Heidi Ellison
Artists in Montmartre
Wild Life on the Butte
The Musée de Montmartre bills itself as “the most charming museum in Paris,” and that may well be true. The word “charming” kept popping into my mind as I perused its current exhibition, “Artists in Montmartre: Legendary Places and Studios,” … Read More
Goguette Restaurant
Go-Getting Wine Bar
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED In French, to be “en goguette,” means to be out on the town having a good time, so Goguette is the perfect name for this new wine bar/restaurant with three dining rooms, one after another. The … Read More
Une Jeunesse Dorée
The Palace Years
The Paris nightclub Le Palace, which had its heyday in the 1980s, has taken on mythic status in the French imagination in the way that Studio 54 did in the United States. Now we have an autobiographical film, Une Jeunesse Dorée (Golden … Read More
The Nadars: A Photographic Legend
A Clan of Shutterbugs
I first came across the name Nadar while I was reading Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and started collecting other books about him and his work, including a small book of portraits by Paul Nadar of Proust and … Read More
The Paris Update Restaurant Awards 2019
Last Year's Best 10 Restaurants
A welcome touch of Mexico La Condesa Subtle hints of Mexican flavors brilliantly enliven seasonal dishes in this love of a restaurant. Tiny place/big expectations L’Innocence Chef Anne Legrand cooks up highly refined meals in front of diners in the same … Read More
La Condesa Restaurant
A Meal Fit for Royalty
Update, January 16, 2019: On a return visit this week, La Condesa lived up to my first extremely positive impression with more creative, often stunningly good dishes, charmingly served in a handsome decor. The amuse-bouches included a small corn tostada with … Read More
Japon-Japonismes: Objets Inspirés
The Shock of the New
While visiting the exhibition “Japan-Japanisms: Inspired Objects” at Paris’s Musées des Arts Décoratifs, it occurred to me that modern Western art as we know it might have been something entirely different if the arts and crafts of Japan hadn’t suddenly … Read More
Papa Poule
Homestyle, but Better
It is almost never a good idea to wander around the streets of Paris looking at menus in windows in hopes of finding a good restaurant – you usually end up with a mediocre meal. We lucked out the other … Read More
Grayson Perry: Vanity, Identity, Sexuality
A New Man
I remember the shock of seeing Grayson Perry’s work for the first time at an exhibition in London. What appeared to be beautiful, classically made vases turned out, upon closer inspection, to be decorated with images of abused and neglected children. … Read More
L’Innocence Restaurant
Springboard to Success
THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED Note: L’Innocence was awarded one star in the 2020 Michelin Guide. This tiny (18-cover) restaurant in the ninth arrondissement was originally the springboard for the great Daniel Rose, whose wonderful restaurant Spring, once my favorite … Read More