Tomorrow is the official start at les Soldes, the twice-annual period when the French government allows stores to discount merchandise. It usually last four weeks, although for the past couple of months, a few scofflaws have been marking things down discreetly anyways, flaunting the law in these cash-strapped times. The area I live in is the Bastille, and it was once known as a hub…
Whenever I go to San Francisco, I stay with a friend of mine who generously offers to put me up as long as I’m in town. It’s fun, especially since she likes to hit the off-price shops and her kitchen is filled with lots and lots of kitchen tools. Since she knows I live abroad, where many of them aren’t available, if I express interest…
The European Union just overturned regulations that will allow fruits and vegetables that aren’t technically picture-perfect, to be sold alongside their more attractive counterparts. But the laws are still place until next July. I had no idea there was such a directive in effect, and I’ve been innocently part of a conspiracy, participating in, and abetting, illegal behavior. According to EU directives, things like carrots…
Many visitors to Paris wish to rent their own apartments for a variety of reasons, from wanting to save money, to “living like a local.” In the last few years, Air BnB (started in 2008) and similar rentals have popped up, making a big splash in the Paris rental market. If you’re looking to rent an apartment there are now scores of websites and companies that rent…
I’m very lucky that I live just one block from the biggest outdoor market in Paris, the Richard Lenoir Market. Beginning at the Place de la Bastille and radiating northward, Sunday is a particularly lively day, since almost all other shops are closed in Paris on Sunday. I guess the alternative, going to church, is a less-popular option here, even in this predominantly Catholic country….
At my local marché this week… Grown in Brittany, one of the weirdest vegetables found in France is Romanesco, a relative of broccoli. It’s cooked the same way, a la vapeur, simply steamed and tossed with a pad of rich French butter. Sand-grown carrots are sweeter (and dirtier) than ordinary carrots. French (and American) cooks can find lots of thyme at the markets, which is…
A friend of mine, another David L (who also worked at Chez Panisse with me and is now a chef in Switzerland) comes to visit me often, and it’s one of the few times I let someone else into my tiny kitchen. He’s a terrific cook, and perhaps the only person who is more picky about the way things should be in a kitchen than…
There are plenty of clichés about Paris in the springtime that are true. But what I really am happy to see are the return of the radishes. I love radishes, and by the looks of things, so do Parisians… Wow! I can’t get enough of them and I always get two bunches, since I eat one right away, dipping each crisp, spicy radish in a…
A
Get David's newsletter sent right to your Inbox!
Sign up for my newsletter and get my FREE guidebook to the best bakeries and pastry shops in Paris...
