French Lessons Alain Ducasse may have a few things to teach his fellow Frenchmen about running restaurants. At the root of the word “benoît” is the Latin “benedictus,” which means “blessed” or even “happy.” This is an appropriate name for … Read More
Hot and Cold Reception, Pleasure on the Plate The Maison du Jardin doesn’t have its own garden, but it is located near one of Paris’s most beautiful, the Luxembourg Garden. If you are welcomed to La Maison du Jardin by … Read More
A Winner, Front and Back May 9, 2007 Gordon Ramsay, known for his 15 restaurants and very bad language, has an occasional TV series called “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares,” in which the ubiquitous überchef is invited into a failing restaurant to … Read More
Contemporary Correspondences Photo: Georges Meguerditchian Following the successful rehang of its modern art collection (1906-60), the Centre Pompidou has scored another hit with the new presentation of its contemporary collection (1960-present), showing individual pieces chronologically in loose groupings that bring … Read More
Condensed History of Modern Art Giorgio De Chirico’s “Portrait Prémonitoire de Guillaume Apollinaire” (1914). Photo © Centre Pompidou, ADAGP, Paris, 2007 The Centre Pompidou’s just-opened chronological rehang of its permanent collection of modern art (1906-60) offers a certain vision of … Read More
Artistic Soul for Sale? Some critics of the French government accuse it of wanting to sell off the country’s artistic heritage, even the “Mona Lisa,” shown here being put into place in the Salle de la Joconde in 2005. Photo: … Read More
Dear readers, before we proceed to further our acquaintance, I feel the time has come for me to own up to a nerdy addiction to cookery books: I am one of those people (you can add the “sad” yourself, if … Read More
Corsican Exports Napoleon would probably have felt at home here. Two of Corsica’s most noted exports are Napoleon and food, and both serendipitously came together on a recent dinner date, when I combined a visit to the stupendously bad exhibition … Read More
Heading South A neighorhood bistro serving southwestern dishes with a strong Spanish influence. Everything’s been turned upside-down in this neighborhood bistro, which used to serve excellent specialties from Normandy in a gloomy ambiance that made you wish antidepressants were served … Read More
Resisting Time The restaurant hasn’t changed much since 1932. Lovers of Paris don’t like the city to change, and while that may be a retrograde attitude, it is still extremely comforting to return many years later to a restaurant you … Read More
