LN SCOTT

While hungrily wandering the streets of Paris a few weeks back, my friends and I walked past a sign that advertised sandwiches for only four euros and fifty cents (a great deal in this French city). Quite literally a hole in the wall, Caffe Costadoro eventually exceeded all of our expectations.

Located in the neighborhood known as Le Marais in Paris’ 4th arrondissement, Caffe Costadoro is not your traditional spot to grab lunch. Functioning as a Corsican delicatessen, this establishment is run by a hustling, bustling woman from this Mediterranean island who speaks no English. This was a non-issue though - she knew we were hungry. We never knew this woman’s name, but she is a master in the ways of sandwich making. She is an artisan. In our time in Paris, my friends and I became regulars, and avid consumers of the signature sandwich known as the “Copa”. The combination of fresh Corsican ham with olive oil-soaked spinach and marinated tomatoes made this sandwich one of the best purchases I made (continually) throughout my time in Paris. If you’re ever in the City of Lights, be sure to make it to Caffe Costadoro. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

Photographs by Thomas Llaurado