Tondo
Great Expectations: Dashed and Redeemed
A highlight of my recent trip to Paris was tagging along with Heidi as she reviewed restaurants for Paris Update. Doing so involved adapting to the unscientific Laws of Culinary Fluctuation.
Archive
Fulgurances
Lightning Strikes a Second Time
Three young food-loving entrepreneurs recently opened a new kind of restaurant in Paris as a springboard for talented new chefs. Its name, Fulgurances, is a reference to lightning: they hope to strike their customers with a lightning bolt of joy every time they encounter a new chef.
La Cantine de l’Embuscade
Anarchy Defeated, Ambushed by Offal
My friend Connie felt like she was being ambushed by offal when she glanced at the menu at L’Embuscade, a new restaurant that has replaced a neighborhood institution, the anarchist restaurant Le Maldoror, of which no traces remain – nary a political tract hangs on walls that were once papered with them.
Champeaux
Vive Champeaux, À Bas la Canopée!
A recent article in The Guardian called the Canopée, the new roof over the Forum des Halles in the center of Paris, a “custard-colored flop.” I’d be more inclined to call it a regurgitated-custard-colored flop; custard doesn’t deserve such treatment.
Mamagoto
Playtime Is Over, Let the Fun Begin!
There was nothing really wrong with the restaurant Playtime, which used to occupy the space that is now home to Mamagoto, not far from the Gare de l’Est. The food was very good and the decor attractive.
Za
Digital-Era Automat: Gimmicks Galore
The dining room at Za.It sounds like tons of fun. You take a seat at one of the long tables at the new restaurant Za (design by Philippe Starck; seats 128!), under the just-inaugurated new roof (called “La Canopé”) over the renovated Forum des Halles in the heart of Paris and slap your smartphone down on the numbered spot on the countertop in front of you.
Sunset
Unexpected Pleasures of Lunch in a Trendy Bar
The front dining room at Sunset.You would be forgiven for doubting the possibility of getting a good meal at this trendy 18th-arrondissement restaurant and bar with the California-style name Sunset, but you would be very wrong. I recently had an excellent lunch there with a friend.
Le Petit Keller
Share and Share Alike, For Better or Worse
The dining room at Le Petit KellerRegular readers know that I love to share food in restaurants. Not only do you get to taste more dishes than you normally would, but it is also more fun and convivial.
Paul Klee: L’Ironie à l’Œuvre
Art as Play and Intellectual Exercise
Paul Klee (1879-1940) is generally acknowledged as one of the greats of modern art, but it’s difficult to think of a single powerful work or style that represents him, the way “Guernica” might, for example, pop into your mind when … Read More
The Velvet Underground: New York Extravaganza
On the New York Scene With Nico, Andy, Allen et al
Back in the late Sixties, the Velvet Underground would have seemed an unlikely subject for an exhibition like “The Velvet Underground: New York Extravaganza” at the Philharmonie de Paris. Though well-received by perceptive reviewers of the time and played by … Read More