December 20, 2010 by Tory Hoen
I’m beginning to understand that I’m a bit of a masochist. I’m bored by things / people / places that make life too easy, which is probably why I like ornery cats, most fictional villains, winter and (if I’m being honest) the French.
To clarify, I have nothing against Golden Retrievers, damsels in distress, summer or … who’s fun and non-controversial?… the Swedish. It’s just that I also like a challenge. I like to be initially offended but ultimately won over. I like things that don’t care if I like them or not.
And thus, I love winter in Paris. It provides a dark, dismal, unapologetic, multi-month challenge that pushes you to your breaking point, but offers various olive branches along the way—pretty hanging lights, vin chaud, chocolat a l’ancienne, and a great excuse to drink serious red wines and then crawl into bed.
Philosophically speaking, Epicurus saw pleasure as the absence of pain, and Descartes considered the two to be linked on a continuous spectrum. I have to agree. Getting caught in a freak hail storm a few weeks ago (while wearing ballet flats) made arriving home to our cozy apartment on the Ile St. Louis that much more of a triumph. And going days (weeks?) without seeing the sun makes me feel totally justified in my decision to devote entire afternoons to the following “indulgent” activities: Continue Reading »
Posted in Parisian Living | 13 Comments »
July 1, 2010 by Amy Thomas
Rachel Khoo, at work
As the savory macarons (half of them, cream cheese and wasabi; half green olive tapenade) were passed around the 12th arrondissement apartment, the talk inevitably turned to food. It was a Thursday night, and I was at Rachel Khoo’s Mash Up soirée, an 80s-inspired, five-course dinner party organized through MyPrivateDinner.com, a site that coordinates tastings, workshops and other food-centric events. Rachel, a British cookbook author, class instructor and damn good chef, along with all us foreigners (plus a few locals) in attendance were self-defined foodies, so the night was filled with many edible adventures.
By the second course (a two-toned tartiflette of root veggies, roquette and copious amounts of Reblochon, which came on the heels of, wait for it, edible pacman with pâté powerballs), I was deep in conversation with Kimberley McLoughlin, an Aussie who just launched RedVisitor.com. While her site focuses on international travel, she’s also a restaurant devotée and knows the best eateries in the top culinary cities around the world. Clearly, I realized as I sipped my Tom Cruise-inspired Cocktail, I’m not the only expat in Paris who’s just a wee bit obsessed with food and eating and dinner parties and new restaurants and food porn and sweets and cooking classes and market tours and….are we full yet??
Edible pacman
Continue Reading »
Posted in Food | 2 Comments »
October 15, 2009 by Tory Hoen
Ceci Cela French Patisserie on Spring St. in New York
- courtesy of www.plateoftheday.com
I am living every Parisian’s dream, i.e., I am living in New York. After over a year in Paris and a few months in Montreal, I am back where I began, albeit with a much different perspective on just about everything. Since getting back, I’ve been delighted to find that you can’t go too far in New York without hearing some French. I find myself aggressively eavesdropping on French conversations in the subway and lingering a little longer on corners where French people are chatting, just in case they need my input on the matter at hand. Continue Reading »
Posted in Travel | 2 Comments »
September 28, 2009 by Tory Hoen
Courtesy of: www.lefoodingdamour.com
On Friday night, the HiP crew came out in full force to attend Le Fooding d’Amour Paris – New York. Sarah, Geneviève and I joined the mayhem at P.S.1 in order to sample innovative cuisine from some of today’s hottest New York and Paris-based chefs. Continue Reading »
Posted in Events | No Comments »
September 25, 2009 by Tory Hoen
Crab salad inspired by a dish by Yves Camdeborde. Photo: gourmet.com
I have long believed that Paris and New York are jealous lovers—mutually obsessed, covetous, but still fiercely stubborn and, ultimately, true only to themselves. Nowhere is this dynamic more apparent than in the kitchen, where American innovation has borrowed from (and then challenged) the French standard that has dominated for so long. This Friday and Saturday, in a glorious and long overdue collision of American and French culinary love, P.S. 1 will play host to Le Fooding d’Amour Paris-New York. For all our New York-based readers, you may not be able to justify a trip across the Atlantic, but you have no excuse not to make it across the East River. Continue Reading »
Posted in Events | 2 Comments »
April 22, 2009 by Tory Hoen
photo courtesy of express.fr
While there’s nothing secret about Jadis anymore, its location—buried deep within the 15th near Metro Convention—shelters it from the tourist crowds that will inevitably descend on Paris this spring and summer. Hailed as the “Best Bistro of 2008” by Le Fooding and “Bistro of the Fall” by Le Figaro, Jadis has emerged as a well-loved star amidst a sea of up-and-coming (and already established) neo-bistros. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Parisian Living, Restaurant Reviews | 2 Comments »
Winter Paris (Pauldc); Chocolat Chaud (yuichi.sakuraba)
Paris under the snow (Christophe Verdier)
