Girls' Guide to Paris

Hôtel Amour

7/28/2010 10:00:00 AM

The leafy terrace at Hôtel Amour.

The food at Hôtel Amour is perfectly fine, but it’s the leafy terrace in the back that makes my heart sing. On a warm summer day it feels several degrees cooler in this sort of urban secret garden. Here it’s also cooler, with a laid-back right-bank mix of diners tucking into their tartare with gusto.

The menu is conducive to light meals and snacking. Start with a bunch of radishes or make a meal out of a chicken Caesar salad, a salade niçoise, or a plate of melon, mozzarella and Spanish ham. In case you haven’t noticed, the offerings here are less French, more casual-cosmopolitan. But then so is the clientele. >> Read more

Spring Restaurant

7/21/2010 10:17:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Pigeon with sweetbreads, girolles and cucumbers.

In high summer, Spring has sprung.

Has sprung again, I should say; this is the second incarnation of Daniel Rose’s much-lauded restaurant in the 9th Arrondissement, open at long last. Your meal there will not be the same as mine, though it will be the same as your neighbor’s. The unique 64 euro menu changes daily according to whim and what products are available. >> Read more

Chez l’Ami Jean

7/14/2010 10:30:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Milk-fed veal, wild salmon, chorizo and anchovies.

At first Chez l’Ami Jean feels like an old-fashioned bistro. Open since 1931, with tables packed tightly in, the space features hams and peppers hanging from the ceiling, and rugby jerseys and family photos on the walls. But since Yves Camdeborde protégé Stéphane Jego took over in 2003, L'Ami Jean has become a destination for Parisians and visitors alike. A classic? Yes. A modern one.
>> Read more

Le Grand Pan

7/7/2010 10:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Cherry clafouti with pistachio cream.

In Greek mythology, Pan is the god of nature, reigning over pastures and flocks, and the shepherds who keep them. While there is nothing particularly pastoral about the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, there nature’s bounty is yours for the eating at Le Grand Pan. This bistro often comes up in conversations about where to find a good steak. While it’s true that the côte de boeuf is superb, the generous use of seasonal vegetables at Le Grand Pan makes it more than just an address for meat and potatoes. >> Read more

Les Botanistes

6/30/2010 10:03:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Sautéed limande with couscous and red pepper.

Here’s a new-old address in the shadow of le Bon Marché. Formerly le Gorille Blanc, the restaurant there is now called les Botanistes, and it's under new ownership. The restaurants in this area tend toward uninspired and overpriced, but when François Simon gave it a pas mal (not faint praise, considering the source), I decided I would give it a try. >> Read more

Bob's Kitchen

6/23/2010 10:03:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

I’m no vegetarian, but when I walk out of Bob’s Kitchen, I have the unmistakable feeling that I’ve just done something good for my health. First, there are the juices. The mash-up of watermelon, kiwi, pineapple, lemon, strawberry and mint sounded more like a grocery list than a recipe for goodness, but my taste buds (and nagging cold) thanked me after my first sip through the bendy straw. I shouldn’t have been skeptical. This is the Bob behind Bob’s Juice Bar, whose name isn’t Bob at all (it’s Marc Grossman). The man knows a thing or two about juice. >> Read more

Le Timbre

6/16/2010 10:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Suckling Pyrenees lamb with stuffed peppers.

I first visited this place with a couple of girlfriends more than three years ago. Our table wasn’t ready, so we waited with a glass of wine at the kitchen counter, where we tried to stay out of the way of the busy serveuse while chatting and watching the chef cook away. I was charmed. >> Read more

Charbon Rouge

6/9/2010 10:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Salad with magret de canard.

Here’s an address for steak frites with South American style. Sure, you can have béarnaise sauce with your steak at Charbon Rouge, but one look at the menu and you’ll know that this isn’t a classic French steakhouse. >> Read more

Aux Deux Amis

6/2/2010 10:50:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Vanilla-poached rhubarb.

“A real neighborhood place,” I kept hearing a man say at the table next to us, at Aux Deux Amis, and he’s right. But this can mean wildly different things, depending on the neighborhood. In this case it’s Oberkampf, lively and mixed, with plenty of unglazed cool. >> Read more

Breizh Café

5/26/2010 11:05:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Galette printanière.

Every time I visit this place and bite into one of their savory buckwheat galettes, nutty and crisp on the edges, I kick myself for not eating there more often.
>> Read more

Aux Lyonnais

5/19/2010 11:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Quenelles with crayfish sauce.

Lyon is an easy trip from Paris: the TGV will get you there in about two hours. But for a taste of Lyon without leaving town, there’s Aux Lyonnais. >> Read more

Chez Grenouille

5/12/2010 10:56:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Cochon de lait au foie gras (suckling pig with foie gras).

Each of us looks for something different in a restaurant experience. Some people want a great room; some want to witness the latest culinary trends; some like a particular kind of crowd in a cool neighborhood; some just want to go wherever the buzz is; and some will eat anywhere as long as the food is good. >> Read more

La Régalade Saint-Honoré

5/5/2010 10:12:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Sablé aux fraises with mascarpone.

The original La Régalade became well known under the ownership of Yves Camdeborde, whose career was one of many ships launched by Christian Constant. Instead of continuing in the galleys of haute cuisine, Camdeborde took his formidable talent to the next-to-last stop on metro line 4 and opened a bistro serving seasonally minded, generous food at gentle prices. >> Read more

Frédéric Simonin

4/28/2010 10:15:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Les Legumes.

Walking into Frédéric Simonin, open less than a month, is a little like getting into a luxury sedan, all black and gray with polished chrome trim, where nothing rattles and the noise of the world is kept out. >> Read more

Olio Pane Vino

4/21/2010 10:59:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

Olio Pane Vino
44, rue Coquillière, in the 1st Arrondissement.
01 42 85 27 33. Lunch: Mon–Sat.
Dinner: Thurs and Fri only.

Perhaps you don’t go out to dinner in Paris to eat pasta, but Parisians certainly do, and so does the young couple behind Hidden Kitchen, another GG2P fave. Where do they go when the craving strikes? >> Read more

Willi’s Wine Bar

4/14/2010 11:37:00 AM

By Barbra Austin

House-made foie gras de canard (duck foie gras).

Willi’s Wine Bar
13, rue des Petits-Champs, in the 1st Arrondissement.
Lunch and dinner, Mon–Sat.
01 42 61 05 09.

It’s true, you will hear a lot of English spoken at Willi’s Wine Bar. But don’t hold that against it.

Owner Mark Williamson is English, and there’s no question that the address is a popular Anglophone hangout. But none of that changes the fact that Willi’s is a longstanding landmark on the Parisian restaurant map. >> Read more

Rino

4/7/2010 11:25:00 AM

By Barbra Austin of Serve It Forth

Lieu with cabbage and mushrooms.

Rino
46, rue Trousseau, in the 11th Arrondissement.
Tues–Sat, lunch and dinner. 01 48 06 95 85.

I am a latecomer to the Rino parade, having been away for nearly three weeks, when this little address received big press. In addition to snagging multiple hearts in Le Figaro, Rino earned the always trusty Alexander Lobrano's eloquent seal of approval, and GG2P contributor Meg Zimbeck was delighted by her dinner. >> Read more

Les Pâtes Vivantes

3/31/2010 11:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin of Serve It Forth

Les Pâtes Vivantes
46, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, in the 9th Arrondissement. 01 45 23 10 21.
22, blvd St.-Germain, in the 5th.
01 40 46 84 33. Lunch and dinner, Mon–Sat.

“You saved our lives,” said a friend in New York, just back from a trip to Paris. “We got sick,” she continued, “and that noodle place was exactly what we needed.”

The noodle place in question? Les Pâtes Vivantes.
>> Read more

Le Chapeau Melon

3/24/2010 11:51:00 AM

By Barbra Austin of Serve It Forth

Le Chapeau Melon
92, rue Rébeval, in the 19th Arrondissement.
Wed–Sun, dinner only. Reservations a must.
01 42 02 68 60.

Some of the best food in Paris can be found outside the city center. There’s Jadis, in the far reaches of the 15th; La Régalade, at the end of line 4; and La Bigarrade on the edge of the sprawling 17th, just to name a few. To that list you can add Le Chapeau Melon, in Belleville.
>> Read more

Zinc Caïus

3/17/2010 10:00:00 AM

By Barbra Austin of Serve It Forth

Entrecôte and filet de bar at Zinc Caïus.

Zinc Caïus
11, rue d’Armaillé, in the 17th Arrondissement.
01 44 09 05 10. Reservations recommended.
Lunch and dinner, Tues–Sat.

Zinc Caïus is the younger, smaller, less expensive offshoot of Caïus, the restaurant across the street where chef Jean-Marc Notelet dazzles diners with his use of exotic spices (for France, anyway) and unexpected combinations and techniques. At Zinc Caïus the fare is more straightforward, a pared-down bistro menu for neighborhood locals more than visiting foodies. Yet a meal here is just as memorable as one served by its sophisticated sibling, not because it’s complicated or ambitious, but because it’s so very good. >> Read more