Heidi Ellison
Mommy
Teenage Jekyll and Hyde and His Dearest Mommy
Mommy, the latest film by French-Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan, is no Mommy Dearest. If anything, it is the child who is abusive in this tale of a dysfunctional mother- son unit. Mommy is Diane (Anne Dorval), feisty, attractive and sexy … Read More
Café Trama
Getting Out of the 10th to Dine in a ‘Chic’ Neighborhood
Café Trama vibrates with a lively buzz.A reader named Alexandra recently wrote in to complain that Paris Update reviews too many restaurants in the 10th arrondissement, saying, “For us frequent visitors in Paris, other than two train stations, there isn’t … Read More
Allegra
Another Paris Option When Pining for Pizza
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED Allegra gets pizza right, especially the crust.Pizza, now the international food par excellence, no longer has to be made by Italians to be good. One of the most amazing I ever ate was from a … Read More
Will
Where There’s a Will, There’s an Excellent Meal
This restaurant is now called Towa. I wouldn’t say that my friend Helen is willful, but she was rather insistent about me trying Will, a restaurant she had eaten at a couple of months ago, and I thank her for … Read More
L’Office
Eating at This Office Is Never Hard Work
A restaurant review is only valid as long as the same chef remains at the stove. When a new one comes onboard, it gives me a good excuse to revisit old favorites. Such was the case with L’Office, whose latest … Read More
Matière à
Gastronomic Material for Thought
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED The decor is as original as the cuisine. After peering through the glass facade of Matière à several times and making a mental note to eat there, I finally found myself on the other side … Read More
What’s New in Paris: J’Irai Dormir Chez Vous
TAKE A STRANGE MAN HOME TONIGHT If you are walking down the street anywhere in the world and are approached by a slight, handsome man wearing a red shirt and a strange contraption fitted with three cameras pointing at you, … Read More
Tita
Literary Adventures of a Seven-Year-Old
Marie Houzelle writes about a French childhood in English. Tita is the eponymous story of one hell of a smart, sensitive and highly literary seven-year-old girl. This first novel by Marie Houzelle, born and bred in France, has the originality … Read More
Les Chouettes
Casual Class, Creative Cooking
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED Chouette! An excellent new restaurant has just opened in a fantastic former industrial space in the upper Marais. Les Chouettes (the word means “owl,” but it is also used as an adjective and an exclamation … Read More
The New Marsangy
Rebirth of A Bistro
Marsangy’s new look. When a friend suggested that we lunch at Marsangy, I was less than enthusiastic, since I had not been overly impressed on my previous visit. He assured me, however, that a new owner had taken over and … Read More