The Sweet Scent of Stardom All the elements of success: gray-beige decor, great food sources, a talented chef and well-schooled staff. It’s getting to be a bit much, all this gray-beige decor. Every aspirational restaurant startup has it. Have those … Read More
Regional Byways Seasonal berries with a melon-ribbon bow. I take real pleasure in seeing a new restaurant open and take off seemingly effortlessly. A la Chataigne opened earlier this year, but when I was there very recently, it felt as … Read More
Simon Says: Don’t Miss It The decor is minimal, the food memorable. Japanese food remains largely terra incognita for me, and I have more than a sneaking suspicion that like other “ethnic” cuisines, Japanese food is dumbed down here for … Read More
Going My Way? When have sardine rillettes ever looked so lovely? A new restaurant has opened in my old stomping grounds, the quartier Maubert in Paris’s fifth arrondissement, and is already attracting quite a bit of notice. My own interest … Read More
Pushing the Bottle About The wine’s the thing at Les Papilles. Another one of those places that had been sitting on my list for an age, Les Papilles (it means “taste buds” but has overtones of lip-smacking pleasure, which the … Read More
Well-Bred Critic’s Choice February 15, 2006; updated May 23, 2008 French restaurant critics have a new chouchou. La Ferrandaise, which opened last September, has already been named restaurant of the year 2006 by Claude Lebey’s “Le Petit Lebey 2006 des … Read More
High Table If Les Cocottes is modeled on an Amiercan diner, it must be a very classy one. After our foray into Constant-land last year, I went back to give Christian Constant’s latest addition to his stable of restaurants … Read More
National Comfort Food A simple, cozy setting. On the sort of cold, blustery night we’ve been having in Paris recently, my thoughts turn to comfort food and my abiding passion for couscous. The vegetables in broth and the hunks of … Read More
A Best in Bistros The basic decor belies the quality of the food. February 22, 2006; updated March 19, 2008 Who would expect such a fine meal from such an unassuming little bistro? The Café des Musées, situated on a … Read More
Technicolor Treats The chefs work behind a window, like fish in an aquarium. Updated Nov. 12, 2008 As we pushed through the doors and entered the chic interior of Ze Kitchen Galerie, the warmth of chef William Ledeuil’s welcoming smile … Read More
