I met Alina Alamorean briefly at an opening of her jewelry pieces at the IBU Gallery last year. She was stunning and striking, and there was something unforgettable about her. One of my friends contacted Alina about buying a ring from her and we all met for dinner and for a presentation of jewelry. Where [...]
Last weekend, nearly two million city dwellers crammed together on the Champs-Elysées to see such foreign marvels as goats and tomato plants as part of “Nature Capitale,” an outdoor exhibition organized by the farming union Jeunes Agriculteurs (Young Farmers). It was an attempt to introduce Parisiens to the delights of the country — and to [...]
If someone asked you to define “American sauce,” what would you say? According to Heinz, it has tomatoes, shallots and parsley but is an odd shade of orange. And no, it’s not ketchup because that is labeled “ketchup.” And even with the strengthened value of the dollar (which yesterday afternoon was clocking in at $1.22 [...]
A few years ago, sick of feeling guilty when I didn’t give my loose change to a beggar, but mad that people were still begging on the streets considering how much taxes I pay for the French social services, I started asking questions. Aren’t there places where these people can go? Aren’t there places where [...]
Today through SundayLes Puces du Designtakes over the Quai de la Loire in the 19th. For its 22nd edition 100 antique dealers specializing in fashion and design from the ’50 to the ’90s gather to flog some famously exceptional and exceptionally famous pieces of post-war 20th century design. There are some rare unknown finds selected [...]
When I listen to French radio I tend to listen to Le Mouv’, a Radio France station (therefore no commercials) playing mostly rock music. Every Wednesday at 6pm they record a live show at the Paris Comedy Club, with recent musical guests such as Wax Tailor and Lilly Wood & the Prick (pictured). If you’d [...]
The brasserie La Rotonde is one of our regular stops when we’re in Paris. It’s been around since 1910 and is known to have been frequented by famous painters like Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Federico Cantú, Henri Matisse and Tsuguharu Fujita (most of them depicted La Rotonde in their paintings) and writers/artists from the Lost [...]
In Paris, food is fashion. And just as fashion has its trends and fads, so does food. In January of this year, influential food critic François Simon (after whom the über-critic Anton Ego was modeled for the movie Ratatouille) posted a not-so-scary piece on his blog about La Tête Dans les Olives, a tiny shop [...]
The euro has been falling faster than Joan Rivers’ latest face lift, so to celebrate we schlepped ourselves 25 minutes over to the bowels of the 15th arrondissement, to French President Sarkozy’s favorite crèpe restaurant: 142 Crêperie Contemporaine. Jim and Pam Leavy discovered this secret and passed it on to us. What they didn’t tell [...]
I owe a lot to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. She was out visiting one day near the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) when her horses went mad and she was rescued by a certain M. Ruel. The empress rewarded her savior generously, and with the investment a store was born. More than 150 [...]
