A new Deli in Paris............

According to one of my favorite Paris guides, A new deli/restaurant has opened one month ago in Paris which "serves the best hot pastrami sandwiches". She said she decided to try it out and it was certainly excellent! The pastrami was slightly peppered and thinly sliced on fresh rye bread. The chicken liver paté was smooth, creamy and perfect with the tossed salad. Of couse, pickles à volonté (as much as like). A different place to try in Le Marais other than the popular falafels.

Schwartz's Deli
16 Rue des Eccouffes
75004 Paris

Paris 3 Star Take Out

A great idea from an even greater chef: Alain Passard of the restaurant L’Arpege ( 3 Star Michelin Restaurant) now makes pastry for take-out. We’re not talking about your ordinary tart, but an innovation that has all the potential for becoming a new French classic: tarte aux pommes Bouquet de Roses. This elegant apple tart consists of sliced and blanched strips of apple rolled into the shape of roses and arranged in a thin pastry shell. Each tart is comprised of about 35 flowers, so it actually looks like a real bouquet. The result is subtle, fresh, light and – thank God – not too sweet. The King of Vegetables himself calls it ‘a tart, a dessert, but also a way to express love’. We just call it the best bouquet of flowers we’ve ever received. How does it work? Just order by phone and pick up your tart 24 hours later. Prices start at €25,

Insiders Tip To The Eiffel Tower

With what will be a record turn out of visitors to France this year; of course on everyones list is a visit to the Eiffel Tower. In order to visit the tower, you must stand in line and purchase your tickets and then wait for your appointed hour to take the elevator up to either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd platform. During the summer months, especially, there may be long waits, just to get into a line to buy your tickets.

You can avoid the long queues at the Eiffel Tower by buying your tickets in advance for a guided tour behind the scenes of the France s most famous monument. You will be taken inside the Eiffel Tower without queueing and have a personal tour of the Tower with a qualified English-speaking guide in a group of no more than 15 people.

The tour is available on Wednesdays and Saturdays only at 10 am and 5:30 pm. It lasts approximately 90 minutes. Your guide will take you to the machinery room which still controls the lifts and explain this fascinating system which is still in working order today. Then to the old military bunker under the Champ de Mars where the fascinating history of the Eiffel tower will be told from the first building plans to to its new mission to provide telecommunications. Then you will go on to the technical gallery situated under the first floor from where you will be able to admire the spectacular view over the square 57 metres below.You will then be free to roam around the 1st floor and if you wish to buy further tickets to go up to the second and top floors of the Eiffel Tower you can get them from a vending machine on the first floor. The cost is about $30.00 per person.

The good new is at the end of this year, you'll be able to go online and pruchase individual tickets ( right now it is only for groups) and name your time.

A Movie to see................

As of late, I have been catching up on French movies (via Netflex) over the past several months. Audrey Tautou is certainly a favorite actress of mine, but recently I have discovered Gad Elmaleh. Born in Morocco, Elmaleh has a marvelous hangdog face and eyes on loan from Buster Keaton. In France he is nearly as well-known as Tautou, who by now can be deemed the official French national gamin.
This wispy romantic comedy offers droll and charming proof of love conquering materialism.In a tale full of reversals, a world of luxury and ease falls apart for Irene (Audrey Tautou), a gold digger in the gorgeous getaway spots of Biarritz and Nice, after she beds a smitten hotel employee, Jean (Gad Elmaleh) , whom she mistakes for a well-heeled guest.The director and co-writer, Pierre Salvadori, connects the glittering shards of the plot like pieces of a comic-erotic jigsaw puzzle. Irene bankrupts Jean and breaks his heart. But in a classy-cynical piece of comic choreography, he becomes a successful gigolo. Every offhand action or deluxe prop charts Jean's unholy pilgrim's progress and Irene's growing realization that she could find salvation in his love.The movie would be no more than an amorous gavotte were it not for the seductive sun-kissed backdrops and the delicate teamwork of Elmaleh and Tautou. Elmaleh conjures memorable farce out of everyday motions and emotions. Like the young Alec Guinness , he brings out the absurdity in the commonplace -- he turns the creation of a cocktail into a sweet, memorable set piece.

new...........and old...Art Deco from the 1930's

Be sure to ask for a table near the center of the restuarant, to get the best views of the hand painted columns.............

La Coupole old and new..............

A weekend in Paris begins with......

Any weekend in Paris begins with a lunch time visit to La Coupole in the 14e (Metro Vavin) for a large platter of langoustines ( served with garlic mayo) and a bottle of flinty Sancerre, of course then followed by a dozen or so oysters.

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