La Bourse ou la Vie
The quirky decor includes a caricature of the owner drawn on the wall and pigs on the ceiling. The pepper sauce on the steak at La Bourse ou la Vie gave me a five-minute-long attack of the hiccups, my central … Read More
Archive
La Closerie des Lilas
Every struggling American writer on the way to a date with destiny has passed through the Closerie. Places associated with literary figures… hmm. The Deux Magots will forever bring to mind Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, but one can’t … Read More
La Voie du Tao
“Apotheosis of Xu Zhenjun” (detail). Ming Dynasty. © Musée Guimet, Paris, dist. RMN/Thierry Ollivier Taoism may have started out as a kind of cool philosophy that celebrated harmony with nature, but as is amply illustrated by the exhibition “La Voie … Read More
Du Greco à Dalí: Les Grands Maîtres Espagnols
Julio Romero de Torres: “Portrait of a Woman” (c. 1925-30). © Adagp, Paris 2009. Collection Pérez Simón, Mexico. © Fundación JAPS. © Studio Sébert photographes The Musée Jacquemart-André once again offers a rather misleading title for its new exhibition “From … Read More
Autour d’un Verre
Regulars help themselves to a glass from the mismatched set. This unusual restaurant is easier to define by what it is not. It has no trendy (or otherwise) decor, no arty food presentations, no flashy service. And yet it is … Read More
Charley Toorop/Jan Dibbets/Elaine Sturtevant
“Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait),” 1965. Photo © José Loren, Museo Thyssen-Bornemiska, Madrid © Lucian Freud Anyone who lives in Paris has probably noticed a poster in the street and Métro showing a striking portrait of a big-eyed, rather mannish-looking … Read More
Aux Charpentiers
Classic French food in a historical setting. Pros: History, interesting decor, reasonably spaced tables, plenty of local dinersCons: Somewhat distant service Aux Charpentiers is in a nice part of town, with the Eglise Saint Germain-des-Prés just round the corner and … Read More
Lucian Freud: Atelier
“Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait),” 1965. Photo © José Loren, Museo Thyssen-Bornemiska, Madrid © Lucian Freud Lucien Freud says he is not interested in portraying flesh in his paintings, but in making the paint work as flesh. He wants his … Read More
Glou
Great value for money at 10 euros less. Photo: patricklazic.com Glou is one of those trendy restaurants that takes pride in letting you know where each of the precious ingredients on the menu comes from. This has become tedious, but … Read More
Munch, ou L’‘Anti-Cri’
“Vêtements Etendus à Åsgårdstrand” (1902). Photo © Thomas Widerberg © The Munch-Museum/The Munch-Ellingsen Group/Adagp, Paris 2010 Exhibitions at the Pinacothèque de Paris often approach a subject from an oblique angle, and “Munch, ou L’‘Anti-Cri’” (“Munch or the Anti-‘Scream’”) is no … Read More