Heidi Ellison
Quinsou
A Rare Bird Spreads Its Wings
I thought I had mistaken the address on the restaurant-lined Rue de l’Abbé Grégoire (home to the excellent Cézembre) when I saw the beat-up facade of a café whose salad days were obviously long gone. But no, I was in the right place: a new restaurant called Quinsou.
American Painting in the 1930s: The Age of Anxiety
In the Run-up to A New Art World
Is Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” (1930) the American “Mona Lisa”? This iconic painting is certainly just as recognizable to people around the world, although it may not have the latter’s gravitas. “American Gothic,” with its dour farm couple and their … Read More
Rembrandt Intime
A Small Feast of Works of Genius
The title of the exhibition “Rembrandt Intime” at the Musée Jacquemart-André is slightly misleading; although the show does include a number of the artist’s self-portraits (he made around 80) and paintings featuring family members, it goes well beyond the intimate … Read More
Les Arlots
Lunchtime War Games in Rollicking Modern Bistro
I happened to go to Les Arlots with two Paris Update readers, Jenny and Jonathan, on Armistice Day, when the restaurant was in full celebration of the end of World War I, complete with facsimiles of menus from the war years and toy soldiers on the tables.
Bernard Buffet
Reassessing a Beloved/Despised Artist
I heard it over and over again whenever I mentioned the Bernard Buffet (1928-99) retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris to a friend or acquaintance: “I don’t like him. I’m not going.” From what little … Read More
Belle Maison
More Fish than Fowl, Bistro Excels at Both
They’ve done it again. The youthful owners of the excellent bistros Le Pantruche and Caillebotte have spawned another success. La Belle Maison fully lives up to its name, offering fine food at reasonable prices with friendly service in a pleasant (although sometimes noisy) setting.
Chez la Vieille Daniel Rose
Joyeux, Joli et Généreux
After creating Spring, with its beautiful, starkly modern decor, American chef Daniel Rose seems to be in a mood for tradition. Aside from his successful venture in New York City, Le Coucou, he has acquired two Paris restaurants with resonant histories, retained their original names, and refreshed the decor and food, updating both but staying in the same vein as the original incarnation.
Tout Est Art: Ben
The Word Is Ben, Ben Is the Word
Like many people, I imagine, I didn’t know that there was much more to the artist Ben Vautier (born 1935 and better known as just “Ben”) than those clever handwritten sayings in white on black seen on walls in Paris … Read More
Lucy Dixon: Lulu’s Back in Town
Stylish Swing Song Stylist
Is Lucy Dixon the female reincarnation of Fred Astaire? She wouldn’t mind in the least. Astaire is her idol, her model, the man whose films with Ginger Rogers first got the little Lucy interested in tap dancing and singing. Now … Read More
Gallina
Chicken and Cocktails: For Youth Alone?
I had been to Gallina once before for an emergency late-night chicken sandwich (no other restaurants in the neighborhood were serving food at that hour), which was delicious and enjoyed on the terrace on a warm summer evening. When I recently read that they also offered macaroni and cheese – for me the ultimate comfort food – I knew I had to get back there soon. Chicken, especially rotisserie chicken, is another great comfort food. That is supposed to be Gallina’s specialty, but it also offers other kinds of meat, including pork and rabbit.