What’s in a hot dog? To be honest, we don’t know, and we don’t really care. All we know is that when it’s cooked up nice and steaming, nestled in a fluffy bun that conforms perfectly to its shape, topped with a pile of pickled white cabbage, sweet green relish and dressed with two squiggly streaks of ketchup and mustard, it’s a mouthful of flavor unlike any other you’ve been getting from the usual Paris street foods. And if the opening of a second Hutch House of Hot Dogs is any indication, Parisians are digging the doggy-style delicacies that are being served up.
You will find refreshments at Camille’s pump room, mostly wines from her friends vineyards. Camille used to work at Inaki’s places -le Chateaubriand and le Dauphin- and then at le Mama Shelter, just the time needed for her address book and her fascination for wine to grow and…to find the right place to open her boutique. Camille has designed her Buvette just like an annexe to her own salon and it is full of regular customers, who come several times a week to taste the daily “vin au verre” selection and bite into some Aubrac dry sausage.
Who’s the tatted up, whisky-drinking, rock-n-roll fan turning heads in the Belleville quartier? Her name is Joséphine, and she’s making all the neighbors jealous. Classy enough for your mother, yet with just the right amount of edge to make you want to get into her pants, the recently opened cave parisienne is not your typical wine bar. The place is subtly intriguing — like someone with tattoos in private places, it has certain elements of surprise that separate itself from the rest.
Finding a good Italian restaurant in Paris is about as easy as finding a coffee with fresh milk, or a park with grass you are actually allowed to sit on – and a recent incident involving a late night bowl of pasta carbonara (what was I thinking?) at a little Italian joint on L’île Saint-Louis a few months back threatened to turn me off Italian food for good.
Set in the lively Paris 10th, Le Galopin is the local neobistrot you have to check out.
Raw stone walls and old windows overlooking the charming Place Sainte Marthe … when the place is giving you an authentic bistro feeling, the cuisine surprises you with its intriguing flavors and textures combinations.
Looking for a cheerful place to hang out on rainy days ? This is the one. Run by three young Australians, Tuck Shop is your new favorite vegetarian café, just nearby the Canal Saint Martin.
When you come in, the first thing you’ll notice is the atmosphere that Anna, Rain and Stella created in this human-sized space. A trendy clientèle are usually gathered around communal tables and mismatched furniture, reading magazines while listening to 80′s english pop.
Tony Conigliaro, owner of London spots 69 Colebrooke Row and Zetter Townhouse, recently opened his first bar in Paris. Ironically named after France’s favorite animal, le Coq is not the British 19th century-style speakeasy we would have expected, but rather a successful mix of London warehouse party ambiance with decor that draws inspiration from the Parisian classics.
Maybe it’s the quirky vibe at this canal-like oasis, but Parisians seem to let their hair loose and their wine flow more easily near Canal Saint Martin. As if there weren’t already a million hip reasons to come here, L’Épicerie Musicale just gave us one more on Quai de Valmy. Away from the daily Parisian hustle, this one-month-old spot makes for a tranquil Italian tesoro.
You know how when you receive your friends for « apéro » it’s usually a box of Curly, 3 little pieces of stinky cheese that have been roting in your fridge since your last cheese party in December, and a lot of wine? Yeah, that’s not very sexy. Why don’t you invite them to join you at Inaro next time? It’s like having « apéro » in a perfect world. Don’t really know much about wine except that you like to drink it a lot?