Heidi Ellison
Gumbo Yaya Restaurant
In the Comfort Zone
Sometimes you just want comfort food and health be damned. If you’re American, Gumbo Ya Ya, specialist in chicken and waffles, is the place for you. I’m not sure how authentic it is as a soul food restaurant, but it … Read More
Black Models: From Géricault to Matisse
Diversity in Art History
For its latest temporary exhibition, “Black Models: From Géricault to Matisse,” the Musée d’Orsay has scoured Western art history for examples of people of color posing for artists and has conducted extensive research to learn more about these models and, … Read More
Franquette Restaurant
Frankly Good Small Plates
On a tip from a reader, I recently checked out a new restaurant in the 17th arrondissement with a couple of friends. Franquette, located near the Place de Clichy, is yet another bistro serving small, shareable dishes. I’m not complaining … Read More
Théâtre du Châtelet
Shape-Shifting Onstage
Finally, something truly exciting is about to happen in Paris’s rather too-staid performing-arts world. The city-owned Théâtre du Châtelet, which has been closed for renovation since 2017, will reopen in September with a program unlike any the venerable auditorium has … Read More
A Vision for Painting
It’s Alive!
Painting has been declared dead many, many times – and not just by the Constructivists in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution (see our review of the exhibition “Red” at the Grand Palais) – but the patient always makes a miraculous … Read More
Quedubon Restaurant
Offal on Offer
One of the few noteworthy restaurants around the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement, Quedubon is a classic bistro that was well known for its wine selection under longtime owner Gilles Bénard. He has now gone on his … Read More
Red: Art and Utopia in the Land of the Soviets
The Short Revolution in the Soviet Arts
The exhibition “Red: Art and Utopia in the Land of the Soviets” at the Grand Palais in Paris tells the tale of how the Russian Revolution of 1917 affected the arts under the Soviet regime, but it inadvertently goes beyond … Read More
Hammershøi: Danish Painting Master
Silence and Light
A Vermeer-like feeling of tranquility emanates from many of the paintings by Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) on show at the Musée Jacquemart-André. The comparison with Vermeer also springs to mind because Hammershøi painted mostly interior scenes, often with a figure seen through … Read More
Robert Restaurant
Ace Performance
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED There are no secrets at the restaurant Robert. The kitchen is wide open to diners seated in the room next to it, and there are even two counter seats looking straight into it. It’s a … Read More
Die Fledermaus
And the Band Played On
A sparkling production of Johann Strauss the Younger‘s Die Fledermaus by the Academy of the Paris Opera is being performed at the MC 93 theater in the Paris suburb of Bobigny before touring four French cities. With a terrific cast … Read More