April 26, 2012 by Tory Hoen
Fresh off the heels of their successes in Paris, London and now New York, the Experimental Cocktail Crew makes its culinary debut in Paris (where else?) with the Beef Club. If you stop by, let us know what you think in the comments! -Geneviève
Just a few steps from one of Paris’s least charming spots (Les Halles) has suddenly appeared one of its most charming. Le Ballroom du Beef Club, the month-old clandestine cocktail den from the team behind the popular hideaways Experimental Cocktail Club, Curio Parlor and Prescription Cocktail Club, leaves no doubt that Paris has arrived as a serious mixology destination. In the space of just a few years, the scene here has evolved from an experimental “cult” to a full-blown cocktail culture—largely thanks to Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros, and Romée de Goriainoff, the handsome young triumvirate behind the quickly expanding Experimental empire (they have a spot in London and will open their first New York outpost later this month).
This time around, the team has upped the ante. Upstairs, The Beef Club is a stylish steak house (we can’t wait to settle into one of those mid-century modern chairs for a night of carnivorous hedonism), and downstairs, the cavernous Ballroom du Beef Club offers a sensationally sexy setting where you can slip in for an after-work drink or linger into the wee hours of the night.
By 9pm on a Wednesday, multiple groups had already discreetly tucked themselves into the bar’s various dark nooks, and at around 10pm each night, the bar’s second lounge space opens to accommodate the larger late-night crowd. Continue Reading »
Posted in Restaurant Reviews | 4 Comments »
May 23, 2011 by Badaude
HiP Paris friend, contributor and wonderful illustrator Badaude is coming out with a gorgeous book, London Walks, chock-full of witty drawings and snapshots into the lives of Londoners. In honor of the book launch happening next Monday at Shakespeare & Co, we asked Badaude to give us her top spots to hit up in London for a weekend getaway… Check out her list below for the places to stay, eat, drink, shop and stroll. PS: And if you’re in Paris, feel free to stop by Shakespeare & Co next Monday night to celebrate the launch of London Walks and more! -Geneviève
Badaude’s new book, London Walks
Stay at The Zetter Townhouse:London’s newest and hottest hotel is a clutter-chic bijou Georgian townhouse in the quiet square behind the original Zetter Hotel. Bedrooms are a riot of eclectic 19th century fun. Mine had a bedhead and wall panel taken from a French 3rd Republic carousel, an ipod dock housed in a red retro radio and, most stunningly, as well as the state-of-the-art drench shower in the bathroom, a mahogany-pillared bath set into an alcove in the bedroom.
Downstairs mixologist Tony Conigliaro’s hot cocktail bar looks like a London pub (busy Victorian paintings and pleasingly eccentric taxidermy) only more comfortable. Kick back on one of the cozy sofas and let staff serve you tapas-style snacks as you study the innovative drinks menu. With so many clever inventions it was a tough choice, but I wasn’t disappointed when I ordered a Somerset sour (apple brandy, cider, gomme and lemon) – a heavenly ice-cold balance of sweet and sour. My date went for a sharp Richmond (Chivas Regal, apple honey & Lillet blanc ). Both arrived in cute retro glasses — the perfect finishing touch. We picked at a platter of delicious pates and Parma ham, fresh buttery radishes, English cheeses and sardines on toast pimped with a pimento puree, accompanied by a carafe of aromatic Jurancon sec (£30 for 50cl). We felt too full to make use of the bar’s table tennis room afterwards.
Rooms from £185. The Zetter Townhouse Website.
Eat at: St John.This is hardly news to residents, but if you only eat out once in London, you won’t find an experience more British than Fergus Henderson’s legendary ‘nose to tail eating’. If the whitewashed restaurant pushes the abbatoir look a little beyond your comfort zone, the meaty menu lives up to the ‘everything but the squeak’ premise. The last time I was there I had a roasted marrow bones with parsley salad (£7.10) followed by Calf’s liver and shallots (£18.40) . Was there a part of the menu that wasn’t offal? The British cheeses and Eccles cakes (£6.80) were sublime.
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Posted in Arts, Travel | 4 Comments »
October 19, 2009 by Haven in Paris
Despite what Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald might have you believe, Paris has not historically been a cocktail-drinking town. Even today, the traditional pre-dinner drink—the apéritif or more familiar “apéro”—usually takes the form of a glass of champagne, a kir (white wine with a splash of cassis), or a pastis (an anise-flavored liqueur favored by pétanque-playing French gentlemen of a certain age). Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Parisian Living | 6 Comments »
May 7, 2009 by Genevieve Sandifer
photo courtesy of womenmanagementparis.blogspot.com
At first you thought you’d never tire of your pre-dinner kirs or pastis on traditional café terraces. But after one-too-many botched martinis, you’re willing to start considering alternatives. And if those alternatives happen to come courtesy of a group of fresh-faced Parisians enamored with New York cocktail culture, so be it.
Determined to bring Parisians around to the idea of “real” cocktails, drawing on only the finest spirits and fresh-squeezed fruit, the team behind the Curio Parlor first landed on the Paris scene a couple years ago with the Experimental Cocktail Club, an aptly named velour-lined drinking den in the 2nd arrondissement.
Although the two bars share their inclination towards taxidermy, designer’s guild prints, Continue Reading »
Posted in Parisian Living | 5 Comments »
Didier Gauducheau
Didier Gauducheau
Didier Gauducheau
