Heidi Ellison
Au Revoir, Mademoiselle
Exactly 30 years after the U.S. government recommended the use of “Ms.” in official documents so that women would no longer be identified by their marital status, the powers that be in France have finally decided to relegate “Mademoiselle” to … Read More
Les Infidèles
Men Just Want To Have Fun!
From the country that brought you Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Jean Dujardin, introducing Les Infidèles (The Players), a film about men cheating on their wives that rolls the two men into one fictional character. The movie is string a of short … Read More
Verjus Wine Bar & L’Avant Comptoir
Bliss in the Basement Bar
Sometimes you’re just not in the mood for a long, drawn-out sit-down meal in a restaurant. One of my favorite places to eat in Paris is L’Avant Comptoir, the tiny sliver of an annex to star chef Yves Camdeborde’s restaurant … Read More
Marie et Louise
VIP Treatment at Neighborhood Bistro
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED Guess what? I have finally made it to the VIP circle. Or at least that’s what Christophe, the co-owner of Marie et Louise, a small bistro near the Canal Saint Martin, told me when I … Read More
La République de la Malbouffe
FRENCH MICHAEL MOORE TAKES ON NATIONAL FOOD INDUSTRY
Xavier Denamur, the owner of five small restaurants in Paris, is a man on a crusade. It began with the 2009 decrease in value-added tax from 21.6 percent to 5.5 percent on restaurant meals, which he says favored big chain … Read More
Le Square Gardette
Food and Service Run Hot and Cold
Le Square Gardette is the kind of restaurant where you feel right at home – your grandparents’ home, perhaps, but a home – amid its witty and charming flea-market decor, which suggests a lifetime of accumulation of beloved objects. Mismatched lamps … Read More
GourmanDeal
GOURMET GROUPON
Two young (24 and 26) French businessmen, tired of working for big corporations, have had the excellent idea of launching GourmanDeal, an upscale, more exclusive Groupon-style site for restaurants only, great news for those of us who have had … Read More
La Rotonde
Post-Cinema Dinner in the Round
The Rotonde de la Villette, one of Paris′s architectural bijoux, has finally been renovated after sitting sad and forlorn and unused for years. The lovely round Neoclassical tollhouse designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux just before the French Revolution has been … Read More
L’Orient d’Or
Some Like It Hot, Hot, Hot
When a friend told me that she sometimes dreams at night about the sizzling lamb at a Chinese restaurant called L’Orient d’Or, I knew I had to get there soon. French food is wonderful, but now and then I crave … Read More
Le Pantruche
Constant Excellence Among Young Paris Chefs
A new wave of young chefs is creating a renaissance on the Parisian dining scene, some 15-20 years after the first wave of bistronome chefs – Yves Camdeborde, now at Le Comptoir, for example, and Eric Fréchon before he went … Read More