Tasting Tuesday

 

 

A very special evening with very special friends.

 

 💕

 

 Paris dining can be a gamble - even at revered Michelin-starred spots where atmosphere and reputation sometimes mask uneven execution. Their clientele, often made up of passing tourists, mostly from the U.S. and drawn in by rave reviews, can leave feeling shortchanged and unlikely to return. When complaints surface, the response is often swift but superficial: a polished, formulaic apology (typically in French - “Nous sommes désolés pour votre expérience, nous espérons vous revoir bientôt”) - followed by a bit of digital stagecraft. Suddenly, pristine photos of the very dishes in question appear online, looking nothing like what arrived at the table - or what showed up as an Instagram video when a celebrity chef just happened to have stopped by - paired with a fresh wave of glowing reviews ready to lure the next round of hopeful diners. - BPJ
 
May newsletter: Spotting the right spots

 

***

 

“If you have two stars or three stars in Michelin then you have a duty to your customers to be behind your stove. I was always behind my stove for every single service because that’s what you’re paying for. Why would I want to go to a three-star Michelin and the chef whose name is above the door is in America? I’m not paying for his sous-chefs. I want the individual. It’s as simple as that.” Marco Pierre White 

 

Wine window Wednesday

 

A window of a wine shop in the Passage Vivienne.

 

Sit-down Saturday

 

 

A vine-draped terrace where wine flows and time slows.

 

🍷 

 

Waiting Wednesday

Today begins Montmartre's much-awaited grape-harvest vendanges celebrations.

Above: members of the exclusive Clos Montmarte, symbolic vineyard of the days of wines and vines, start to gather

LA VILLAGE EN FÊTE

Fête des Vendanges 2025

Ends Sunday October 12

*** 

Program

 

Festival Friday

Montmartre's annual autumn grape harvest and wine festival bursts into life Wednesday, October 8.

 LA VILLAGE EN FÊTE 

Fête des Vendanges 2025

Ends Sunday October 12

Throwback Thursday

 Stretching the limits.

Above: pink limo, pink champagne, a gourmet pique-nique basket, a celebration

Below: a special gift from a special friend

 

  à mon mari

💖

(A comment: "For Barbie I think!")

Wine Wednesday

 

 

An apéro spread to accompany the wine, not the other way around.

 

Wine window Wednesday

 

Historic Passage Vivienne from inside sparkly wine shop Legrand Filles et Fils. 

 

Truffled Tuesday

 

It's almost truffle season.

Above: tarama smothered in black truffle shavings w/a glass of dry white at the truffle counter of La Grande Épicierie 

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

Wine Wednesday

 

 

A basket of corks outside a bistro.

Wine Wednesday

With the Olympics in town a placard outside a wine shop vouches for their champagnes.

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 

Everything's OK.

Frenchie Caviste

 9 rue du Nil 75002

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 

 

A simple steak frites on a June afternoon.

 

 Tonton de la Butte

62 rue Caulaincourt 75018

 

***

 

Entrées (not shown):

Os à moelle

Terrine en croûte

 

Plats:

Entrecôtes w/purée de pommes de terres; frites maison; Sauce Béarnaise

 

 

 

 

 

Fish Friday

 

It's Le Vendredi saint, Holy Friday, a day for fish.

Above: smoked salmon tartine with a glass of white

 

Delikatessen Kaviari

60 rue François Miron 75004

Throwback Thursday

 

A Christmas Eve feast, in Montmartre

Above: pit fire on the patio; granny's pink crystal (3 glasses per place setting - champagne, wine, digestif); foie gras; a fine old Sauternes - for starters

 

Wine Wednesday

 

Champagne, wine, beer and other refreshments set out for an evening screening at one of the many small arthouse cinémas that dot the Latin Quarter.

***

Years ago, while living in Spain I’d treat myself to weekend movie marathons in those tucked-away arthouse theaters on Paris’ Left Bank back streets - unassuming small venues that championed obscure international indie films and emerging filmmakers.

The moment I'd arrive in Paris, my ritual began: straight to the nearest kiosk for the latest Pariscope or L'Officiel des Spectacles, those pocket-sized weekly bibles that listed every screening across the city. Over breakfast, pencil in hand, I’d scour the pages, plotting the perfect itinerary, circling titles and noting showtimes - what to see, in what order, at which cinemas - creating the optimal sequence without wasting a single reel.

These were films from everywhere - U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, Italy, and beyond, and they had to be in their original languages, marked VO (version originale). I (mostly) went for French films and off-the-radar indies. In Barcelona, most mainstream films were dubbed into Spanish or burdened with clumsy subtitles that flattened nuance and stole focus. Paris delivered actors’ real voices, unadulterated, and as so many of the titles were English-language anyway, the French subtitles stayed discreetly at the bottom, never stealing the show. - BPJ

Below: some surviving cinémas

Latin Quarter / Quartier Latin:

Cinéma Le Champo

Cinéma Saint-André-des-Arts

Christine Cinéma Club

Le Reflet Médicis

La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin

Studio Galande

(besides a roster of independent films, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in VO w/performances every Friday and Saturday night. Bring a bottle of water and rice

Montmartre:

Studio 28

(must-see interior by Jean Cocteau w/bar / charming tea salon / courtyard area)

 

 

Table Tuesday

 A table set for wine, oyster, and seafood sharing in the middle of a market in the 18th arrondissement.

 

Wine Wednesday

 

Large bottle small wine shop on rue du Nil.

 

V for Vendanges

 

 Last day to experience Montmartre's annual autumn grape harvest/wine festival.

.

More photos Monday

 

***

 

 - ALL WEEKEND -

 LA VILLAGE EN FÊTE 

Fête des Vendanges

Ends Sunday October 15

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 

A bartender concentrates as he pours with precision.