UPDATE: As of September 2021, the owner has closed this store for good. โJe nโen ai pas besoin, maisโฆโ Those are words I constantly tell myself when Iโm at a flea market or brocante (antique or secondhand shop) and come across something that I like (or want). Piles of gorgeous French linens, mortars without (or without) pestles, French jam jars, and no longer loved cafรฉโฆ
Staying with friends in the countryside for a few days last week, we were fortunate to discover that a neighbor wasย making his own bread, which was excellent. The young man bakes just a few loaves a couple of times a week. Romain, in his wisdom (a trait he may have picked up from me: buy as much as you can, when you come across somethingโฆ
Iโll never pass up a chance to go to a factory, whether it be to see how Americanย stand mixers are made, or French enameled cookware. Iโd never seenย copper cookware being made,ย though, and jumped at the opportunity to hop on an early morning train to Villedieu-les poรชles to visit the Mauviel copper cookware factory. (The only thing I didnโt jump at was the bleary 7:30am departureโฆ
Mont Saint-Michel is one of the greatย wonders of the world, along with the Parthenon, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Taj Mahal. Itโs a majestic, spectacular sight when youโre walking down the path toward the island (cars arenโt allowed past a certain point), and you look up and see the island with the church crowning the top, rising above you, framed by the steel-blue skyโฆ
Iโm always on the lookout for new bakeries and pastry shops that have opened in Paris. Although to be honest, itโs hard to keep up these days! The number of new boulangeries and pรขtisseriesย that are focusing on everything from artisanal grains to organic flours, are spreading like wild yeast across the city. Iโd met Alice Quillet a few years back, when she, and her partnersโฆ
รpices & Saveurs Although it may seem like your typical Arabic รฉpicerie (food shop), of which there are many in Paris, Iโve shopped a lot of them and found รpices & Saveurs especially well-stocked. The place is as neat a pin and in addition to the usual line-up of harissas, nuts and dried fruits in bulk, olive oils, and spices, I always findย curiosities on theโฆ
Pierre Jancou is one of my favoriteย cooks in Paris. He does the seemingly simple task of taking raw elementsย โ such as a pan of root vegetablesย โ and making them taste better than you thought that vegetables could taste. I first came across his cooking when he was the chef/owner ofย Racines. Iโd ordered a simple pasta Bolognese, which isnโt something Iย would usually order unless I wasโฆ
Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes I like old-fashioned places. One place that does old-fashioned especially well is France. But Iโm not the only one who feels that way; people come from around the world to visit the city, and baskย in the ร lโancienne charm, which is sometimes derisively described as carte postaleย Paris. Like other cities, Paris is changing and isnโt a museum, per se, butโฆ
From the outside, Compagnie Gรฉnรฉrale de Biscuiterie is a low-slung place, resembling a workshop of some sort, rather than a pรขtisserie, located on the way up to Sacrรฉ Cลur, in Montmartre. I made the trek up there to check it out because I was interested in the one thing the low-key place makes: cookies. The French use the word โcookiesโ primarily to refer to chocolateโฆ
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