Archive for October, 2014

I Love Italian Food – The Fuori Salone

Thursday, October 30th, 2014
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I Love Italian Food

Monique and I got an invitation to attend the I Love Italian Food festival last week. It was held at the Showroom Poliform Varenna on rue du Bac in the 7th arrondissement. What a great celebration it was!

Charline Dayer and Mary Kay Bosshart

Charline Dayer and Mary Kay Bosshart
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

We met a number of Paris bloggers there, including Mary Kay Bossart of Out and About in Paris.

Ferrari Maximum Trento DOC

Ferrari Maximum Trento DOC
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

We got there just a bit early. While we waited for the food stands to open, we sipped a bit of bubbly called Ferrari Maximum Trento DOC. Ferrari is a sparkling wine produced in Trentino, Italy. It’s not a prosecco—it’s produced according to traditional champagne methods, including second fermentation in the bottle. I enjoyed its dry, elegant flavor as much as any champagne that I have ever tasted.

Open-faced Sandwiches Above: sun-dried tomato; Below: olive paste Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Open-faced Sandwiches
Above: sun-dried tomato; Below: olive paste
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Finally, the food stands opened and we went upstairs to sample a wide variety of Italian fare. I tried a couple of delicious open-faced sandwiches.

Parmareggio Brand Cheese

Parmareggio Brand Cheese
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Parmesan cheese had been cut from the wheel in large chunks. This was the first time ever that I have been able to sample as much as I wanted—it was almost like being in a dream. I enjoyed its sharp, almost pungent, flavor and its gritty texture.

Beretta Brand Mortadella

Beretta Brand Mortadella
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Moving from one stand to the next, I tried several slices of Beretta brand Mortadella. I must have been in heaven, because nobody stopped me from taking as much as I wanted—for how long could this dream last?

Slicing the Sausage

Slicing the Sausage
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The man at the sausage stand just kept that slicing machine a-whirring.

Michele Fanciullo

Michele Fanciullo
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Michele Fanciullo, who works as a personal chef in Paris, prepared some wonderful pasta dishes. One of them was flavored with truffle.

Pouring Italian Wines

Pouring Italian Wines
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

On the lower level, where the wine stand was set up, Monique got a glass of Nebbiolo D’Alba red from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Stephane Durot Preparing to Spritz

Stephane Durot Preparing to Spritz
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Returning upstairs, we went to see some food demonstrations. Bartender Stephane Durot (of Franco-Italian origin) demonstrated how to make the Spritz Lambrusco, a drink that he invented one day when he ran out of prosecco. His clients appreciated it so much that it became known as the Spritz Stefi (Stefi is short for Stephane).

Olga Urbani Talks about Truffles

Olga Urbani Talks about Truffles
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Olga Urbani, fourth generation family member of Urbani Truffles, gave a presentation on truffles.

Rosanna Di Michele

Rosanna Di Michele
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Rosanna Di Michele of Cooking with Rosanna demonstrated how to make a pasta dish.

There were other specialists giving demonstrations, but we were not able to attend them all.

Stephane Durot poses with Nicoletta Bernazzani, the event coordinator Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Stephane Durot poses with Nicoletta Bernazzani, the event coordinator
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Thanks to all of the people who worked hard to produce the fabulous I Love Italian Food festival. And yes, I do love Italian food!

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Katie Schwausch of French Cravings Reviews Dining Out in Paris

Tuesday, October 28th, 2014
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Dining Out in Paris

My Thoughts on Dining Out in Paris

As a frequent traveler to Paris, I have amassed an extensive collection of dining guides, some helpful and some not so much, but the majority of which basically cover the same restaurants in the most visited parts of town without offering much else to the reader.

Longtime Paris resident and writer Tom Reeves offers so much more in his book, Dining Out in Paris. His guide is as straightforward as it gets, a must for the first-time traveler to Paris. Loaded throughout with French restaurant vocabulary and their translations, he demystifies much of the Paris dining experience. Not sure about the difference between a bistro and brasserie? What about those confusing menu combinations of entree, plat, and dessert? Tom explains it all.

Refreshingly, he eschews the usual, over-reported latest places for 12 lesser-known restaurants scattered about the City of Light. His thorough reviews include interviews with chefs and owners, who are often one-in-the-same, giving the reader a personal perspective of each location. And not all of his choices are French! He covers Moroccan, fusion, vegan, and more.

Be sure to read this informative guide before your next trip to Paris.

Bon appétit!

Katie Schwausch
Le Cordon Bleu Paris culinary student
www.frenchcravings.com

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Sunday Morning at Un Dimanche à Paris

Sunday, October 26th, 2014
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Un Dimanche à Paris

Un Dimanche à Paris
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

What better place to spend a Sunday morning than in a restaurant called Un Dimanche à Paris? My wife and I went there today for brunch.

The restaurant and chocolate/pastry boutique are located on a narrow 18th-century cobblestone walkway called Cour de Commerce Saint-André. The establishment is vast, occupying three addresses on the cour. The dining tables are amply spaced on a floor of polished paving-stones. Imaginatively-designed light fixtures provide adequate illumination and window shades in green, grape, rose, and taupe provide colorful distraction. In short, the restaurant is an eclectic mixture of modern décor in an ancient setting.

It envelops one of the towers that Philippe Auguste, king of France, built in the 13th century to protect the city before he headed off to the Crusades. Our waiter seated us at a table right next to this magnificent structure. Before he took our order, he thoughtfully asked us if we had any allergies to food.

Un Dimanche à Paris offers two menus for brunch, one for 38€ with a choice of omelets, and the other for 58€, with an assiette gourmet of five different small dishes, followed by four dessert gourmandieses. As the assiette gourmet is representative of the type of cuisine in which the restaurant specializes, we selected that. (The menu centers on the theme of chocolate and each dish contains some form of this ingredient.) The food was so unique that by the end of the meal, we were quite pleased that we had made this choice.

Among the apéritif beverages offered on the brunch menu, we settled on a Kir royal au cacao. This was a glass of brut Ayala champagne flavored with crème de cacao. The touch of chocolate gave the dry champagne an earthy flavor that completely transformed it. We both found this pleasing. I was able to nurse my beverage through half of the meal.

The waiter also brought us each a glass of fruit juice. I chose pear juice produced by Alain Millat, whose flavor I found to be ambrosial, and my wife opted for a glass of pink grapefruit juice.

While we waited for the food to arrive, we delighted in eating fresh, thick-cut baguette which we coated with a velvety chocolate spread. It tasted dreamy! A pat of Echiné butter and a choice of Alain Millat honey and jams were served alongside.

Then, the waiter brought the first course, a plate containing six different portions of food, most of which were flavored in some way with chocolate. Two quick-fried prawns were covered in coco nibs, which gave the crustaceans a slight crunch. A small portion of foie gras was marbled with chocolate and topped with poached pear. A small portion of marinated sea bream was covered in sesame seeds and cocoa nibs. It was served with a round of the freshest salmon that I have tasted in a long time. A slice of rabbit terrine had melt-in-the mouth tenderness. Flavored with chocolate, it was ever-so-slightly bitter. A small goblet of chestnut cream soup served with a swirl of chocolate syrup was light and lovely. And a slice of mackerel, served with green beans and chocolate croutons, expressed the primordial flavor of the sea.

For dessert, the waiter brought a plate containing a two madeleines flavored with rose and raspberry, slices of buttered, toasted Poilâne bread covered with dark-chocolate shavings, tiny Paris Brests (choux pastry) filled with hazelnut cream, and a sweet cake made with bits of candied orange and filled with praline cream. There were two bonuses: a goblet of pannacotta covered with sour cherry jam and a goblet of rich vanilla-flavored yoghurt covered with little balls containing milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate.

To end the meal, the waiter brought me a cup of café au lait and my wife a cup of rich, aromatic hot chocolate.

The service was friendly and wonderfully efficient.

Before we left the restaurant, Nicolas Bacheyre, the pastry and chocolate chef, came out of the kitchen to bid us hello.

This was a wonderful meal and an experience we won’t soon forget!

Un Dimanche à Paris
4-6-8, cour du Commerce Saint-André
75006 Paris
Tel.: 01.56.81.18.18
Sunday brunch served from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
www.un-dimanche-a-paris

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Paris Has Become a Den of Thieves

Saturday, October 25th, 2014
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Paris Metro on Pont Bir Hakeim

Paris Metro on Pont Bir Hakeim
©Paris Tourist Office – Photographer: Marc Bertrand

Entering onto the platform for eastbound trains of metro line 7 at the Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre station, one can often see groups of girls of slight stature – young teenagers – milling about. Their behavior is strangely childlike for girls of their ages. They move about playfully and noisily, and roughhouse as they grab each other by the necks as if to whisper secrets. They move in circles or move erratically making it difficult for passersby to walk through the group. Sometimes one of them freezes in her tracks when a person tries to pass by, forming a temporary impediment to the traveler’s forward motion.

I encountered such a group just a few days ago when my wife and I entered onto the platform to take the metro. I recognized the girls, not individually, but by their comportment and appearance. I said to my wife, “Here are the thieves.” We passed through the group and my wife later told me that one of the girls froze in front of her, hindering her passage.

As we moved mid-way down the platform, I thought that that would be the last I would see of them. However, when the train came into the station, the girls moved toward us and made a movement as if to board the car behind the car that we were about to board. Then, they collectively changed their minds and rushed to the door that we were about to step through, boarding ahead of us. A man who accompanied them boarded, too.

I sensed trouble, but my wife had already stepped aboard, so I followed. She walked to the other side of the car and stood with her back to the far door, a vigilant posture when riding the train. I followed to fill up the space next to her, but as I tried to enter the space, the man who accompanied the girls stood in the middle of the car, partially blocking my way. He stiffened his body as I tried to pass by. It was an obvious attempt to force me to stand in the middle of the car in front of him where, as soon as the train doors closed, I would be an easy target for the girls.

I forcefully pushed by the man and took the space between him and my wife. He seemed interested in the bag and camera that I was carrying, both of which were slung over my shoulder and which I gripped tightly with my right hand. I looked like a tourist with my baseball cap, my camera, and my bag, and I suspected that he and his gang of girls had targeted me for robbery.

The girls entered into a nearby space at the back of the car and made a lot of giggling noises. Whether they robbed anyone there, I don’t know, but when they emerged from the space one of them was carrying a purse that she passed to one of her cohorts. No one in the space protested, so I suppose that the purse belonged to one of the girls.

The girls and the man exited the train at Pont Neuf, the next station down the line.

I was lucky to have been able to squeeze into the space between my wife and the man, because this is what I believe would have happened if I had stayed in the middle of the car: the girls would have emerged from the back of the car and surrounded me, playing their “innocent” games, running around me, bumping into me, distracting me, and finally robbing me. I would not have been able to retreat from them, because the man or one of the girls would surely have blocked me.

Although I have never seen this technique of thievery in action, I have heard about it. I remember the words of a dazed man who stepped from a train at the Pyramides station with his companion saying, “They cleaned me out!” At the time, I remember hoping that that would never happen to me.

I’ve also encountered the following over the years:

• A girl with another group once tried to pick my pocket on the same metro line at the same station.
• A distraught American man in the Pont Neuf metro station cried out to some girls, whose cohort apparently had stolen a camera from his young son. He tried to elicit their support to find the culprit to get the camera back, and succeeded in getting them to follow him out of the station.
• Once, when I was riding metro line 6, a group of girls entered the train. As they entered, I wondered to which adult they belonged, and I wondered why they all had blank stares on their faces. They got off at the next station, the doors closed, and a woman shouted, “They got my passport!” She and her companion got off at the following station, but it was too late to do anything but report the incident to the police.
• Once, when riding metro line 1, a group of about ten girls got on the last car and then walked rapidly in single file to the front car. (Line 1 trains are designed to allow free access from one car to the next.) They brushed people as they walked by, and brushed me even though I had allowed sufficient space for them to pass. One of the girls feigned interest in looking out the window every few feet. At the next station, the girls got out and, laughing and giggling, ran down the platform to the last car to begin their game again.

Paris, alas, has become a den of thieves, and tourists and residents alike are victims of this scourge.

For more information on this increasingly worrisome phenomenon, consult these articles:

17 Paris Scams Gypsies and Thieves Revealed
The Art of the Scam: The ‘Artsy’ Side of Paris You Don’t Want to See
Caught on camera: Moment brazen cashpoint thieves swarm around tourist near Notre Dame cathedral in Paris

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A Preview of Winter Chocolate Creations at Un Dimanche à Paris

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014
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Un Dimanche à Paris on Cour du Commerce Saint-André

Un Dimanche à Paris on Cour du Commerce Saint-André
Photograph courtesy of Un Dimanche à Paris

In mid-September, Monique and I were invited to a preview event to taste winter chocolate creations at Un Dimanche à Paris, a restaurant located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. When we arrived there for the tasting, we discovered that it is much more than a restaurant.

Located on a narrow 18th-century cobblestone walkway called Cour de Commerce Saint-André, the establishment houses a number of enterprises that are a-buzz with activity: a restaurant, a pastry shop, a salon de thé, and a pastry school. And to our great joy, we learned that the common theme around which all of these activities focus is chocolate—in all of its forms.

Upon entering the pastry shop, we were ushered upstairs to a large kitchen where the new winter creations were on display…and all were available for sampling!

Anna Maury - Communications

Anna Maury – Communications
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Anna Maury of the business communications office greeted us and handed each of us a cup of thick, delicious hot chocolate. We were off to a good start!

Sapins de Noël

Sapins de Noël
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I took one of the “Sapins de Noël” (Christmas trees) from the display and bit into it. Resting on a shortbread cookie called sablé Breton, this small confection contained chocolate mousse (50% cocoa), vanilla cream, and milky gianduja encased in a thin layer of chocolate and wrapped in a soft green cocoa-butter velours. Very rich and quite filling! The pastry will be on sale at the boutique from December 8 through December 31.

Ecorce de Chocolat

Bûche – Ecorce de Chocolat
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Monique tried the “Bûche – Ecorce de Chocolat,” a dessert shaped like a Yule log enrobed in an irregular chocolate pastry shell fashioned to look like the bark of a birch tree. The log contained chocolate mousse (66% cocoa) and mandarin-flavored cream glazed with dark chocolate. The whole rested on a base of crunchy chocolate cookie enhanced with fleur de sel (sea salt). The pastry will be on sale at the boutique from December 20 through December 31.

Pierre Cluizel and Nicolas Bacheyre

Pierre Cluizel, Director and Nicolas Bacheyre, Pastry Chef and Chocolate Maker
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I had the pleasure of meeting Pierre Cluizel, director, and Nicolas Bacheyre, pastry chef and chocolate maker.

Pierre Cluizel, son of renowned chocolate maker Michel Cluizel, worked for twenty-five years in the family’s business. He launched Un Dimanche à Paris as a concept store in 2011. In the dining room, he uses chocolate as a spice, and each dish contains some form of this ingredient.

Before coming to Un Dimanche à Paris, 30-year-old Nicolas Bacheyre worked for Fouquet’s (a famed restaurant on the Champs-Elysées), for Le Quinzième (a restaurant owned and created by Cyril Lignac), and for Fauchon (an esteemed caterer) as sous-chef.

The core philosophy of Un Dimanche à Paris is the concept of gourmandise raisonnée, exemplified by the creation of light-textured pastries that contain less sugar and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. After this tasting, we can affirm that their pastries meet these noble goals.

Un Dimanche à Paris
4-6-8, cour du Commerce Saint-André
75006 Paris
Tel.: 01.56.81.18.08 (boutique)
www.un-dimanche-a-paris

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Our Gift Suggestions for Valentine’s Day

Saturday, October 18th, 2014
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Looking for a memorable gift for that special person this Valentine’s Day? We’ve joined with five authors to present a list of six books that we think will please even the most discriminating bibliophile.

Dining Out in Paris_flat

 

For visitors in search of an authentic Parisian dining experience, this book is indispensable!

The e-book Dining Out in Paris – What You Need to Know before You Get to the City of Light provides essential information for the Paris-bound traveler who wants to enjoy a fine dining experience in Paris.

Bonus! Dining Out in Paris – What You Need to Know before You Get to the City of Light contains in-depth reviews of twelve of the author’s favorite restaurants.

Click here to order! http://amzn.to/1nkgCyu

 

 

Je-t-aime-me-neither

 

Is Paris really the eternal City of Love? Dumped suddenly by her Parisian boyfriend, sultry expat Lily is left wondering if je t’aime still exists. Instead of crying into her glass of wine, she decides to heal her bruised ego and quash her romantic doubts with a carefree summer fling . . . or as the French call it: une aventure. Little does she know what—or whom—this adventure has in store! A fun and tantalizing true story of what the Passions of Paris can ignite. Click here to order! http://amzn.to/1Htubo7.

 

 

 

 

90-plus-ways

 

90+ Ways You Know You’re Becoming French is a just-for-fun little book full of perspicacious cultural observations. An amusing way to measure acquired “Frenchness” for those who have studied French or lived in France. Such as when you:

• say things like “I’m getting down from the bus at the next stop”
• know where the “first floor” really is
• ask everyone about their recent/upcoming vacances.

We had a lot of fun making this book. It’s a great gift (less expensive than flowers!) and gets a party rolling. Attractive watercolor illustrations.

Click here to order in Europe http://store.fusac.fr/, in the USA http://amzn.to/1sANloR.

 

Walks through Lost Paris

 

This book features four walks through Paris with hundreds of photos, before and after, showing a Paris that no longer exists. Walk from Saint-Germain des Pres to the Grands Boulevards, through the Left Bank, Ile de la Cité, and the Marais to see how Paris transformed in the 19th century and into the early 20th century under the pickaxe of Baron Haussmann and his followers. The text tells us the history of these grand projects.

“Leonard is completely legitimate, he’s impregnated with Paris. He sees things that we don’t see.”
    -Le Figaro

Click here to order! http://amzn.to/1Aqksvu

 

 

 

Best Paris Short Stories

 

For some, Paris is home, for others, merely a dream. For Gaston, it is a bench, the anchor of his life. For Sue, a romantic city filled with scandalous, dark-eyed men, for Frank an all-consuming fire, for Mme Santinelli a ghost she’d hoped to forget.

By turns humorous, bittersweet or surreal, each of these carefully selected* stories explores a different facet of Paris.

*Selected by distinguished judges Elizabeth Bard, Cara Black, Janet Skeslien Charles, Charles and Clydette De Groot, Penelope Fletcher, Nicola Keegan, Anne Korkeakivi, Diane Johnson, Robert Stewart, Heather Stimmler-Hall and Charles Trueheart.

Click here to order! http://amzn.to/16o28cj

 

 

 

Confessions of a Paris Party Girl

 

Wine, romance, and French bureaucracy—the ups and downs of an American’s life in Paris. This laugh-out-loud memoir is almost too funny to be true!

When newly-single party girl Vicki moved to Paris, she was hoping to indulge in wine, stuff her face with croissants, and maybe fall in love. In her first book, this cheeky storyteller and semi-professional drinker recounts the highs and lows of her life in Paris. Full of sass, shamefully honest admissions, and situations that seem too absurd to be true, you’ll feel as if you’re stumbling along the cobblestones with her.

Click here to order! http://amzn.to/1jSGJ0h

 

 

 

 

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Cooking Bœuf à la Bourguignonne with Ann Mah

Friday, October 10th, 2014
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Ann Mah bookcover

Last year Ann Mah published a delightful book about French cuisine called Mastering the Art of French Eating. I became aware of it because my own recently-published book Dining Out in Paris—What You Need to Know before You Get to the City of Light treats a similar theme, namely French food and dining culture. I read her book in two evenings, and then decided to try one of her recipes, Bœuf à la Bourguignonne.

Essential Ingredients for Bœuf à la Bourguignonne

Essential Ingredients for Bœuf à la Bourguignonne
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

She calls this dish Bœuf à la Bourguignonne rather than Bœuf Bourguignon, because she believes that the reader should be able to use any kind of red wine, not just Burgundy wine. I purchased most of the ingredients from the local food market on rue Mouffetard, including a bottle of Rasteau, a Rhone Valley red, from Nicolas. From Pascal Gosnet I purchased two beef cheeks; from Picard Surgélé I purchased a bag of frozen pearl onions and a bag of frozen sliced button mushrooms; from Halles Mouffetard, I purchased an onion, a leek, and carrots; and from Franprix I purchased a small bottle of Cognac, a jar of juniper berries, and lardon matchsticks (bacon chopped into small slivers). I already had the other ingredients in the pantry.

I allotted an entire afternoon for the preparation of the dish. By the time I was finished I had lots of pots, pans, and utensils to wash! But the next day, when my wife and I set down to dinner, I concluded that the hearty dish was worth the effort.

Chopped Leek and Carrots

Chopped Leek, Onion, and Carrots
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I chopped the leek, onion, and carrots into 1″ pieces as Ann instructed.

Cubed Beef

Cubed Beef
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I cut the beef cheeks into 3″ pieces. This was the hard part, because my knife wasn’t sharp and because a membrane on the cheek was too tough to cut. I removed it by cutting away at the meat rather than at the membrane. I saved this meaty scrap and boiled it later for beef stock. Then, I put everything in the pot (except the meat scrap) to await the wine bath in which the vegetables and beef would be immersed.

Pouring Wine into the Pot

Pouring Wine into the Pot
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I poured the wine into the pot. Naturally, I tasted the wine first: it was medium-bodied with a rich aroma of red fruits. Very nice!

Then I covered the pot, making sure that all of the meat was immersed, and put it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

Browning the Meat

Browning the Meat
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The following day I removed the beef chunks from the marinade and put them in a frying pan with olive oil to brown. Ann said that they would turn golden and crusted, but they never did. Oh, well.

Browning the Vegetables

Browning the Vegetables
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I removed the meat from the frying pan and set it aside. Then I browned the vegetables. They never got very brown either, so I had to pretend that they were browned.

Flaming the Cognac

Flaming the Cognac
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I put the vegetables and meat back into the frying pan and flamed them with cognac. Then, I returned the beef and vegetables to the pot with the marinade and let them simmer for three hours.

Sautéed Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Bacon

Sautéed Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Lardon Matchsticks
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I prepared the garniture: sautéed mushrooms, pearl onions, and lardon matchsticks. This all went into the pot with the beef, vegetable, and marinade to simmer for an additional ten minutes.

Bœuf à la Bourguignonne

Bœuf à la Bourguignonne
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

It was finished. Voilà! (The vegetables are discarded. The beef is served without the marinade. Later, I used the marinade to make a rich cabbage and carrot soup.)

At the Table

At the Table
Bœuf à la Bourguignonne Served with Mushrooms,
Lardon Matchsticks, Green Beans and Quinoa

Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

It was truly a dish that was suitable for serving on a chilly fall day. We found the beef to be tender with a somewhat gamey flavor. I speculated that the flavor came from the mushrooms, wine, and smoked bacon, not from the meat. (I tasted the meat in the beef stock that had been prepared without marinade, and it didn’t taste gamey.) There was enough beef left over for another meal, which we had two days later.

Thank you, Ann Mah, for writing the book and sharing the recipe for this savory dish!

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52 Martinis Paris Cocktails Meetup at Club Rayé

Saturday, October 4th, 2014
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Club Rayé

Club Rayé
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Last Tuesday evening we attended a 52 Martinis meetup. Organized by Forest Collins, it was held at Club Rayé, a chic bar in the Montorgueil district of Paris.

Monique in Tunnel that Leads to the Kafka Room

Monique Y. Wells in Tunnel that Leads to the Kafka Room
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The party was held in the bar’s Kafka room, accessible down a stairway and through a narrow tunnel painted with vertical stripes of black and white. “Rayé” is French for “striped,” and the design of the entire bar reflects this theme.

Bartender Preparing a Forest Collins

Tim, the Bartender
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The bartender was preparing “Forest Collins,” a drink made with 5cl of juniper-infused Monkey Shoulder, 3cl lemon juice, and 2cl sugar syrup. Shake and serve over ice topped up with soda water.

Fanny Pothier

Fanny Pothier
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Fanny Pothier was there taking pictures.

Bihter Sabanoglu and Forest Collins

Bihter Sabanoglu and Forest Collins
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Bihter Sabanoglu posed for a photo with Forest.

Dio - Forest Collins - Fanny Pothier

Dio – Forest Collins – Fanny Pothier
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Forest and Fanny went behind the bar to pose with bartender Dio for a photograph.

Monique Y Wells - Kein Cross - Forest Collins

Monique Y Wells – Kein Cross – Forest Collins
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

And toward the end of the evening, Monique and Forest went upstairs to pose with the owner, Kein Cross.

A good time was had by all!

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Journey to the Center of a Flea Market

Thursday, October 2nd, 2014
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Two weeks ago, we got an invitation to attend Sarah Rozenbaum’s open house at the Marché aux Puces – the famous flea market that lies in Saint-Ouen, just outside the Paris city limits to the north. She had opened a second vintage clothing store and was inviting us to come by and see the new shop. Having written about her shop back in January 2013, I was eager to return to see what she was up to. Also, I thought that it would be a good occasion to dine in one to the restaurants around the flea market after we had visited her boutique.

Sarah Rosenbaum

Sarah Rozenbaum, Proprietor of Chez Sarah
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

We arrived on a Friday evening and saw that the open house was a special market-wide event. Called “Voyage au Centre des Puces,” it had been organized around the theme of travel and was open only to those who received an invitation. We didn’t linger in the other boutiques, though – we headed straight for Sarah’s.

Located in a covered passage, appropriately called “Le Passage,” Sarah’s vintage clothing store stretches along three-quarters of a city block. Back in 2013, I wrote that “mannequins dressed in 20th century garb display feathery hats, flappers’ skirts, elegant gowns, frilly dresses, colorful capes, and chic purses…it’s all there for the shopper who wants to dress in yesterday’s styles. Most of the selection is for women, but men’s clothes are displayed as well.” When we arrived at her shop on this recent Friday evening, we discovered that the newly opened second shop lay just across the alley from the first. It was just as long (three-quarters of a city block), but the major difference was that here she sells a wide selection of vintage men’s clothing as well as women’s clothing and fabrics.

We decided to concentrate our exploration on the men’s clothing, and we found lots of handsome attire to admire.

Men's Hats

Men’s Hats
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I could see myself sporting one of these top hats and strutting into Les Deux Magots to order a double bourbon.

Striped Trousers

Striped Trousers
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I’d need a pair of striped trousers, though, to do justice to the style of the hat.

Man's Jacket

Man’s Jacket
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

This jacket looks as though it will go well with the trousers.

Men's Ties

Men’s Ties
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I neglected to look at shirts, but I saw that there was a wide selection of ties, priced at only 5€ each! I was sure to find one that complemented the top hat, jacket, and trousers. Perhaps a bow tie would better suit the style? I didn’t see any around.

Peignoir

Dressing Gown
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Back home, in the evening, I’d doff the top hat and wear this dressing gown.

Label of a House Robe

A. Sulka & Company Clothing Label
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

An Amos Sulka & Company house robe, priced at “only” 400€, no less! Though likely a bargain (Sulka closed in 2001), I would have still have to think twice before putting out that much money.

Realizing that the cost of dressing like a dandy was beyond my means, I left the shop with my partner and headed for our next destination: a nearby restaurant called La Puce. Read our account of this fine eating establishment in this week’s Paris Insights restaurant review.

Chez Sarah
18, rue Jules Vallès or 27, rue Lécuyer
93400 Saint-Ouen
Telephone: 06.08.01.80.89
Metro: Porte de Clignancourt (Line 4)
www.chezsarah.net
Open all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and by appointment Wednesday through Friday.

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