For many years I’ve been reading about how jazz is dying. It seems to stay alive, but it’s definitely not one of the top music genres in the U.S., even in the region where it was born, the South. (Although this weekend is the New Orleans Jazz Festival, which I heartily recommend even to non-jazz-lovers. [...]
The team behind the much-lauded restaurant Septime (which featured again this year on the World’s Best Restaurant list) has opened a wine shop-cum-wine bar just around the corner from its main address in the 11th arrondissement. Pop into the charming Septime La Cave to pick up a bottle from their vast selection from not just France, but [...]
A big thumbs-down goes to Harry’s New York Bar (it advertises itself as “Sank Roo Doe Noo” in the second arrondissement), which seems to be confusing itself with the Ritz Hemingway Bar. There is now a “hostess” at the door to enforce dress code, so when a dozen local expats tried to stop in for [...]
The Bistrologist is the new incarnation of le Secret. The same sexy and seductive décor remains, with dark wooden walls, soft chairs, and crisp white cloths on tables topped with a single flower. The airy, comfortable terrace also remains for sophisticated sipping with a side of pretty-people watching. While the decor may have stayed the [...]
Late last year, l’Eclair popped up on the cute cobblestone street rue Cler, which is better known for its markets than mixology. On first glance, it appears to be just another typical Paris cafe, with a busy terrace, strategically distressed decor and a lively crowd of young Frenchies chatting over cheap glasses of wine. But [...]
Paris’ finest high brow debauchery is back: Book Club returns for another evening of fun, frolics and literary chat this Sunday 7th April at South Pigalle cocktail bar, Le Carmen. The concept is simple: bring a book you have loved and swap it with a book one of the other guests has brought and also therefore loved. [...]
La Miroiterie, probably the oldest art squat (or “squart”) in Paris, may soon close down. It started in 1999. From my admittedly American standpoint, I find the squatters’ resistance to city support (and regulation), in order to keep it going, to be childish and utopian. Should artists be allowed to live there sans rent in [...]
While this large lounge can easily hold a hundred, it still offers an air of intimacy with nooks and alcoves packed with comfortable armchairs, candlelit coffee tables and heavy drapes. The ladies’ offers up two loos in the same room, so you can gossip with the girls literally nonstop. Dim lighting and an eclectic assortment [...]
Frédérique and I were heading to grab a drink the other night for some quick FaceTime. We met at République as it was convenient foot us both. But I didn’t want to go anywhere on the Place de la République which is mostly populated by chain restaurants, cafés and fast food joints. So we walked literally a [...]
I had another one of those starry-eyed moments the other night. One of those catch-your-breath-oh-my-god-is-this-really-my-life moments. I work for the most prestigious luxury house in France, and every year they throw a big event for all their employees in the Paris region. They have a ceremony to handsomely recognize those who have loyally worked for [...]
