Girls’ Night at Yeled

I highly animated and extremely appetizing Instagram page brought three friends and me to Yeled for a girl’s night / birthday celebration this past January. It had been on our list for a while. We’d sent each other several DM’s over the weeks leading up to our reservation on the topic of all this new-ish…

Dinner with Beats at Café Mancuso

Music-lovers looking for a bite to eat with a glass of funky natural wine in Bordeaux ought to look no further than Café Mancuso, France’s very first “restaurant audiophile.” What does that mean? That the place is music-first in its offer. An expensive-looking hi-fi system and audio equipment specially chosen for the accoustics of the…

Tacos & Cocktails at Candelaria

A mainstay of Le Marais is Candelaria, a brightly lit micro-taqueria with bomb dot com frozen margs and a relatively short menu of well-executed Mex/Tex-Mex favorites. Walk through the unmarked door next to the pint-sized kitchen and you arrive to a sleek and sexy speakeasy specialized in agave-based spirits. Before heading over to Little Red…

Calf’s Brain in Squid Ink Tempura at Les Enfants du Marché

In the bustling Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris’s hip ‘n’ happening 3e is Les Enfants du Marché, a modest-looking market restaurant that is vibes vibes vibes on a weekend afternoon. While the setting suggests cheap and humble street food, a closer look at the (quite extensive) chalkboard menu reveals culinary creations worthy of a…

Frogs and Vin de Paille at Le Petit Sommelier

I frequently find myself at French train stations over an hour before my scheduled departure, driven there early by a groundless paranoia and an overwhelming sense of malaise. It’s weird. When it comes to airports, I’m cool as a cucumber. I’ve got the movements down, smooth, I know where to go and when. I know…

We Should Have Also Ordered the Crispy Pata at Double Dragon

I was buzzing with excitement as we passed in front of the Double Dragon sign, painted by hand in gorgeous green and gold on the restaurant’s crisp, clean glass window. We had rushed from Montparnasse, getting lost during our transfer in Châtelet (which is more like an escape room than a metro station) and fumbled…

‘Grammable Sandies at KERN

After a morning at the Louvre spent with Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Liberty Leading the People, we were hungry for a good sandwich, so I did a quick search and found KERN in the 9ème. There’s a cool vintage diner vibe at this casual eatery, where two ladies prepare photogenic sandwiches to what…

Brains, Sweetbreads and Pét-Nat at Clown Bar

I write this article from aisle seat #44 of wagon #6 aboard TGV INOUI 12268 speeding towards Montparnasse, where a trade show awaits me, coincidentally scheduled for the day of my 34th birthday. I’ve been going to Paris more frequently these days and feeling some kinda way about this city, its cozy bistros and boisterous…

Steaks Cooked à La Cheminée at Ô QG

In a rapidly developing and expanding city like Bordeaux a lot can happen over a 6-year span. Since I first moved here in February 2017, I’ve seen Bacalan transform from industrial wasteland into buzzing nightlife hub, the boats and warehouses lining the Quais Lawton and des Caps now occupied by half-decent clubs, bars and burger…