The French Southwest staked out some new territory in Paris last September when Cécile Castellan opened Canard & Co in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower. Despite the name, there’s much more than mallard on the menu, as Corinne LaBalme explains in her review of this Basque and Béarnais grocery shop and luncheonette.
The Battle of Alesia of 52 B.C., the last major stand of the Gauls, led by Vercingetorix, against the Romans, led by Julius Caesar, is one of the most famous battles in the history of the territory that would become France. Yet until recently there was little a visitor could see, even at the very site of the battle in Burgundy, to help understand the logistics of that great confrontation.
Jacques Brel opening for Edith Piaf? It sounds like the concert that dreams are made of. And it’s actually taking place as two talented performers, Patricia Kaas and Olivier Laurent, bring the past to life on a Franco-Belgian tour from Feb. 12 to April 19, 2013.
Is haute couture for the birds? Absolutely, says fashion follower Corinne LaBalme, who joined the flock at Paris Fashion Week to report on the Spring/Summer 2013 collections. With stylists pushing the envelope, haute couture has always functioned as the canary in the fashion mineshaft.
It’s a smooth evening in the lounge-bar at the Hotel Lutetia. Pianist Daniel Roca wends his way through jazz standards at the center of a well-oiled trio. Head bartender Gilles Guyomarch supplies a harmony of cocktails, swaying lyrical conversation from the crowd. And the author is getting a drink named after himself.
Once the height of Left Bank luxury, the Hotel Lutetia seemed to have lost its soul by the end of the 20th century. But now enhanced design, art, literary and jazz cred are helping shake off the Lutetia’s chain reputation and allow it to shine brighter on the map of notable hotels on the Left Bank for a room or simply for a drink.
France’s once-vibrant beer brewing tradition lost its way in the 20th century. But now the beer drought is over. The craft of brewing fine beer is back and with it the art of enjoying it, as Kate Robinson reports from La Fine Mousse, the first bar in Paris to seriously specialize in craft beer.
Our favorite fetish photographer Va-nu-pieds, aka The Barefoot Photographer, went out for some last-minute Christmas shopping in Paris but they wouldn’t let him into the store without shoes. Never mind. He went window shopping instead. [...]
Awards and award ceremonies tell a lot about a country, if not always about the nation that it is then at least about the nation that the award-givers want it to be. Part 1 of this two-part series concerns Excellence Française, an awards enterprise created by Maurice Tasler.
