Heidi Ellison
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
Franz Marc/August Macke: L’Aventure du Cavalier Bleu
Companions in Arts
The exhibition “Franz Marc/August Macke: The Aventure of the Blue Rider” at the Musée de l’Orangerie tells the tale of the friendship of two talented young artists, which ended in tragedy when both lost their lives while fighting in World … Read More
Jium
Korean Comfort Food
I don’t know how many times someone has encouraged me to try a “great” Korean restaurant in Paris. Each time, I found them to be not bad but exactly the same as all the others, with cook-your-own meats on the … Read More