Something was wrong. My lunch date, restaurant reviewer John Talbott, wasn’t waiting for me in the new bistro Verres de Contact on the Boulevard Saint-Germain as planned, but on the street in front of it. Turns out that an electricity … Read More
Too Much of A Good Thing? Have you seen this Paris bistro before? When I walked into L’Office the other evening, I had the impression that I had been there before. I hadn’t, but the new wave of “neo-bistros” in … Read More
Where Chefs Dine The deep-fried langoustine tails were perfectly light and crisp. The restaurant Christophe, metaphorically speaking, had been sitting in the back of my mind for several months, but was recently foregrounded when Alain Pramil of the eponymous restaurant … Read More
Le Petit Curieux is a neighborhood restaurant with good products to eat in or take out. A curious thing has happened each of the three times I have eaten at the restaurant Le Petit Curieux: one dish is so delightful … Read More
The food at 122 is impeccably prepared. Above: snails in “angel hair” batter. Pros: Great food, well-chosen wines; pleasant, attentive service Cons: Decor a bit Spartan for my taste. Walking into 122, a memory resurfaced of a journalist’s comment about … Read More
Au Petit Riche has been around since 1854. Pros: Fabulous list of Loire wines; quirky layout; pleasant atmosphere Cons: Cooking seems stuck in a rut The last time I set foot in the Petit Riche was about two decades ago, … Read More
The food at Ratatouille and Tellus (above) carries on the great tradition of French bourgeois cuisine. Editor’s note (May 2013): Tellus is no longer in business, but Ratatouille is still going strong. It’s very rare that I leave anything on … Read More
Chef William Ledeuil has opened a baby-sister bistro to his much-loved Ze Kitchen Galerie. Back in Paris after two weeks of almost uninterrupted glorious sunshine in La Rochelle. Talk about a reality check: two weeks of people being nice to … Read More
Le Garde Robe offers a refreshing alternative to three-course meals. There are times when instead of savoring some majestic creation by a great chef you would rather just chill out at a little street-side table and jaw with friends while … Read More
Sidewalk table at Frenchie, a new Paris bistro worth knowing about. Pros: Excellent food at wallet-friendly prices; fine, shortish wine list with a good sprinkling of non-French wines Cons: Nothing worth mentioning, apart from the loud music issuing from the … Read More
