Caroline Mignot, a French writer who I like quite a lot, recently wrote about this little wine bar in the 9th. “I’m surprised that I haven’t written about it before,” she said, and I know exactly how she feels. Autour d’un Verre is a place I’ve visited many times and one that I often recommend. But I hadn’t ever written about it, beyond a little mention in BlackBook, because it’s just so incredibly simple. Sometimes, though, that’s exactly what you need.

My first visit happened four years ago with Phyllis Flick, a longtime Paris resident who I “met” on the eGullet discussion forum. More >