Le Comptoir du Relais, Paris (revisited)

Le Comptoir is so conveniently located for tourists and shoppers and has such a good food reputation that magazines, guidebooks and blogs trip over themselves to say nice things. It’s an understatement to say dinner reservations at the tiny bistro are hard to come by, so it’s pretty excellent that the bistro doesn’t take reservations [...]

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Cinq Mars Bistro, Paris

Here’s how Jon and I think when we go to Paris: (1) ask friends – preferably Parisian – where to eat; (2) read blogs, boards, and French-language websites to narrow down ideas; (3) figure out the number of meals we have in Paris; and (4) try to “fit” the results of (1) and (2) into [...]

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Eric Kayser Bakery, Paris

Both yesterday and this morning, Jon and I started our day with a run through the nearby Jardin des Plantes, followed by a stop on the Rue Monge to line up (again with the lines) for baked goods at the Kayser Boulangerie. This place is new for me, a recommendation by David Lebovitz. And if [...]

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Chocolates and Macarons, Paris

Happy Easter! Neither Jon nor I are churchgoers, but we do eat lots of chocolate on Easter. Clearly what Christians envisioned 1,975 years ago. Because we’re in Paris for the weekend, I looked forward to visiting my sweet shop favorites (none of them secrets): Pierre Herme, Patrick Roger and Cacao et Chocolat. Unfortunately, I failed [...]

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Sushi Say, Willesden Green

Last weekend was rainy, but Sushi Say was all the comfort I needed. It’s a small, narrow restaurant with a sushi counter up front and a dining room with about a dozen tables in the back. The owners are a husband-and-wife team, and best I could tell, the husband is the sushi chef at the [...]

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Wapping Food, Wapping

If you’re not British but have heard of Wapping, it’s probably because you read something about Rupert Murdoch’s fight with unions in the 1980s. That’s how I first heard about Wapping, anyway (in Bill Bryson’s “Notes from a Small Island” – a must-read if you move to the UK or are an anglophile). Happily, when [...]

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The Gun Gastropub, Canary Wharf

Apparently I’m on a gastropub kick, deciding yesterday to return to the Gun for lunch. Like the Marquess, the Gun is a restaurant that I often overlook because I’m lazy. It’s a 15-minute walk from Canary Wharf, which in my opinion is a long journey for a weekday lunch. It’s also pricey as a lunch [...]

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Marquess Tavern, Canonbury

With so many good gastropubs in the neighborhood, Jon and I don’t visit some as often as we’d like. The Marquess Tavern, for example, is no more than a 15-minute walk from our flat, but because it’s on the “other side” of Upper Street – the Canonbury side – we make it there only once [...]

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The Sampler Wine Shop, Islington

The Sampler Wine Shop at 266 Upper Street is a place that’s both romantic and practical. Romantic because it’s owned by partners who decided to turn their passion – wine buying and wine tasting – into their livelihood, and practical because as a customer, you can taste up to 80 bottles of wines before you [...]

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Walking Around Arsenal

London was sunny this weekend, so Jon and I spent as much time as we could walking outside yesterday. Heading north, we walked to the old Arsenal Stadium, and while standing in front of the now-abandoned building, we heard the roar of fans and wondered if the stadium was haunted. There was even a lone [...]

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