For months now, NPR’s correspondents have been tempting devoted foodies like me with delicious reviews of noteworthy restaurants, bistros and cafes around the world. Among other things, they’ve sampled creamy orange hot chocolate in Berlin, camel’s milk desserts in Nairobi and blue corn quesadillas with zucchini flowers in Mexico City. The latest dispatch comes from senior European correspondent Sylvia Poggioli, who sampled pan-fried shrimp with red onions and fresh coriander, spiced pumpkin soup with mushrooms and a dessert of oranges, yellow and black carrots and yuzu sorbet at Le Train Bleu in Paris.

The food sounds divine (and, alas, expensive) as does the architecture of the restaurant, which is located inside the Gare de Lyon train station.

“The menu reflects the traditional tastes still favored today by the French bourgeoisie: Starters include oysters, foie gras, escargots and a warm Lyon sausage with potatoes and a shallot vinaigrette,” Poggioli says.

The price for the magnificent food and the fin de siecle ambiance? Between $70 and $90 per person. Luckily the attached cafe offers a cheaper menu for more budget-minded food snobs (like me) along a train-like corridor that recalls Agatha Christie’s “The Mystery of the Blue Train.”

Related on World Hum:
* All Hail ‘The Burrito King of Argentina’
* Can’t Afford Europe? Take the A-Train Instead.

Photo by nojhan via Flickr, (Creative Commons).