France

I have always loved Middle Eastern foods. The fresh vegetables, the liberal use of herbs and seasonings, including a touch of spiciness at times, and the casual way of eating that the food encourages. Meze is the term that’s used to define all the “little plates” that get brought out to begin in a meal, served in little bowls often with pools of olive oil in the middle, waiting to be sopped up with soft pita or other flatbreads. When I wrote about the Lebanese meze I’d had on a trip to the Middle East, I didn’t realize that a number of people were all that interested in what vegetables went into it. (But who can blame them? I wanted to remake it, too.) Like a lot of those foods, people aren’t necessarily following recipes – they’re following their nose, and yup, you got it – they cook by taste. Continue Reading Labneh...

La Comédie Française has relocated during renovations to a temporary building built over the Pol Bury Fountains at the Palais Royal. This little one seems to be reading the signage and trying to decide whether or not to obey!

I adore the trés chic poster for the Cannes Film Festival 2013. It’s a remastered and redesigned photo of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman taken for the 1963 film A New Kind of Love. It’s a tribute to Paul Newman who died in 2008. Newman and Woodward were originally honored in 1958 at the festival when they were in competition for the Martin Ritt film The Long Hot Summer. The president of the jury this year is Steven Spielberg and judges include Nicole Kidman, French actor Daniel Auteuil, director Ang Lee, and actor Christoph Waltz. Although The Great Gatsby was shown out of competition, it was hailed as the big event of the festival. Films in completion are from the U.S., France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Chad, Mexico, Japan, and China and include Beyond the Candelabra directed by Steven Soderbergh, Le Passé (The Past) directed by Asghar Farhadi, Un Chateau en Italie (A Castle in Italy) directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Venus in Fur directed by Roman Polanski, Nebraska directed by Alexander Payne, Jeune & Jolie (Young and Beautiful) directed by Francois Ozon, Grigris directed by Mahamat –Saleh Harqun, Inside Llewyn Davis directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, Only God Forgives directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, and Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw) directed by Takashi Miike. Somehow my invitation to attend all the glamorous events, parties, and screenings mysteriously disappeared in the mail. Perhaps I will have to wait to next year to walk down the red carpet. Cannes Film Festival 2013 Till May 26 http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en.htmlClick here to watch cool trailer with the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward poster in it. I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more. Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.  Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking ClassesI am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines. Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours) Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the marketClass days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and SundayMinimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.   New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale I am happy to announce the sale of a new set of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 20 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself. Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.  

Sanraku at the New Metreon Mall was a place I loved in November and elected to bring Colette and a French pal back to.  It's neat as a pin and looks out on the lovely Buena Yerba Garden.                 I seem to have had some shakiness in potographing our seafood salad, edaname and miso soups but they were anything but shaky - better than stanard by a long shot.                 For mains we went our separate but quite satisfied ways - Colette with a "dynamite" roll of yellow tail, shiso, cucumber, jalepeno, onion and yuzu-soy-sesame sauce; our french friend with his "combo" of California roll and shrimp tempura and me with another chirashi of sushi rice with about 10 fish and/or their roe on top.  All were exemplary. With two Sapporo draft beers, no bottled water, tea or coffee or dessert, our bill came to $52.94 a couple before tip. Go?  You bet.

I know there is a trick to do this, but I really wonder what it is! I saw several of them in Paris these past weeks (I think also last year) so I suppose it's the new trend (the fake still statues are so passé now!) - I photographed this one at the Beaubourg center. It's quite impressive anyway - If ever you have an explanation, please let us know! Have a nice week everyone... Here, it'll be raining until at least next Sunday!

Shoes: Rolando Santana | Jeans: DL1961 | Bag: Neri Karra Oh the weekend, what a wonderful time!!!. Well, its past midnight in Europe now which means its Monday already but I wanted to share some of my look details from today -or yesterday- (?). I could wear my jeans every day, I really could but this time I chose to mix them with a sexy shoe by my dear friend Rolando Santana. See you tomorrow! FACEBOOK ? TWITTER ? BLOGLOVIN'

I of course already (on my previous blog) posted about Opera Garnier. However, being in the entrance hall the other day, I could not resist against taking some more shots of this almost “overdecorated” place. (Another preprogrammed post, while I’m away in the south, looking for sun.)

The Paul Bert & Serpette Markets present: Jardins à la Fran?aise. 2013 is André Le Nôtre's 400th birthday (no darling, nothing to do with the pâtissier). Architect and landscape designer, he was  gardener to the King, King of gardeners, founder of the “Jardins à la Fran?aise” movement. While at Les Puces check out the Starck designed brasserie, Ma Cocotte. And we're keeping an enthusiastic eye on young talent Thibault Sombardier on Quai de New York, chez Antoine. Read More...

Jumper: Monki | Coat: ZARA | Boots: Chloé | Bag: Proenza Schouler | Jeans: DL1961 FACEBOOK ? TWITTER ? BLOGLOVIN'

Today we return to Ceintures Losco, in the Marais. The workbench is in the main room and I was fascinated with how well it was organized, and of course the French touch....the roses.Losco5 rue de Sèvres75006 Paris