posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 11
Going to the movies on the Champs-Elys?es has been a favorite PB pastime for many years. Not only are you guaranteed a VO (version originale), but there is nothing quite like exiting a theater to the sight of the Arc de Triumph. La Grande Classe.
Going to the movies on the Champs should call for a bit more effort than your typical outing to the megamall in Podunk. I know the MacDo is right next door to the George V cinema, but Big Macs and popcorn are far too middle America for full-time Parisians.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 7
The morning of our little bike excursion began with a trip to the market. A loaf of bread, fixings for a green bean salad, some drippy Reine Claudes and a nice Brie de Meaux - we bought everything we needed for a little country picnic.
Setting out from the Parc de la Villette, we followed the Canal de l’Ourcq (the northern extension of the Canal Saint-Martin) in the direction of Meaux.
For the first five minutes, the view was post-industrial. The falling-down Grands Moulins de Pantin towered before us and we breezed past buildings with broken windows and graffiti.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 1
When I moved to Paris two years ago to work as a cook, I did not have the same ah-ha revelation that Julia Child experienced with her first meal in Normandy. No, I went from bistro to bistro in search of something that would rival any of the restaurants in my native San Francisco. I was unwilling to compromise taste for a smoke filled patio view of the Eiffel Tower.
After several disappointing experiences in bistros serving the same badly prepared fare, I headed to the farmers’ markets hoping to find seasonal and perhaps unusual heirloom produce. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 31
I will be back end of august. Meanwhile, enjoy !!
De retour fin ao?t. En attendant, promenez-vous ? loisir dans mon blog !!
Drinks/Cocktails
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 29
I have been privileged and honoured to be nominated for a Blogger Reflection Award by Autrice of The Bemused Muse. In return, I am to nominate five bloggers for the award:
1. Sherrie of Happytiler who pulls no punches in her art, posts and poetry about some of life’s rockier situations and tough challenges. Never a dull moment around Sherrie, who doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind, loudly and often!
2. Maddie of My Little India whose lovely poetic posts and mystical, ethereal photographs sometimes feel like some parallel, more peaceful universe, where you can drink chai tea and indulge your creative side as much as you like.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 29
As I mentioned a few weeks (Months? Already??) ago, I am obsessed with all things Bollywood, and wanted to share my obsession with my family and friends during my visit to Chicago with a Bollywood Birthday Bash. Well, my party was last Saturday, and I have to admit- it was a BLAST! Since we had paid a fortune on airline tickets to come to Chicago, I didn’t have much money to spend on the party, but I really wanted to have a fun, memorable “__th” birthday. In the end, I rented the upstairs of Schubas on Southport for the f?te. Schubas is a very typical Chicago tavern with dark wooden bars and tables, t.v.’s in the corners to broadcast the Cubbies, a “chill out” area with brown leather club chairs, and the classic tin ceiling that you find in a lot of Chicago bars. When you rent their party room, you are restricted to ordering off of their menu: buffalo wings, quesadillas, popcorn shrimp, etc- not exactly Bombay Palace fare…
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 24
As I mentioned a few weeks (Months? Already??) ago, I am obsessed with all things Bollywood, and wanted to share my obsession with my family and friends during my visit to Chicago with a Bollywood Birthday Bash. Well, my party was last Saturday, and I have to admit- it was a BLAST! Since we had paid a fortune on airline tickets to come to Chicago, I didn’t have much money to spend on the party, but I really wanted to have a fun, memorable “__th” birthday. In the end, I rented the upstairs of Schubas on Southport for the f?te. Schubas is a very typical Chicago tavern with dark wooden bars and tables, t.v.’s in the corners to broadcast the Cubbies, a “chill out” area with brown leather club chairs, and the classic tin ceiling that you find in a lot of Chicago bars. When you rent their party room, you are restricted to ordering off of their menu: buffalo wings, quesadillas, popcorn shrimp, etc- not exactly Bombay Palace fare…
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 22
July 12th 2007
One cool thing about my current assignment is we usually eat together. There are about 4 of us “regulars” who always eat together, and then there are usually a few others who join us, often a different few each time. That makes lunches interesting and fresh. Today, they decided to go to the Moroccan restaurant.
We ate there last week and it was really good, but really smokey. Today one of my coworkers was coming with us and he hates cigarettes more than I do (if that’s possible). So I told him how last time we were next to the window and we opened up the window to avoid suffocating let all the smoke out. You really can’t imagine how horrible it is to be in a very small restaurant (maybe 12 tables total), with all the windows shut, and cigarette smoke all over. Makes you want to stop-drop-and-roll. In fact, my condition to eat with the group is that we only eat in restaurants with non-smoking sections, which is very uncommon in France. Fortunately my coworkers don’t mind accommodating my request. In fact they don’t like cigarettes either. We’re all non-smokers.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 22
Update July 19th: Apparently I was mistaken in calling this a sea lion napping on the rocks in New Zealand. A reader says it’s a “New Zealand fur seal.” Photo by Marie-Claire Holmes.
Bicycling around Paris
If you’re visiting Paris you can rent bicycles at many stations around Paris. Some 10,600 bicycles are available as part of a program known as Velib, (a combination of the French words v?lo -bicycle - and libert? -freedom). An annual pass for the bike service is ?29; a one-day pass is ?1, with the first half-hour free. Paris currently boasts 230 miles of bike paths.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jun 26
I know it???s a little early to shut down for Thanksgiving but we???re packing our bags and high-tailing it out ofLondonto head home for the holidays. This means no computers and no blogging until next week- but lots of shopping and eating until then. Just like last year we???re going to brave ???Black Friday??? to hit the stores- which have nothing on anOxford Streetcrowd- and can???t wait to tuck into our family???s super yummy roasted chestnut and porcini mushroom soup (the secret to why it tastes so good? Add a splash of cognac and lots of cream??¦ or maybe it???s the other way around). And if we???re feeling inspired, we might even make these cookies we spotted on the Pillsbury site. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
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