Heidi Ellison
L’Amour Dure Trois Ans
Love vs. Cynicism in Woody-Allenesque Film
For those who are unfamiliar with Frédéric Beigbeder, a few words of explanation are in order. He first became known in his early 20s as a sort of militant night owl from a bonne famille who went so far as … Read More
Le Huffington Post
LE HUFF POST
Le Huffington Post, the French-language version of the The HuffPo, went online Monday with a coup that was sure to make the French media stand up and pay attention: last week, it was announced that journalist Anne Sinclair, wife of … Read More
Blend
French Chefs Improve on American Specialty
Continuing the gourmet burger saga we started here last week with Le Camion qui Fume, Paris’s first food truck, we paid a visit to another new gourmet burger spot, Blend, a place I had already heard many raves about even … Read More
Intouchables
Driving Monsieur Philippe: The New French Blockbuster
I resisted seeing Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache’s new feel-good film, Intouchables, for some time on the principle that any film that popular couldn’t be very good, but when its ticket sales just kept climbing and started to break records … Read More
Le Galopin
Brother Act Brings on the Bobos
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED For many years, the Place Sainte Marthe, one of Paris’s little treasures, has been frequented by an uneasy mix of bohemians (not quite bobos, or bourgeois bohemians) and drug dealers. There have always been a … Read More
Le Camion qui Fume
BURGER MADNESS
It’s a phenomenon: Paris’s first gourmet food truck, if you can call a hamburger gourmet food (for the purposes of this article, let’s agree to do so). The other night, we braved the cold to line up for an hour … Read More
Le Havre
Outsider Filmmaker Finds Inner Beauty in French Town
Le Havre is a hybrid film in more ways than one. Made by a Finnish director in French and set in France, it is an old-fashioned fairytale about a very timely issue, illegal immigration. Director Aki Kaurismäki, known for his … Read More
Vive le Cinéma
The cinema rules in France. In 2011, French movie theaters had their best year since 1966, with ticket sales of 215.6 million, an increase of 4.2 percent over 2010, according to the Centre National du Cinéma. Sales to French films … Read More
Le Pas Sage
A-plus for Good Behavior
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED If any street in Paris is pas sage (not well behaved), it is the Rue Saint Denis, famous for its sex shops and ladies of the night lurking in doorways. The sex shops and ladies … Read More
Autolib’
SILVER ‘BLUECARS’ A potential user tries unsuccessfully to sign up for a silver Autolib’ Bluecar, which can be seen outside the window. Paris launched Autolib’(“lib” for “liberté”), the motorized counterpart to the Vélib’ bicycle-rental scheme, on Monday, allowing subscribers … Read More