Good Restaurants in Paris

Recently I had a chef friend staying with me, who had other chef friends in town, who basically made me hate the idea of ever trying to suggest restaurants to chefs ever again. I’m sure there are some lovely ones out there, but for the most part I get the distinct impression that you are all finicky pains in my ass, less willing to try things than strict vegans.

I only say this because I am notoriously picky about what I will eat and where. I have very often told anyone that will listen that this is not in the pursuit of being a snob, I just cannot stand the idea of having a bad meal, especially in Paris. Life is too short to eat overcooked meat, thick charcuterie, wilting salads or sushi served with sugar soy sauce.

I am more than happy to eat cheap food, bizarre food, ridiculous food, potential food-poisoning inducing food and the likes. I just want some kind of inkling that it will be good. And for the most part, the bistro food in Paris is not very good, which I first found very surprising.

There are a handful of places I genuinely adore for a decent french meal, but they are far outweighed by their crap counterparts. I have seen many a microwaved croque monsieur, made with supermarket ham and cheese, fly out of a particularly popular Odéon cafe for €14.

Paris: March 2012

Paris: 5 Nights A Week

Trying to avoid jetlag is a great excuse for going out for dinner. It just so happens that the depths of Melbourne’s very early mornings are around the same time Parisians round out the evening, so in an attempt to stay awake and adapt to my new timezone, I decided to join the fray. Even one of my bosses explained to me that if you drink too much wine at least you can sleep. You may have a hangover but at least you will be hungover and rested.

I have returned completely determined not to waste one minute of my time in France. Six months in Melbourne was great, but there is so much I didn’t get to do, see and eat when I lived here last time, I’m not going to make that mistake again. I’m also not going to work eighty hours a week, so perhaps my one new restaurant, one new bar a week is actually feasible.

So Monday, in the hallow pits of jetlag hell, running on five hours sleep and nine hours of work, I dragged myself out of the house and into La Cantine du Troquet for some bleedingly rare steak. I knew my housemate didn’t eat meat, but I didn’t realise she didn’t eat fish, so it was a great idea taking her to a basque restaurant where the key sections of the menu are red meat and seafood. She was a sport about it, sharing some of my devilishly crisp potatoes and a few glasses of red.

Melbourne: Three New Favourite Cocktails

Lui Bar on Broadsheet, photographed by Tom Blachford

When I left Melbourne, the cocktail culture was building much momentum at the hands of The Black Pearl, Seamstress, 1806 and even to a degree, Cookie and Toff. Since I have returned, a host of new bars have launched and even low-brow establishments seem to be installing cubes of ice to be hacked off with chisels and switching lime cordial for infused syrups and candied fruits. Most decent restaurants these days have thoughtfully curated spirit selections alongside their wine list and I am no longer afraid of ordering a Manhattan with dinner.

It was a bit of a shock to move to Paris – the fine dining capital of the world – and be suddenly without cool cocktail haunts and fantastic coffee. When I first arrived, there was basically only the Experimental Cocktail Club and its offshoot Prescription, and maybe Andy Wahloo, Le Montana, doors were opening at Curio Parlour. Mama Shelter had brought the New York vibe to the 20th, but despite their cocktail list being decent, their cocktails and service very often were not.

Paris: Helmut Newton

Grand Palais, March 24 – June 17

The first retrospective of one of the world’s most famous photographers, the exhibition will be held in the newly restored South-East gallery of the Grand Palais. Conceived by June Newton, Newton’s wife and a photographer herself, the exhibition traces the great themes from the imagination of Helmut Newton (1920 – 2004)

 

Melbourne: Four Favourite Restaurants

Six weeks turned into six months in Melbourne very quickly. Any expectations you have about obtaining a Visa to live in France, I suggest you triple your expected timeline and potentially stab yourself in the eye with a fork. Nothing logical applied to this process seems to have any notable effect, so perhaps random acts of culinary self-harm will at the very least, provide a distraction from the long-term nature of the project.

Misplaced rage issues aside, I have indeed been in Melbourne for six months. Though when I actually lived here, I acted like I lived here and didn’t feel the need to eat two meals a day in a restaurant. For some reason I occasionally expect that I might one day go back to my home in France and therefore need to make the most of simple Melbourne pleasures – perfectly poached eggs, handmade pasta and the overconsumption of strong cafe lattes.

As yet, there is no evidence to suggest I will ever get back to my apartment, shoes and beloved bicycle system, but I felt like six months was a good point to take stock of the very amazing food that I have eaten, and even offer a top selection of sorts for people looking to navigate Melbourne restaurants. Perhaps I will follow it with a list of places that I wouldn’t bother with unless I knew I was going to be stuck here for six months, trying to avoid sticking a fork in my eye whilst hemorrhaging Australian dollars.

Shit Bartenders Say

For anyone that loves cocktails and resultantly, regularly sounds like a wanker. Great video.

Too Much Information

Today was my first official day of work for 2012. For the past five days I have done nothing other than read books, eat fruit and lie on Melbourne’s inner-city beaches working on my tan. Aside from a few days spent in Turkey and the odd weekend in Europe, I feel like it was the first time I switched myself off since long before I moved to France. It was a triumph of early nights, early mornings, no emails and book after movie after book.

But today it was back to emails, back to curating news, writing interviews, proposing features, updating social media, organising calendars et al. In short, overloaded multitasking whilst attempting to concentrate and not be lured into the mass of unnecessary information that is the internet.

Today was interesting to me because it was the first day back at work since I have officially been “off” Facebook. A decision I made early in December because of the sheer amount of time I seemed to be wasting on the bottomless pit of ‘I blinked’ information. I have frequently shared information akin to ‘I blinked’ so I am in no way excluding myself from that observation, I just decided that if I blink and anyone really needs to know about it, I will inform them myself.

Melbourne: No Bookings

In a bid to somewhat justify the expense of eating out every night for the past two months, I’ve decided to share some of my thoughts on Melbourne’s restaurant scene – the one I complained that I missed so much whilst I was away.

It turns out I was justified in my grief, and there is many a shack turning out some great dishes, at reasonable prices, with little carry-on or fanfare. The prices seem quite incredulous coming from Paris (Hi Illona Staller), but the quality is high and the wages of staff probably higher too. The wine is expensive and the cheese isn’t raw, but all that is to be expected.

The thing that I have found reasonably horrifying upon my return, is the hype. And the wide spread virus commonly known as a ‘no bookings’ policy, useful only for further perpetuating said ridiculous hype.

Quotable: Balzac

The Parisian is interested in everything and, in nothing…

Intoxicated as he is with something new from one day to the next, the Parisian, regardless of age, lives like a child.

He complains of everything, tolerates everything, mocks everything, forgets everything, desires everything, tastes everything, feels everything passionately, drops everything casually

his kings, his conquests, his glory, his idol, whether made of bronze or glass

Every journey happens twice. First in your experience, and then as you remember it, and it’s the remembrance that is the most profound. Travel really only comes together as a coherent plot once you stop doing it.

- AA Gill for Gourmet Traveller, July 2011

Un dessert sans fromage est une belle à qui il manque un oeil - Brillat Savarin

Boys Should be Boys

Recently there has been an influx of  luxury brands entering the childrenswear market.

Ralph Lauren have been doing it for fashion ions, Stella McCartney did it with with GAP. Burberry made its mark when Katie Holmes put Suri Cruise in their signature tartan for a day in the park. Gucci hired Jennifer Lopez’s infant twins as duel brand ambassadors. Chloé, Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Dior all do it, Lanvin recently joined the fray.

The only person I have heard publicly confirm their disinterest is Balenciaga CEO, Isabelle Guichot. She seems to have the idea that designer fashion, which wishes to be taken seriously, should probably leave childrenswear to the aforementioned GAP. She revealed the brand had investigated it, but felt there was no credible link between Balenciaga’s heritage and designing clothes for kids, therefore they decided not to pursue it.

Smart woman? I think so. But maybe all the poorer for it.

Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2011

What fashion was all about. What fashion should be all about.

Another incredible collection by Riccardo Tisci

Sign O The Times

There are few things in the world that make me happier than amazing music. Whether it’s The Strokes on my iPod to kick start the day, Mark Ronson dropping Creep in the middle of a hectic DJ set, or Al Green literally taking my breath away, with a rendition of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, I cannot live without good music.

I have been incredibly lucky in Paris. I’ve seen Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (twice), Mark Ronson & The Business International (twice), Aloe Blacc, The Misshapes, DJ Vadim, J Rocc, 2manydj’s, Cassius (I didn’t know at the time) and Tricky, from what I can remember. And all in just 11 months.

This month I’ve got Q-Tip, A-Trak, DJ Craze, Chromeo, Death from Above 1979, The Kills, Arctic Monkeys and many other fillers as it is almost festival season! But most importantly, last night I saw Prince. In a stadium with tens of thousands of my closest friends. And to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something so amazing.