Decrypting French Restaurants: Brasseries, Bistros, Table d’Hôtes & More
Last Updated on September 18, 2023 With its some 40,000 restaurants and eateries, Paris is, as poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen quipped in a signing of his…
Eating Out on a Budget in Paris & France: How to Save Money
Last Updated on November 29, 2023 Counting more Michelin-starred restaurants than many other countries combined, France is widely associated with la haute gastronomie: high-end cuisine that remains…
Some of the Most Beautiful Restaurants in Paris: 5 Stunning Settings
Last Updated on August 29, 2023 Recent trends in food have tended to de-emphasize the importance of the dining room from an aesthetic point of view– or…
The Best Street Food in Paris: Our Favorite Spots For a Cheap Bite
Last Updated on November 22, 2023 Growing up in a Los Angeles suburb well before the era of hipster food trucks, street food wasn’t much of a…
The Best Brasseries in Paris (and a Bit of History)
Last Updated on October 25, 2023 Photo credit: Bofinger via official Facebook page Nothing binds together the rich gastronomic and cultural tapestry of Parisian life like the…
Some Of The Best Italian Restaurants in Paris: Our Picks
Last Updated on May 16, 2023 When I moved to Paris in the early 2000s, Italian cuisine was certainly not a notable feature or strong point in…
Best Vegetarian (& Vegan) Restaurants in Paris: A Few Picks
Last Updated on November 7, 2023 As recently as a decade ago, the prospect of finding delicious, let alone decent, vegetarian or vegan restaurants in Paris was…
A Few Paris Cafés Coveted & Recommended by (Today’s) Writers
Last Updated on November 20, 2023 Good Spots For Working, Thinking & World-Gazing Generations of writers have elected Parisian cafés as ersatz offices, even second homes. How…
Where to Taste Delicious French Pastries in Paris: A Few Picks
Last Updated on November 22, 2023 The history of French pastry-making is, like almost everything else in the Gallic world, passionately debated. Some claim it starts with…
The Best Places for Picnics in Paris, From Parks to Riverbanks
Last Updated on November 4, 2022 Like they do with pretty much everything else, Parisians make a true art of the spring or summer picnic. It’s not…
The Best Falafel in Paris: Our Full Guide
Last Updated on November 21, 2023 It may seem odd that a culinary staple native to the Middle East is both wildly popular in the French capital,…
Best Places for Brunch in Paris: Our Picks
Last Updated on January 22, 2020 It’s not always easy to find a decent brunch in Paris– or anywhere, for that matter. These days, brunch seems to…
The Best Places for Afternoon Tea in Paris: Our Picks
Last Updated on November 22, 2023 While I’m more of a coffee lover than a tea person, the winter season in the capital demands an extra jolt…
Some of the Best Places for Coffee in Paris: Roasters & More
Last Updated on November 16, 2023 It’s starting to feel like a routine to note that Paris has been getting significantly better at producing things it was…
French Brioche: Short History of a Popular Sweet Bread
Last Updated on July 19, 2023 True, the baguette is the most familiar bread staple in French households. Bakeries reportedly produce some six billion elongated loaves each…
Inside Paroles de Fromagers, a Great Stop for Cheese-Tasting in Paris
Last Updated on July 12, 2023 If cheese-tasting in Paris sounds like your speed, this unassuming little shop, tasting bar, and “cheese school” may be just the…
Inside Le Train Bleu, One of Paris’ Most Beautiful Brasseries
Last Updated on October 2, 2023 During the heyday of train travel in the late nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries, rail stations in major cities were places where…
The Curious History of the Croissant (& How It Became France’s Favorite Pastry)
Last Updated on September 18, 2023 There’s something mysterious– maybe even alchemical— about the qualities that have to come together to yield the “ideal” croissant. To fit…
5 Classic French Desserts & Sweets for Christmas
Last Updated on November 29, 2023 As this goes to press, December has snuck up on us– and I find myself craving a few classic French desserts…
History of Champagne: How the English Helped Birth Bubbly, & Other Facts
Last Updated on July 7, 2023 There’s something deceptively timeless about raising a toast over a glass of champagne (or some other form of sparkling white wine)…
Inside Maison Julien, the Bakery Awarded Best Baguette in Paris in 2020
Last Updated on September 28, 2021 It’s an annual tradition that’s certainly not taken lightly. Every year since 1994, a panel of judges gathers in the French…
In Review: Clover Green, for an Elegant but Relaxed Meal in Paris’ Saint-Germain
It can be surprisingly difficult to find a “traditional” French restaurant in the capital that offer reasonable fixed-priced menus and thoughtfully presented, delicious dishes. But this is precisely…
Inside the Paris Wine Museum (M. Musée du Vin)
Last Updated on November 13, 2023 Aside from the humble baguette, there is perhaps no other staple more common in French homes than the bottle of wine…
Japanese Paris: The Best Restaurants & Grocers Around Rue Sainte-Anne
Last Updated on January 22, 2020 While most tourists with a taste for gourmet experiences come to Paris to try French food, a few know that the…
How (& Where) to Enjoy Beaujolais Nouveau Wine Tastings in Paris
Last Updated on October 27, 2023 The French may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but on the third Thursday of November they find something of their own to be…
Where to Taste Some of the Best Ice Cream & Gelato in Paris?
Last Updated on October 19, 2023 A small confession: I’m not someone you can really trust with a pint of ice cream left in the freezer. If…
In Review: Breizh Café & Cider Bar, for Creative Cocktails & Bréton Nibbles
Last Updated on February 3, 2020 Bréton-style savory pancakes and cocktails: if the combination sounds a bit odd, that’s because it is. But as I recently discovered,…
Best Places for Wine Tasting in Bordeaux: Bars & More in the City Center
Last Updated on October 10, 2023 A few years ago, I spent a little under six weeks living and working in Bordeaux, as I prepared to write…
La Coupole, a Montparnasse Brasserie Haunted With Artistic History
Last Updated on October 10, 2023 Referring to the legendary Parisian brasserie on Boulevard de Montparnasse, French historian Georges Viaud once remarked: “If the tables [here] could…
In Review: Ti Jos, a Traditional Breton Creperie in Paris’ Montparnasse
Last Updated on November 17, 2019 Looking for a good traditional Breton restaurant and creperie in Paris without even a hint of pretention or stuffy formality? Ti…
Le Foodist: French Cooking Classes in Paris That Aren’t Intimidating
Last Updated on April 6, 2020 I arrive at Le Foodist, located near the Sorbonne University, notebook in hand and ready to observe a day of traditional…
Le Potager de Charlotte: Simple, Flavorful Vegan Cuisine in Paris
Last Updated on January 27, 2022 For anyone following the Parisian food scene, it’s no secret that there’s something of a vegetarian and vegan revolution underway in…
French Choux Pastry: A Short History
Last Updated on July 10, 2023 The versatile marvel behind eclairs, profiteroles & more If French pastries are your thing, you’ve certainly already encountered the humble pâte…
La Maison d’Isabelle: for Delicious All-Butter Croissants in Paris
Last Updated on September 13, 2023 One of the great annual rituals of Parisian culture is the awarding of top prizes to local bakers and pastry chefs,…
In Review: Coretta, a Refreshingly Unpretentious Gourmet Table in Paris
Last Updated on February 3, 2020 Recently, ahead of exploring the formerly sleepy Batignolles district in North Paris, I caught wind of a much-buzzed-about new restaurant in…
In Review: Addis Abeba, Serving Some of the Best Ethiopian Food in Paris
Last Updated on July 27, 2021 The first time I tried Ethiopian food, it was at Addis Abeba in Paris: a wonderful place to sample the East…
In Review: Farine & O, One of Paris’ Best New Bakeries
Last Updated on July 5, 2021 In France, there’s a strongly held belief that the most talented boulangers (bread bakers) are not generally equally gifted at producing top-notch pastries…
Some of the Best Crepes in Paris: A Few Favorites
Looking for some decent crepes in Paris? You’re not alone. Crepes are one of the world’s great democratic foods. They’re inexpensive, often portable, and remarkably adaptable, ranging…
French Etiquette 101: Myths, Realities, & a Bit of History
Last Updated on October 2, 2023 Any cursory Google search on the rules of French etiquette can send you down a rabbit hole of exasperated forum posts…
Bo & Mie Bakery in Paris: My Full Review
Last Updated on July 6, 2023 First opening in central Paris with a single location in November 2017, Bo & Mie is a forward-thinking concept launched by…
Du Pain et des Idées: A Fantastic Bakery Near the Canal St-Martin
Last Updated on October 18, 2023 If you’re strolling along Paris’ Canal St-Martin and happen to spot a long line snaking through (and congesting) a side street,…
A Short History of French and Dijon Mustard
Last Updated on July 7, 2023 From aristocratic extravagance to everyday condiment In 2022, French mustard shortages made the popular condiment scarce on supermarket shelves around the…
In Review: La Cave de Belleville, an Intimate Wine Bar in Paris’ Northeast
Last Updated on September 14, 2023 Up until recently, you’d be surprised to find a trendy wine bar in Belleville, a Parisian neighborhood that has been a…
In Review: Macéo, a Traditional Paris Restaurant With Modern Touches
Last Updated on June 22, 2023 It’s well-known gastronomic French restaurant culture in Paris is not typically very accommodating to vegetarians. Those who either eschew meat altogether…
How to Avoid Bad Food and Restaurants in Paris: A Few Tips
Last Updated on June 29, 2023 The prestige of French food may have ebbed and flowed over the centuries, but there’s a general consensus among critics (and,…
The French “Bouillon” Restaurant: A Short History
Last Updated on May 16, 2023 …and a few of the best bouillons in Paris With origins in the 19th century, “bouillon” restaurants are an integral part…
French Candy & Confectionary Shops: History & The Best in Paris
Last Updated on November 16, 2023 Crispy millefeuille, rich opera cake, zesty tarte au citron — we’re all familiar with the charms of French pâtisserie. But what…
