05 Aug 2016 7 Comments
in On the Road, Recipes Tags: aperitifs, Edith Piaf, France, La Vie En Rose, Paris, rosé, Saint-Genis-Pouilly, spritz, wine
In France these days, nobody is drinking red wine. I brought a nice Cotes du Rhone to the home of friends in Paris; they thanked me, tucked it away, and brought out the rosé.
“It is hot,” friend Sebastien offered by way of an explanation, “We are not drinking red wine.” More
22 Jul 2016 10 Comments
in Humor, On the Road Tags: 9/11, cheese, French food, Lay's, Paris, poutine, raw milk cheese, smuggling, Walker's chips
I felt a bit guilty when I lied to the very kind customs man who welcomed us back into the United States.
“You’re not bringing in any food?” he said.
“No,” I replied.
My local fromagerie in Paris
In fact, my bag was 50% clothes, 50% food. I had several very alive raw milk cheeses, a few packages of salted Italian bottarga mullet roe, a large box of vialone nano risotto rice, five or six cans and jars of foie gras, four boxes of dried pasta and miscellaneous containers of salts. It is probably only the first two that would’ve raised border control eyebrows.
15 Jul 2016 8 Comments
in Observations, On the Road, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories), Video Tags: Bresse chicken, France, French food, L'as du Fallafel, Marais, Marche des Enfants Rouge, Paris, Picasso Museum
It took me a little while to get my bearings in Paris. It’s a city I know well — I’ve spent a lot of time here — but after the easy, laid-back intimacy of Italy and the French Rhone-Alpes, Paris was a jarring awakening.
Arc de Triomphe, Bastille Day
The entre, after two weeks of meandering country roads, was driving the rental car into the heart of the Marais to drop the family and luggage off at the Airbnb, and then trying to navigate my way along the frenetic Rue du Rivoli to the subterranean Hertz offices at the swirling mayhem of the Louvre Carousel. More
30 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in Observations, On the Road, Video Tags: Fairmont, Fiddler's Green, Gold Dust Lounge, Guinness, Irish Bank, JFK, Paris, Prohibition, San Francisco, Van Morrison
I like cities that are oriented around food. Paris is a city like that. On any given block, between your Metro stop and your apartment, there will be charcuteries, boulangeries, patisseries, street markets, produce shops and every variety of other businesses providing anything you could possibly need for dinner that night. San Francisco is a bit like Paris that way. If I want a good loaf of bread in Los Angeles, it’s an afternoon outing. In San Francisco, you’ll practically trip over a freshly baked baguette or sourdough boule every time you turn a corner.
Baba, bubbly and beer at The Fairmont
Because I have three children, I drink. Not that I needed an excuse before, but it’s certainly a good one. More
12 Jul 2011 7 Comments
in Recipes, Video Tags: baguette, Bastille Day, brasserie, charcuterie, France, french cooking, fries, frites, fruits de mer, moules, mussels, Paris, paté, recipes, seafood, video
We Americans like to appropriate other peoples’ holidays. I’m as guilty as anyone — on Cinco de Mayo we have friends over for fish tacos and margaritas; never does a St. Patty’s Day pass by without corned beef, cabbage and Guinness. And Chinese New Year always represents an opportunity for lacquered duck. But we the people haven’t seemed as taken, for some reason, with Bastille Day. 
I was in Paris once for Bastille Day. I remember tanks on the Champs Elysees, jets flying low overhead, drunk Parisians everywhere, reveling. I’ve always been enamored of France, and Paris in particular. More
skinny girls & mayonnaise 