L’Axel
Pampered in the “Provinces”
Last week I trekked out to Fontainebleau with two friends to test L’Axel, a restaurant they had heard great things about. When we walked in, I knew we weren’t in Paris anymore
Edited
Tannat
Gourmet Strip In the 11th Arrondissement
The first block of Avenue Parmentier, near Rue du Faubourg du Temple in the 11th arrondissement, once a no-man’s land food-wise, is turning into something of a gourmet strip now that “old-timers” Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin have been joined by a new restaurant, Tannat.
JBC
Hamming It Up on the Boulevards
I have a vivid memory of buying a ham sandwich at a street stand on a gloomy day during my first trip to Paris and eating it while sitting on a stone bench in the Cour Carrée of the Louvre. It was a revelation. How could anything so simple – a baguette, a few slices of ham and some butter – be so incredibly good?
Cru
Fear Not: All Is Not Raw
About a year ago, a friend strongly advised me to go to the restaurant Cru. Although I greatly value her advice (it was Grace Teshima, a friend to many in Paris), I guess I was put off by the idea of eating a whole meal of only raw food, although it certainly could be excellent if done well.
Au Bon Coin
Fed Up with Frills and Tired of Trends?
Those who, like my friend Helen (as mentioned in last week’s review of La Marée Jeanne), are allergic to foam and other niceties of so-called molecular cuisine, and those who just crave good old-fashioned French food now and then would do well to have a meal at Au Bon Coin, where the classics of French bistro cooking are still made up fresh, not out of the freezer or a vacuum-packed plastic bag.
Cap sur l’Amérique: La Dernière Utopie de Napoléon
The Emperor Packs Up His Legend for the New World
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of history’s endlessly fascinating characters. Never forgotten, especially in France, he is getting an extra dose of attention this year, the 200th anniversary of his second abdication as emperor of France and forced departure for exile … Read More
La Marée Jeanne
Something Fishy Going On in Paris
Is the tide turning away from meat-heavy menus in Parisian restaurants? The Verre Volé, a meat lover’s paradise, recently opened Le Verre Volé sur Mer, a fish-and-seafood-only bistro, and the sublime Septîme has a fabulous fishy offshoot called Clamato.
Les Poulettes de Batignolles
An Outpost of Catalan Charm in Paris
If you ask Judith Cercós why the restaurant she opened with her husband, chef Ludovic Dubois, is called Les Poulettes de Batignolles, she will say it’s because her French friends always call her “ma poulette,” a term of endearment loosely translated as “my little chickadee.”
Churchill-de Gaulle
Adversarial Allies Brought Together in Peace
When I saw a poster for the exhibition “Churchill-de Gaulle” at the Musée de l’ Armée in a Paris Métro station, I assumed the exhibition would be about the notorious rows and fractious relationship between the British and French wartime … Read More
Louis
A Fine Little Meal Is Waiting for You
At last, a meal I could really get my teeth into and enjoy down to the last bite. Where? Louis, the new restaurant of Stéphane Pitré in the ninth arrondissement. The tiny place (seats 24) has been charmingly done up in white and shades of blue. The chef, who personally delivered each dish and explained its ingredients to us, was equally charming.