News & Events
Cinéma en Plein Air
Jul 23rd
For six months out of the year, my Paris neighborhood is a dud. During the warm months, though, I feel lucky to live in the 75019. That’s especially true now, and for the next four weeks, when I can walk across the street and flop down on the lawn to watch a film.
Cinéma en Plein Air runs from July 17-August 22 and is one of my favorite things about summer. Serious crowds arrive every Tuesday to Sunday night to watch a film on the giant blow-up screen. Screenings start late (at sundown, around 10:30pm), but many arrive early to share a More >
Paris by Mouth welcomes Patricia Wells
Jun 18th
The first cookbook I ever used (but not the first I ever owned) was written by Patricia Wells. I still own this sauce-stained copy of Trattoria and remember our first collaboration: penne all’Arrabiata, cooked for a boy during my senior year of college. Because it turned out well (the pasta, not the affair), Patricia Wells became my hero.
That affection was compounded when I later moved to Paris and began abusing a borrowed copy (thanks, Jennifer) of The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris. I relied on Wells’ website for dining recommendations and flipped furtively under restaurant tables through her French/English food glossary.
More recently, when I More >
We’re Here! Paris by Mouth launches with a party at Spring Boutique
Jun 2nd
Last night some friends and I threw a little party to celebrate the launch of Paris by Mouth. I arrived at 5pm with Barbra Austin at Spring Boutique. Twelve hours later, after approximately the same number of glasses, I managed to find my laptop and push Paris by Mouth out into the world. This is what happened in the hours before our new website was born…
My Dinner with David
May 14th
On a hot and humid night in July 2007, I made my first visit to Hidden Kitchen. The “underground supper club” was brand new and still buzzing from a write-up that had appeared on Chocolate & Zucchini. I had brought a new boyfriend and was trying to convince him that I was cool and cosmopolitan. That illusion was shattered when we entered the apartment and a certain someone caught my eye. “Holy crap!” I blurted like a jittery school girl, “you’re David Lebovitz!”
Cornered in the kitchen, David had no choice but to suffer my stalker-like admiration. He was sweet and More >
Paris Restaurant Week: Do We Care?
May 7th
Following behind New York, London, and other hotbeds of gastronomy, the city of Paris has launched its very own Restaurant Week. More than 120 restaurants will be participating in Tous au Restaurant (“everybody in the restaurant”) from June 7–13. The celebration promises specially priced menus—€20.10 ($25.56) at lunch and no more than €35 ($44.50) at dinner—and the ability to make reservations online.
Sounds tempting, but is this really a good bet for travelers? Not really. Reason number one: these special prices aren’t actually very special. Most of the participating restaurants, including several that I really recommend (le Bistrot Paul Bert, Aux Lyonnais, Au Petit Marguery, l’Assiette) have everyday More >
The World’s Best Restaurants are not in France
Apr 28th
…at least not according to the 2010 selections for San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The annual rankings were released at 9pm on Monday night, and the panel of 800+ chefs and critics have named Copenhagen’s Noma as the top restaurant in 2010. Chef René Redzepi takes the crown from Ferran Adrià (El Bulli), who moves down a spot after after four consecutive years at #1.
So how does France fare in the ninth edition of this controversial list? Not well. There’s not a single French restaurant among the top ten, whose ranks include 4 Spanish and 3 American restaurants. Only 6 French restaurants made More >
La Mélodie du Bon Beurre
Apr 28th
First there was Iñaki Aizpitarte with his musical ode to the slopes. Now Jean-Yves Bordier, maker of my/the world’s favorite butter, has produced his own lip-syncing video.
I may have groaned, when I read about this on Twitter (via @PhyllisFlick via @LouisaChu via @AfarMedia), but after watching it (twice) with morning coffee, I’m now persuaded that every food artisan should make a music video.
Behold for yourself:
The reveal (at minute 2:10) showing Jean-Yves hitting the high note before being carried away on a rolling cart… the sweeping shot (at 3:10) showing him cradling the baby (butter), then running out to a cheering crowd… just, WOW.
This More >
The Marché d’Alain Ducasse
Apr 15th
Alain Ducasse held a high fallutin’ market this week inside the luxurious Hotel Plaza Athénée.
Under chic red awnings in a vine-covered courtyard, the polished clients of the hotel and restaurant (plus a few unruly hangers-on like me) assembled to shake hands with the favored producers of Ducasse and chef Christophe Moret. We were also there, make no mistake, for the free samples.
With a camera in one hand (the other clutching a glass of white Burgundy) I moved among the stands nibbling wild strawberries and foie gras. I was also noting (with my fourth hand) the names of these culinary dealers to More >
Easter in Paris
Apr 4th
Children all over Paris are waking up this morning to discover a stash of chocolate eggs. The Easter Bell is back in town!
Because bunnies in France are for eating, the important task of holiday candy distribution falls instead to a bell. As far as I can work out, the local church bell stops tolling in Paris during the week before Easter and flies off to visit Rome. It hangs out with the Pope and other bells from around the world in a sort of ding-dong jubilee. It then flies back to Paris on the night before Easter, carrying souvenirs for the More >
Happy Birthday, Frenchie
Apr 2nd
Greg Marchand has had quite a year. I remember meeting the young chef last May, when his restaurant Frenchie had just opened. He had a pile of bills, a new baby at home and not many customers in his seats. We assured him, after an inspired meal, that the place would be full in no time. He looked worried.
I returned last week for the first time since September and found the scene entirely changed. I was lucky to even be there, having been added to a friend’s existing reservation after failing several times to score my own. At the end More >
