Christophe

February 8, 2010 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

Where Chefs Dine The deep-fried langoustine tails were perfectly light and crisp. The restaurant Christophe, metaphorically speaking, had been sitting in the back of my mind for several months, but was recently foregrounded when Alain Pramil of the eponymous restaurant … Read More

Le Petit Curieux

January 5, 2010 | By Heidi Ellison | Archive

Le Petit Curieux is a neighborhood restaurant with good products to eat in or take out. A curious thing has happened each of the three times I have eaten at the restaurant Le Petit Curieux: one dish is so delightful … Read More

Le 122

December 8, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

The food at 122 is impeccably prepared. Above: snails in “angel hair” batter. Pros: Great food, well-chosen wines; pleasant, attentive service Cons: Decor a bit Spartan for my taste. Walking into 122, a memory resurfaced of a journalist’s comment about … Read More

Au Petit Riche

December 1, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

Au Petit Riche has been around since 1854. Pros: Fabulous list of Loire wines; quirky layout; pleasant atmosphere Cons: Cooking seems stuck in a rut The last time I set foot in the Petit Riche was about two decades ago, … Read More

Ratatouille and Tellus

October 13, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

The food at Ratatouille and Tellus (above) carries on the great tradition of French bourgeois cuisine. Editor’s note (May 2013): Tellus is no longer in business, but Ratatouille is still going strong. It’s very rare that I leave anything on … Read More

KGB (Kitchen Galerie Bis)

September 8, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

Chef William Ledeuil has opened a baby-sister bistro to his much-loved Ze Kitchen Galerie. Back in Paris after two weeks of almost uninterrupted glorious sunshine in La Rochelle. Talk about a reality check: two weeks of people being nice to … Read More

Le Garde Robe

July 14, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

Le Garde Robe offers a refreshing alternative to three-course meals. There are times when instead of savoring some majestic creation by a great chef you would rather just chill out at a little street-side table and jaw with friends while … Read More

Frenchie

June 16, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

Sidewalk table at Frenchie, a new Paris bistro worth knowing about. Pros: Excellent food at wallet-friendly prices; fine, shortish wine list with a good sprinkling of non-French wines Cons: Nothing worth mentioning, apart from the loud music issuing from the … Read More

Les Fines Gueules

June 9, 2009 | By Richard Hesse | Archive

The asparagus with white truffles looked like an abstract painting. Pros: A delight in serving well-sourced products (Desnoyers again), pleasant surroundings Cons: A slightly ditzy waitress, who was so nice and new to the job that her faux pas were … Read More

Les Enfants Perdus

May 26, 2009 | By Heidi Ellison | Archive

  Pros: Eager-to-please staff; fresh, well-sourced, well-prepared food Cons: Not much in the way of decor Things are looking up on the canal-side culinary front. New boutiques, cafés and restaurants are springing up nearly every day in the wildly popular … Read More