Call me a snob, but I tremble every time The New York Times publishes an article recommending Paris restaurants; it’s a surefire guarantee that they will be packed to the rafters with tourists from then on. Getting a reservation will … Read More
Long gone are the days when Asian food in Paris was nearly always standardized and dumbed down. In the last couple of years, the number of creative, high-quality Asian places has grown at a dazzling pace, whether they be Chinese, … Read More
Even though I live not far away and have heard my friends singing its praises for many years, I had never been to Chez Casimir, located near the Gare du Nord, until recently. Its former owner, chef Thierry Breton, who … Read More
When I first came to Paris as a tourist a couple of decades ago, visitors often made the remark that it was impossible to eat badly here. After many a mediocre restaurant meal, I soon realized that that dictum was … Read More
I have always wondered how the best chefs come up with new recipes. Obviously, their prior experience and inspiration from other chefs play major roles – let’s not even mention those who just follow the trends or outright copy the … Read More
If you live in Paris, with its multitude of great restaurants, why would you go to the suburb of Vincennes for dinner? Because that’s where Maezaly is located. Nicolas and Amandine, the son and daughter-in-law of my friend Mary, have … Read More
A restaurant with the unlikely name of God Bless Broccoli could not help but attract my attention. It turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria in the Belleville neighborhood. In spite of the mention of the green vegetable of the … Read More
Every tourist and hard-up student in Paris has surely passed through the doors of the first Bouillon Chartier on Rue Faubourg Montmartre. Opened in 1896 in a former arms factory, the bouillon (a 19th-century workers’ restaurant specializing in soup and … Read More
Returning to Paris from a relaxing vacation in the South of France some years ago, a friend and I walked out of the Gare de Lyon and looked at each other balefully. We were not yet ready to return to … Read More
In Paris, as you probably already know, if you want to eat at a good restaurant, you can’t expect to reserve at the last minute or just pop in unreserved. A case in point: on Wednesday of last week, I … Read More
