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« Previous EntriesLa Table d’Aki, Paris
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012The last Tuesday dinner I had in Paris was at La Table d’Aki, a 16-seat bijou of a restaurant near the Boulevard St-Germain. This is “French food cooked by a Japanese chef,” the chef/owner Akihiro Horokoshi told me. Every bite was exquisite. You can read more about my meal in the Bites column of the [...]
Best craftsmen of France
Friday, October 12th, 2012One of the things I admire most about French culture is its preservation of traditional métiers. Walk down a street in Paris and chances are you’ll find a family-owned bakery, run by a boulangère proud to carry her name above the door. There are independent pastry shops, fromageries, charcuteries and butchers. Or even boot-makers, or hat [...]
The best baguette in Paris
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012You guys. You guys are the best readers a blogger could ask for. You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for. Your funny and heartfelt comments on my last post have made me laugh, cry and brim with new appreciation for our new apartment (tiny though it may be). Most of all, [...]
Victor Hugo’s Guernsey exile
Monday, May 7th, 2012Here in France, there is a new president elect. But I’ve been wondering, if Victor Hugo was alive, who would he have supported in the election — Sarkozy, Hollande… or exile? You see, last summer, I was lucky enough to visit the Channel Island of Guernsey, where Hugo, a fierce critic of the Second Empire, [...]
Travels with spatulas
Monday, October 3rd, 2011For me, traveling is really just an excuse to eat new foods, so I was especially excited to research this article on cooking schools in Europe, which appeared in the New York Times on Sunday. Which world cuisine are you interested in learning more about, mes amis? P.S. I’m participating in a travel writing panel, tomorrow at 7.30 pm, at the American [...]
Spontaneous wine discovery
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010I’m not as adventurous as I should be when it comes to tasting new wine. Once I find a bottle I like, I tend to buy it again and again and again (which is a bad habit if you’re living in, say, France, for only a limited period of time). That’s why wine fairs are so [...]
Top Chef exit interviews
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010Apologies for the shameless self-promotion (yet if not here, where?) but I am very excited to be chatting with this season’s Top Chef contestants as they pack their knives and go. If you’re a Top Chef fan like me, please check out my exit interviews on the Washingtonian’s Best Bites blog. Each Friday, we’ll grill a [...]
Adventures in Burgundy
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010When I traveled down to Burgundy to research my New York Times article on Thomas Jefferson and wine, I had a big hurdle to face: Driving. See, I can’t drive a stick shift. And apparently there are only two automatic cars for rent in the town of Dijon. Both of which were reserved. So, I decided to rent [...]
Thomas Jefferson, Burgundy and me
Saturday, June 12th, 2010Salut, mes amis! I’m so excited to share this article from this Sunday’s New York Times travel section, Retracing Jefferson’s Steps in Burgundy! It was so much fun to visit the Côte d’Or in March, to follow in the Founding Father’s footsteps. After reading Jefferson’s journals, I’ve developed quite the crush on the self-described “foreign gentlemen” from Virginia. [...]
Nonstop Top Chef
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008I’m on my way to So Cal this afternoon and won’t be able to post for a few days. But here’s a little interview I did for the Washingtonian with Top Chef contestant Spike, in which he discusses his new Capitol Hill burger joint, why Padma’s so calm, and where he keeps his secret ingredients. [...]
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