The Authentic Bistros of Paris


Book Description

This guide captures the true character and flavour of the most intimate and affordable eating places Paris has to offer, ranging from the traditional to the newly fashionable. 51 bistros are judged by the standard of food, wine and atmosphere.




Hungry for Paris (second edition)


Book Description

If you’re passionate about eating well, you couldn’t ask for a better travel companion than Alexander Lobrano’s charming, friendly, and authoritative Hungry for Paris, the fully revised and updated guide to this renowned culinary scene. Having written about Paris for almost every major food and travel magazine since moving there in 1986, Lobrano shares his personal selection of the city’s best restaurants, from bistros featuring the hottest young chefs to the secret spots Parisians love. In lively prose that is not only informative but a pleasure to read, Lobrano reveals the ambience, clientele, history, and most delicious dishes of each establishment—alongside helpful maps and beautiful photographs that will surely whet your appetite for Paris. Praise for Hungry for Paris “Hungry for Paris is required reading and features [Alexander Lobrano’s] favorite 109 restaurants reviewed in a fun and witty way. . . . A native of Boston, Lobrano moved to Paris in 1986 and never looked back. He served as the European correspondent for Gourmet from 1999 until it closed in 2009 (also known as the greatest job ever that will never be a job again). . . . He also updates his website frequently with restaurant reviews, all letter graded.”—Food Republic “Written with . . . flair and . . . acerbity is the new, second edition of Alexander Lobrano’s Hungry for Paris, which includes rigorous reviews of what the author considers to be the city’s 109 best restaurants [and] a helpful list of famous Parisian restaurants to be avoided.”—The Wall Street Journal “A wonderful guide to eating in Paris.”—Alice Waters “Nobody else has such an intimate knowledge of what is going on in the Paris food world right this minute. Happily, Alexander Lobrano has written it all down in this wonderful book.”—Ruth Reichl “Delightful . . . the sort of guide you read before you go to Paris—to get in the mood and pick up a few tips, a little style.”—Los Angeles Times “No one is ‘on the ground’ in Paris more than Alec Lobrano. . . . This book will certainly make you hungry for Paris. But even if you aren’t in Paris, his tales of French dining will seduce you into feeling like you are here, sitting in your favorite bistro or sharing a carafe of wine with a witty friend at a neighborhood hotspot.”—David Lebovitz, author of The Sweet Life in Paris “Hungry for Paris is like a cozy bistro on a chilly day: It makes you feel welcome.”—The Washington Post “This book will make readers more than merely hungry for the culinary riches of Paris; it will make them ravenous for a dining companion with Monsieur Lobrano’s particular warmth, wry charm, and refreshingly pure joie de vivre.”—Julia Glass “[Lobrano is] a wonderful man and writer who might know more about Paris restaurants than any other person I’ve ever met.”—Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man’s Feast




My Place At The Table


Book Description

In this debut memoir, a James Beard Award–winning writer, whose childhood idea of fine dining was Howard Johnson’s, tells how he became one of Paris’s most influential food critics Until Alec Lobrano landed a job in the glamorous Paris office of Women’s Wear Daily, his main experience of French cuisine was the occasional supermarket éclair. An interview with the owner of a renowned cheese shop for his first article nearly proves a disaster because he speaks no French. As he goes on to cover celebrities and couturiers and improves his mastery of the language, he gradually learns what it means to be truly French. He attends a cocktail party with Yves St. Laurent and has dinner with Giorgio Armani. Over a superb lunch, it’s his landlady who ultimately provides him with a lasting touchstone for how to judge food: “you must understand the intentions of the cook.” At the city’s brasseries and bistros, he discovers real French cooking. Through a series of vivid encounters with culinary figures from Paul Bocuse to Julia Child to Ruth Reichl, Lobrano hones his palate and finds his voice. Soon the timid boy from Connecticut is at the epicenter of the Parisian dining revolution and the restaurant critic of one of the largest newspapers in the France. A mouthwatering testament to the healing power of food, My Place at the Table is a moving coming-of-age story of how a gay man emerges from a wounding childhood, discovers himself, and finds love. Published here for the first time is Lobrano’s “little black book,” an insider’s guide to his thirty all-time-favorite Paris restaurants.




French Bistro


Book Description

The French bistro provides an irresistible dining experience, combining fresh, traditional dishes with a friendly atmosphere. With its checkered tablecloths, chalkboard menus brandishing the plats du jour, emblematic wooden chairs, and an endless supply of crusty baguettes, the gastronomic bistro has firmly established itself as a culinary institution. Bertrand Auboyneau, the owner of Bistrot Paul Bert in Paris, offers a seasonal selection of sixty hearty recipes. Starters include rustic country pâté with cognac and wild mushroom confit or scallops cooked in their shells with a piquant twist. An extensive selection of main courses ranges from shoulder of lamb en cocotte to duck breast with cherries and roasted new potatoes. After a dazzling cheese platter, if you still have room for dessert, you can indulge in an assortment of delicious classics, such as Paul Bert’s signature Paris-Brest, praline cream in a crisp choux pastry ring, or Île flottante, an island of poached meringue floating in Tahitian vanilla créme anglaise. To accompany the recipes, revered food critic François Simon outlines the ten commandments that rule a true bistro, such as the importance of an inspirational owner and a highly experienced chef as well as impeccable waiters and the art of creating an authentic decor, dense with the wafting smells of good food and wine. Photographs feature both recipes and the lively spirit of a dozen Parisian bistros.




Bistro Cooking


Book Description

Bistro is warm. Bistro is family. Bistro is simple, hearty, generous cuisine-robust soups and country omelets, wine-scented stews and bubbling gratins, and desserts from a grandmother's kitchen. Researched and written by Patricia Wells, author of The Food Lover's Guide to Paris and The Food Lover's Guide to France, together with over 220,000 copies in print, here is a celebration of the no-nonsense, inexpensive, soul-satisfying cuisine of the neighborhood restaurants of France. BISTRO COOKING contains over 200 scrumptious bistro recipes made lighter and quicker for the way we cook today. Warm Poached Sausage with Potato Salad. Benoit's Mussel Soup. Guy Savoy's Fall Leg of Lamb. Beef Stew with Wild Mushrooms and Orange, Chicken Basquaise, Pasta with Lemon, Ham, and Black Olives, L'Ami Louis' Potato Cake, Provencal Roast Tomatoes, Pears in Red Wine, and Golden Cream and Apple Tart. Throughout, lively notes and sidebars capture the world of bistro owners in the kitchen, les grands chefs, and more. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Winner of the 1989 IACP Seagram Food and Beverage Award. Over 166,000 copies in print.




Hungry for France


Book Description

A culinary tour of some of the most alluring inns, food producers, restaurants, and winemakers of France, with more than seventy-five recipes updating classic regional dishes. Every food lover's ultimate dream is to tour the countryside of France, stopping off at luxurious inns with world-class restaurants and sampling fresh produce from local markets. Imagine having as your guide a savvy bon vivant, someone who lives for the pleasures of the table and knows just where to ferret out all the delicacies in each town. This book delivers just that. Each chapter covers a different region, from Normandy to Provence, and includes recommendations for a handful of the area's most excellent, off-the-beaten-path restaurants, along with recipes. Uniting all of the places in the book is an embrace of the farm-to-table ethos that has swept France's new generation of chefs and fueled such movements as Le Fooding. The more than seventy-five recipes sprinkled throughout exemplify contemporary riffs on quintessential regional specialties. For instance, from Normandy, there is Curried Pork in Cider Sauce; from Provence, Tartare of Salt Cod with Sesame-Chickpea Puree; from the Rhone, Pink Praline Tart. Hungry for France will inspire you to transform your cooking at home as well as to plan the trip of a lifetime.




A Table in Paris


Book Description

A visual exploration of the Paris dining scene, with stories, guides, and recommendations from everyday patrons and famous aficionados alike Paris is a city like no other, beloved by travelers the world over for its incomparable architecture, atmosphere, arts, and, of course, food. The restaurants of Paris are rich with history, culture, and flavor. Whether you're a frequent visitor to the City of Light with memories of your favorite meals or an armchair traveler dreaming of the cuisine you could discover there, A Table in Paris will take you on a delicious visual journey through the arrondissements that you'll never forget. In his signature loose and evocative style, artist John Donohue has rendered an incredible sampling of the iconic institutions, hidden gems, and everything in between that make the Paris dining scene one of a kind. Guided by recommendations from a breadth of locals, visitors, and experts, you’ll discover the places one must visit and the dishes one must sample in pursuit of the perfect Parisian meal. The book also offers space for your Paris dining bucket list, food memories or dreams from each arrondissement, and notes on the establishments featured. Restaurants hold a powerful place in our hearts, and A Table in Paris is a must-have for anyone with epicurean visions of Paris in theirs.




La Buvette


Book Description

The owner of a beloved Paris wine shop, bar, and café shares the secrets of effortless French entertaining in this lushly photographed guide featuring 50 recipes for simple, grazing-style food. “Camille shows us that keeping it simple, trying new wines, and making food that’s direct is all we need for a great experience.”—Andrew Tarlow, owner of The Marlow Collective Inspired by the stylish, intimate, and laid-back vibes of La Buvette—a tiny wine shop that doubles as a bar and café—in Paris’s 11th Arrondissement, this guide to wine, food, and Parisian lifestyle unlocks the secrets to achieving that coveted je ne sais quoi style of entertaining, along with revealing the best of the City of Light. La Buvette’s owner, Camille Fourmont, offers a look into the wine notes she uses to stock her shop and the incredible recipes she prepares in the shop's miniscule “kitchen” space. She also introduces some of Paris’s best wine and food makers in intimate portraits. Included are fifty recipes for easy and delicious snacks and full meals perfect for impromptu grazing-style entertaining—with plenty of wine—such as Camille’s “famous” Giant Beans with Citrus Zest; Pickled Egg with Furikake; Canned Sardines and Burnt Lemon; Baguette, Butter, and White Peach and Verbena Jam; and Crème Caramel. With tips on selecting wine and sourcing antique kitchenware, recreating the charm and ease of Parisian-style entertaining has never been so enjoyable. Whether you are traveling to Paris or bringing a piece of the City of Light into your home, you’ll learn how to drink, eat, and shop like a true Parisian.




The Brasseries of Paris


Book Description

“A brasserie is where the pleasure of the eye is reunited with the pleasures of the table.” In the sparkling brasseries of Paris, waiters in traditional long white aprons balance overflowing trays as they weave their way through beautiful Art Deco and Art Nouveau dining rooms with stained glass windows, romantic femmes-fleurs murals, glistening mirrors. The traditional menu—a lighter version of the pricier dishes served in “real” restaurants—includes choucroute, steak-frites, towering fresh seafood platters, and soups from bouillabaise to onion. “Brasseries rustle with all that makes Parisian life Parisian,” writes the author in this charming guide, first published in France, which will lead travelers to the best of these beloved institutions.




Paris Bistro Cooking


Book Description

A gastronomic tour of the best bistros in Paris devotes one chapter to each of the five types of bistros--classic, upscale, provincial, night bistros, and new bistros--and includes one hundred recipes.