeans = perfect camouflage) to give them the capital to create a small sandwich shop chain, the name and the bread recipe of which they took directly from this Parisian sandwich shop. And thus was born Così.

The chef told me the two guys were friendly with the current owners of Fish La Boissonnerie and Così, and that there were no hard feelings about the whole affair. But I have some feelings about the whole affair. For one thing, the Così website barely gives credit to their namesake inspiration in France. Quoth the website,

"Our look and feel was first inspired by a small Parisian café." [Oh yeah? Which café? I dare you to name it. Furthermore,] "From humble beginnings in 1996, one restaurant based on a small Parisian café has evolved into a dynamic growth company with more than 100 restaurants in 16 states and the District of Columbia." [Humble beginnings mon oeil (my eye), as the French would say.]"

In any case, it's interesting context for both Cosìs. And by the way, there's something appropriate about the American version taking its name from the French original, since in Italian "così" means "like this." Often imitated, never equaled, you can find the original Così at 54 Rue de Seine, 75006 Paris.