The Book Club at Le Carmen: Paris’ Hippest Literary Party

April 26, 2011  by Sara Rahman

Literary woman about town Sara Rahman has the scoop on Paris’ newest and hippest artsy event: The Book Club, occurring monthly at trendy SOPI wine bar, Le Carmen. The next gathering takes place tomorrow, so here’s everything you need to know. -Geneviève

Dress code: book required, clothing optional (not really, please don’t do that). The Book Club at Le Carmen was launched this February in order to promote a new literary magazine, A Tale of Three Cities (TOT), which will be debuting this June. The lit-chic fête is held the last Wednesday of every month at Le Carmen near Place Pigale in Paris’ 9^th arrondissement, in the rooms where Bizet composed his most famous oeuvre.

I recently met with Rosa Rankin-Gee, one of TOT’s founding fathers and a talented writer, editor, and purveyor of merriment in her own right. We sat atop a hill this Easter Sunday and chatted about her most recent work in progress.

Naturally, my first question was who attends.

“Beautiful people who read.” Excellent. Those non-prescription Ray-Ban specs are being put to good use after all. Truly, though, the crowd at the two parties I attended was mighty fine looking indeed (see photos).

Now, if that isn’t reason enough, why did TOT decide to do TBC?

“It’s all to do with the magazine which is a join-up of dots between Paris, London, and Berlin. And I suppose it’s the exchange of stories by writers in those cities. The Book Club’s quite a nice way of doing that. We’re sharing books, we’re sharing stories.”

So, what to wear? Continue Reading »

Posted in Arts, Events, Parisian Living | 8 Comments »

Coffee in Paris? Finally, Coffee You CAN Drink in the City of Lights!

April 15, 2011  by Erica Berman

Erica Berman is a serious coffee drinker. No joke. Long frustrated by Paris’ less-than-stellar coffee scene, she is overjoyed to see that some serious brewsters are finally taking hold of Paris. Be sure to check in next week for our review of Frog Fight, the buzz-worthy (and caffeinated!) competition where Paris’ best baristas battle it out. – Geneviève

Cappuccino from Coutume Cafe – Erica Berman

I don’t drink coffee in Paris. Why should I? It’s expensive and mostly bad and the waiters are often surly and unfriendly.  No self-respecting coffee drinker should have to subject themselves to overpriced Parisian sludge served with a sneer.

I long ago gave up on the idea of great coffee in a sunny café by the Seine, and content myself to home brewed beans, leaving cappuccinos and friendly cafes for Italy.

Le Bal Café – Erica Berman

Happily, changes are taking place in Paris. Just as the artisanal baguette was reborn after a long period of low quality bread on the Parisian bakery scene and interesting types of non Lipton tea are popping up in shops and cafes around the city, all of a sudden good, even great, coffee has arrived and a pro-artisanal coffee movement is on the rise, albeit only in a select few Parisian spots. Continue Reading »

Posted in Food, Parisian Living | 58 Comments »