Archive for March, 2010


Poilâne, revisited

Monday, March 29th, 2010

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I ADORE Poilâne. Aside from their enormous, round loaves of bread, I love their walnut rolls (I buy one every morning on my way to work) and think they have the best viennoiseries (croissants, pains au chocolat, etc.) in Paris. If you missed the story that aired on CBS Sunday Morning […]

Dining Out and About (Paris): So British!

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

The French have a term to describe things we think of as stereotypically British: “so British.” Fish and chips, Agatha Christie mysteries, pints of stout, cups of tea, cozy pubs, bad teeth — all can be labelled “so British.”
Note: The British themselves are called rosbif. The term “so British” is more of an adjective. Last […]

Free macarons!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Il arrive, il arrive! I speak of March 20, or le jour du macaron, the day when selected pâtissiers offer free macarons in celebration of spring. In return, recipients are asked to give a small donation in support of research to treat maladies orphelines, or rare diseases.
Along with celebrated Parisian pastry prince Pierre Hermé — […]

Mystery in bloom

Monday, March 15th, 2010

When I moved into my apartment in August 2008, I found this orchid plant. It had slightly shriveled leaves and not a blossom in sight. I unearthed it from a dark kitchen cupboard next to the washing machine and considered throwing it away. But I didn’t. I combed the internet and tried various misting, fertilizing, […]

Sunday in Paris

Monday, March 8th, 2010

What a beautiful blustery day it was yesterday, bright and brisk. After a few weeks away from Paris, I was happy to sink back into comfortable Sunday activities. What did I do?

Hungry pandas

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

I can’t get enough of this news story. Apparently, a hungry wild panda broke into the pig pen of some neighboring Sichuan farmers and started gorging on their leftover pork ribs! This story is amazing to me because: A) Pandas are herbivores; their diet is mostly composed of bamboo. B) There are very, very few […]