Le Vaudésir, an Introduction to Neighborhood Bistro Life in Paris
At its heart, the French bistro is an unpretentious neighborhood gathering place for traditional, homemade food and inexpensive drink. Le Vaudésir, the archetype, is the jumping off point for a plunge into Paris neighborhood bistro life.
A Carless and Carefree Champagne Daytrip or Overnight to Epernay (Video)
Let's talk about your Champagne education. Advice on organizing a Champagne daytrip or overnight to Epernay, a car-free DIY discovery of the world's most famous sparkling wines.
Sagesse: Beer on the Cider Trail of Pays d’Auge, Normandy
Cidre–(hard) cider—is a pleasing, inexpensive, low-alcohol beverage that marries well with Norman cheeses. But wait: Is that a microbrewery in the village of Le Breuil-en-Auge? Yes, indeed: Sagesse.
Bourgogne: A Burgundy by Any Other Name Would Be Just as Terroir
The Burgundy-minded Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) requests that we refer to the wines produced in the Burgundy region as Bourgogne wines. I'm willing to give it a try, but...
Get Drunk with Charles Baudelaire
Advice for those who might be overthinking all this: Get Drunk, Enivrez-vous, by Charles Baudelaire, as read by Dustin Hoffman, Serge Reggiani and Isabelle Orliac.
French Wines for an American Thanksgiving
Americans celebrating Thanksgiving in France typically, even traditionally, enjoy their fresh French turkey with some fine French terroir in their selection of wine—make that wines, plural, since a long meal calls for more than one.
In the Spirit of Normandy: Calvados Cocktails
Getting into the spirit of Normandy with the history of the apple brandy calvados, the rise of the calvados cocktail, encounters with top bartenders Colin Field and Marc Jean, and the Calvados Nouvelle Vogue International Trophies competition in Normandy. Includes four calvados cocktail recipes.
Vézelay: A Chardonnay Emerges from the Shadow of Broader Burgundy Wine
From time to time a winegrowing area will flex its viney muscle and, claiming distinctiveness, seek to untether itself from broader semi-generic wines in a region. So it is with Vezelay, France's newest village appellation, a chardonnay from Burgundy.
Paris Cocktail Bars: A 10th Arrondissement Cocktail Circuit
In this first in a series of Paris cocktail bar expeditions we sipped our way through a sliver of the 10th arrondissement with stops at three very different bars -- Lavomatic, CopperBay and Baranaan -- located just off Boulevard Saint-Martin, between the metro stations République and Strasbourg Saint-Denis.