I hardly dare write about this place. Is it just a (very expensive and effective) tourist trap or is it still the real deal? Like all landmark cafés, its present day worth is hotly disputed. The famous literary hangout with trees on the roof is still a place of pilgrimage for tourists wanting to catch a whiff of old-school [...]

Years ago, I tried le Chateaubriand and had an okay - nothing more - meal. I was later shocked to read reviews heralding this as one of the best restaurants in the city. Edgy, inventive, and over-the-top delicious - none of the adjectives matched my own experience there. I eventually figured out that Inaki Aizpitarte, [...]

 
I know everyone says there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but it turns out that’s not always true. If you like meat – specifically lamb – you can get one this week at Agneau Presto’s temporary restaurant near Bastille.
I’d read about the Bistro Agneau Presto in a free newspaper recently and written it down on [...]

Shan Goût opened in March and was immediately tapped by François Simon as the newest place to go. The resulting critical stampede made me a little cynical, so I avoided it for a while. Then Braden and Laura, two very accomplished eaters, tested it out. Their praise was unwavering, and included the words “best ravioli [...]

 
Not long ago, I sat down with some friends to try a new restaurant called Frenchie. Of the twoentrées on offer, I chose a simple-sounding truite fumée, asperges (smoked trout, asparagus) over the too-simple-sounding salade tomates cerises. I mean, who serves cherry tomatoes in May?*
I must’ve looked puzzled when my starter arrived, because Clotilde leaned over and whispered something into my ear. “Wild [...]

Can’t get a room where Oscar Wilde fought his famous last battle with the wallpaper? Why not just go for lunch at the restaurant of L’Hôtel, which gained a Michelin star in March 2008, is one of Paris’s foodie bargains and, I’ve been told, attracts famous regulars such as Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis (who, sadly, couldn’t [...]

We just returned from Spain and noticed this newsworthy item at the Orly Airport in Paris and thought it would be a sweet tidbit that might come in handy one day: There’s a Ladurée cart at the Paris Orly Airport, so macaron fanatics can grab their last minute fix on their way out of town - or [...]

 
Until now, the only American food I’ve tried here in Paris has been 1) Made by myself, 2) Purchased at one of the overpriced American stores here in Paris or 3) Served at Breakfast in America. Nothing against giant pancakes and eight euro Oreos, but this wasn’t the American food I was missing: as a [...]

There wasn’t any sunshine or barefoot kids or beer pong, but I found that the French have their own distinct and very cool way of throwing a barbecue, with just as much grilled meat to please even the most skeptical of Americans. Living in the city, I haven’t had many chances, or any chances really, [...]

It’s Easter so it has to be chocolate. Pierre Hermé is possibly the king of Paris chocolate.His Japanese laquer box of a patisserie in the heart of Saint Germain just off the place Saint Sulpice is as sophisticated as pastry shops get, even in pastry-addicted Paris. Pierre Hermé is so serious about his work that, like the couture houses, he [...]