I love black

licorice, caviar,dark chocolate...squid ink a little less, so when I saw this decadent black cake, I had at least to photograph it. The shop is cavernous and theatrical, with wide expanses of muslin curtains pushed slighly aside to let you in the one way shop experience.I bought delicious chestnut honey madeleines with a higher butter quotient than most hearts can take, a Jackson Polock mosaic of guimauve ( french marshmallow) with splattered chocolate and mint, tiny wild herbs savory souffles, and bite size green tea financiers that will make you close your eyes.....The shop has also numerous unusual breads, jams, pastries,chocolates.It is called " du pain et des gateaux" ( breads and cakes) and it is on Bd Pasteur , in the 15th arrondissement. a must check.

shells and nuts

September in Paris can be a little dangerous.Things can fall from trees overhead and surprise you. Of course there can be beautiful mustard color leaves for children to gather in bouquets and bring back to school to draw but my favorite things to collect are some chestnuts ( those are not edible unfortunately) whose skin is as smooth as silk, contrasting so teasingly with their prehistoric shells.....

13 days in Paris

went to see "2 days in Paris" .Bravo to Julie Delpy, for writing ,directing and acting in this little gem. Always loved her in her roles in "before sunrise" followed by" before sunset" which she co-wrote, so I knew she had it in her to do a good job. Of course, I had to indentify slightly, being a "parisienne" exiled in America, with an American significant... it had to have some resonance . So it is my turn to spend some days in Paris now . I will regale you with stories and images upon my return.

the death of the Jade Lobster

Chinese cookbook.Hot days.The lobster was brought live in a cardboard box. Water spashed on a granite, lobster placed on top to photograph its last moments.Lobster dying of thirst, scrambling. A dim sum chef officialiazed. A snap of the head with a knife inserted in the neck ended its misery. Fancy banquet style, the lobster meat was bathed in a spinach puree to give it the famous jade tone. Green seafood is definitively a cultural ,oddity, no ?