La Maison de l’Escargot, with a history dating back to 1894, is located on a tranquil side street of Rue Fondary. There is no longer any competition so the sole survivor in Paris is La Maison l’Escargot.

She says, “I usually buy my escargots from snail farmers at weekend markets. But with an escargot emergency for a celebratory dinner, I ventured out in search of the maison where I half expected to see live snails crawling around in basins and pots of bouillon. Instead I found an airy shop with baskets stocked with two common varieties of wild French snails—bourgogne and petits gris—rated and priced according to different calibers.”