I’d heard about L’OisiveThé in the village-y Buttes Aux Cailles neighborhood for a while. Owned by Aimee (which sounds French, but she is really American), the teahouse also doubles as a knitting mecca. On first glance you’d be forgiven for focusing on the yarn more than the tea. My friend could also be forgiven for [...]
There’s no name on the outside – just heavy iron grills on the opaque windows of the matte black facade. But Asuka – this hidden little 12-seater Japanese restaurant on a side street on the dark side of Montmartre – has been drawing in those in the know for over ten years with its authentic [...]
The Renaissance Paris Le Parc Trocadero Hotel reopened its doors last April after 4 months of renovation that resulted in the award of a 5th star. The lobby bar is clean, modern and non-fussy but manages to flirt with a bit of fun. Cheeky green armchairs and shiny surfaces offset more traditional paintings and low-key sofas. [...]
Paris is a magnificent city – romantic, historic and cultural. But having been away for a few years, there are a few things that stand out when I think about what I miss… The Metro Why I miss it: Despite its ingenuity, the London Tube is something all Londoners love to complain about. The Paris [...]
I feel terrible for the tourists eating at the tourist traps in Paris posing as French restaurants that I simply must share some tips for avoiding these places. If you appreciate good food that is thoughtfully prepared, and if you often mark a lunch or evening meal as the high point of your day, beware of these [...]
It’s time to address the big Buddha in the room. For a good part of the past decade the Buddha Bar has barely bleeped my radar. I considered it a past its sell-by date hub for expense account-wielding wanna-be hipsters more interested in where they are drinking than what (with a bit of electro mood [...]
The gentrification of Paris’ 19th arrondissement continues with the opening of La Rotonde, a brasserie housed in an impressive neo-classical building on the Place Stalingrad, overlooking the Canal de l’Ourcq. But despite its lofty architecture, the vibe is laid back and prices are reasonable – the aim of La Rotonde is to recreate an unpretentious [...]
This is the time of year for fresh wild mushrooms in Paris. The marchés have mounds of fresh mushrooms for sale. The best ones are girolles (what Americans call chanterelles) and cepes — big, meaty mushrooms the size of baseballs. Restaurants routinely feature fresh mushrooms on their menus, usually with chicken, veal or white sea bass. Other [...]
Exposed beams, an ancient door and a cave dating to the Middle Ages: this seems like an unlikely setting for a Paris restaurant serving ultracontemporary Franco-Japanese fare, yet somehow it all works. Upstairs is an elegant, classic dining room, but downstairs in the “salle japonaise” you’ll be asked to remove your shoes for a seat at one [...]
Last weekend marked the 17th annual Salon du Chocolat, and the first annual chocolate hangover for me. Held in a huge pavilion in the Porte de Versailles, it is a chocolate trade show dedicated to the cocoa bean: its growers, chocolatiers, and consumers. I had been warned that there would not be a lot of [...]
