Serendipity

The Sepastopol was all about serendipity.

Jérôme and I met there on the Friday after the Paris marathon in 2000 (that's how I know the exact date we met). We played the post-it game with mutual friends. He was Sharon Stone and I was Barry White. And so our story began (actually not really, because we didn't like each other and it wasn't til almost 6 months later, when I was headed back to the US forever that we met again. But I digress).

So the Sebasto' was our place. Jérôme was born at the hospital that used to be right next store. We would stop in for drinks or dinner on a regular basis. And then Jean-Michel and Maryse bought the place and made it classier. We were there by chance on their first night so we bought them champagne and ever since, we've been friends. We stop in to eat or have a drink or just to say hi. The day we got married, Jean-Michel ran from the restaurant to be at our datime party to be able to congratulate us and offer us a free meal.

Jean-Michel and Maryse always dreamed of having a restaurant. They were both journalists and decided to follow their dreams to the Sebasto'.

Since it was nice out today, we decided to have lunch there, hoping for outside seating. There wasn't any, but we went anyway. After we'd finished our craquant au maroilles (delicious pieces of maroilles cheese wrapped in filo dough and fried serviced with endive) and steak with maroilles sauce, Jean-Michel sat down at our table with a tear in his eye to tell us that they'd sold the place. Everything had gone so fast, he said. They put the place on the market thinking it wouldn't sell for another year when they plan on moving to be closer to their grandaughter. But things happen, and the right buyer came and it's the end of an era. But as Jean-Michel said, "this place had a life before us and will have a life after us." I don't think we'll go back there much anymore. We didn't go to the Sebasto for the food anymore, we went for the comfort.