20 Little Cities

K mart: A Korean and Japanese supermarket in Paris.

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:52:31 +0000

K mart is the new Asian supermarket in Paris to go to for Korean food as well as Japanese products. This is the only place I know of where one can purchase non-filtered sake in Paris. Alongside the sushi grade fish and the fresh meat counters is the produce shelves with shitake, enoki and shimeji brown mushrooms, daikon radishes, shiso leaves, fresh ginger, red and green chillis… Also, don’t miss the supermarket cafeteria for a quick lunch or food to go.

K mart
6-8 Rue Sainte Anne
75001 Paris
tel: 01.58.62.49.09
Metro: Pyramides, Palais-Royal - Musée du Louvre

Open 7/7
M-Sun: 10am-9pm

Antigone et Balthazar in Paris: A great selection of kids’ clothing and cool accessories.

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:56:58 +0000

Kids’ clothing store Antigone et Balthazar sells very lovely and tasteful clothes from age 0 to 14 (Antik Batik, Kik Kid, Kidscase, Urban Elk, OshKosh B´gosh, Rose et Théo, Ketiketa, Little Anh-Em, Séraphine Rioufol, Little Circus, Talc…) as well as accessories and a selection of toys from some of the best toy brands: Trousselier, Pakuis Oost, T’es fou louloup, Marc Vidal, Jellycat, Ulysse… Don’t miss le coin des bonnes affaires in the basement (and online) where you can find sale items all year around.

Antigone et Balthazar
44 Rue Trousseau
75011 Paris
tel: 01.78.10.09.99
Metro: Ledru-Rollin

Tu-F: 10.30am-2pm / 3pm-7pm
Sat: 11am-7pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday
The store will close from July 24 - August 24, 2010.

Willy Ronis at the Musée de la Monnaie in Paris.

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:23:04 +0000

Before he passed away Willy Ronis wished to see his work exhibited in Paris in celebration of his one hundredth birthday. Today, to honor his wish, the Musée de la Monnaie is showing about 150 of his photographs, some famous, others unpublished to this date.

April 16 - August 22, 2010
Willy Ronis at Musée de la Monnaie
11 Quai de Conti
75006 Paris
tel: 01.40.46.56.66
Metro: Pont Neuf, Odéon

Tu-Sun: 11am-7pm (until 9.30pm Thursday)
(Ticket window closes 30 min before closing time)
Closed on Monday

Maison Clarté in Paris: The classy Repetto shoes.

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:20:35 +0000

You can go to Maison Clarté in Paris and, like Nan Goldin, buy some of the ornamental pieces in the gorgeous window displays and some of the furniture, or you can go there to buy Repetto shoes. Or both really—the stuffed birds, the chairs, the chandelier by Astier de Villatte and the beautiful antiques are all for sale. Maison Clarté is an exclusive seller of Repetto shoes, classic models as well as collectibles such as the zizi in jean, the MJ with rhinestones or the BB with zippers. The boutique is precious, stumbling upon it made me feel good for the rest of day.

Maison Clarté
8 Rue Charlot
75003 Paris
maisonclarte@hotmail.com
Metro: Saint-Sébastien - Froissart, Filles du Calvaire

Tu-Sat: 10am-8pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday

Le Petit Atelier de Paris: The most precious little porcelain objects.

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:13:20 +0000

When renown bakeries such as Poilâne and Pain de Sucre or department stores such as Le Bon Marché respectively place an order or display your creations, you know there is something special about them.
Le Petit Atelier de Paris is a boutique/workshop full of little handmade porcelain wonders specializing in decorative objects as well as tableware. Le Petit Atelier de Paris also sells old-fashioned porcelain dimmers and switches. Created by and for Le Petit Atelier de Paris their very pretty and simple wooden furniture (very simple lines reminiscent of Muji design) will be for sale in the future, after they open their new wood workshop right outside of Paris.

Le Petit Atelier de Paris
31 Rue de Montmorency
75003 Paris
tel: 01.44.54.91.40
Metro: Rambuteau, Arts-et-Métiers

Th-Sat: 1pm-8pm
Closed on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Patricia Vieljeux: Beautiful pottery and ceramic workshops in Paris

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:37:19 +0000

Ceramist Patricia Vieljeux just happened to have the lamp shade that my kitchen light bulb has been missing for the past year.
Her boutique/workshop is a bit off the beaten path—unless you have a specific reason, you are unlikely to stumble upon it. This is a great place for those who might want to purchase unique stoneware and porcelain pieces made by hand. For information about Patricia Vieljeux’s workshops (for age groupe 11 to 17 and for adults) contact her boutique/workshop.

Patricia Vieljeux
21 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac
75011 Paris
tel: 01.46.59.04.10
Metro: Voltaire, Charonne

Valerie Salacroux: Tasteful Designer Shoes in Paris.

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:09:15 +0000

*UPDATE: VALERIE SALACROUX’S SHOP HAS MOVED TO THE 3RD ARRONDISSEMENT.

“Valérie Salacroux first worked in Milan with MiuMiu and Prada, then with Balenciaga, before creating under her own name. Inspired by her life on the Basque Coast, her collection of sandals reinterpretes the great French classics: flat leather saddler sandals, cork and wooden platform sandals and fashion wooden clogs. All is made in France, by small teams of craftsmen. The quality is in the detail: traditionnal saddler stitching, carefully chosen skins (genuine cobra, python, lizard, crocodile, goat and calfskin on real cork…) Valerie Salacroux’s style is very feminine, very refined and so terribly “frenchy”… a wonderfull blend of creativity and craftsmanship. For Valérie Salacroux, each model is designed with a special mission: to shape your feet and ankles beautifully.” Her products can be purchased in her workshop/boutique in the 3rd arrondissement or online.

Valerie Salacroux
6 Rue du Parc Royal (the entrance is under the porch)
75003 Paris
tel: 06.87.34.10.20
Metro: Chemin Vert

W-F: 1pm-7pm
Sat: 1pm-7pm
Sun: 3pm-7pm
Closed on Monday and Tuesday

Pink Flamingo in Paris: A different kind of pizza.

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:00:44 +0000

*UPDATE: PINK FLAMINGO JUST OPENED A NEW PIZZA JOINT. IT IS LOCATED ON RUE D’ALIGRE IN THE 12TH ARRONDISSEMENT.

If you want a regular (as in classic flavor) pizza, you might want to try a different place. Aside from La Dante (tomato-mozzarella-basil) or La Cantona (8 cheeses), Pink Flamingo likes to offer flavors that will make you travel, which can be very useful if, for example, you can’t decide between pizza and Indian food (try La Gandhi: sag paneer, baba ganoush and mozzarella), or pizza and Spanish food (try L’Almodovar: pizza paëlla), or pizza and North African food (try La Macias: chicken cooked tajine style with cured lemon and olives)… Among the less unusual ones there’s also La Björk (smoked salmon, lumpfish roe and crème fraîche), La Basquiat (cured ham over gorgonzola and figs) or La Marcello (roquette with olive oil and balsamic vineger and parmesan.) As you might have noticed the pizzas are named after inspirational people who have made a difference in this world. While the pizzas are made in a traditional way—they use organic flour and all of the toppings are made with quality ingredients and fresh produce bought daily from the farmers market—Pink Flamingo likes to think of its product as something that stands out by its quality and novelty. And for dessert you can order some cheesecake.

Here are Pink Flamingo’s delivery maps in Paris’ 3rd and 10th arrondissements. Deliveries are made by foot or bike, hence the limited delivery area. Pink Flamingo cares more about the environment than getting the pizza to you super fast (that said, it’ll still get to you in a timely manner.) Last but not least, if you want to eat your pizza somewhere along the canal, you can order it at their restaurant in the 10th, leave with a Pink Flamingo balloon and when it’s ready they’ll come look for the balloon!
For food to go and to eat along the canal there’s also Le Cambodge restaurant.

Pink Flamingo 3rd arrondissement
105 Rue Vieille du Temple
75003 Paris
tel: 01.42.71.28.20
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

open 7/7
M-F: 12pm-3pm / 7pm-11.30pm
Sat, Sun: 12pm-4pm / 7pm-11.30pm

Pink Flamingo 10th arrondissement
67 Rue Bichat
75010 Paris
tel: 01.42.02.31.70
Metro: Goncourt, Jacques Bonsergent

Tu-Sat: 12pm-3pm / 7pm-11.30pm (last order and delivery at 11pm)
Sun: 1pm-11pm
Closed on Monday

Pink Flamingo 12th arrondissement
23 Rue d’Aligre
75012 Paris
tel: 01.43.43.47.07
Metro: Ledru-Rollin, Faidherbe-Chaligny

Tu-Sun: 12pm-3pm / 7pm-11.30pm (last order and delivery at 11pm)
Closed on Monday

Jacques Genin in Paris: The caramels, chocolates and pastries you don’t want to miss.

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:50:28 +0000

There are the classic caramels, the famous ones au beurre salé (salty butter caramels) from Brittany and then there are the flavored ones such as the passion-mango caramels from Jacques Genin that are absolutely decadent and probably some of the best in the world—I weigh my words. Other flavors are: pistachio, almond, hazelnut, coffee, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, licorice… They are so soft and buttery you wonder how they manage to keep their shape and you tell yourself you can’t eat more than one but you can’t stop going back to them. His chocolates drive me nuts—oh! the caramelized almond Rochers, mmm the hazelnut pralinés! They are made with the finest ingredients, the flavors are as delicate as the patterns drawn onto their perfectly square shape and their names are as playful as they are appetizing. And then there are Jacques Genin’s pastries: he has mastered the art of the classic French pastries (éclair, Paris-Brest, tarte au chocolat noir, mille-feuille…)
After years of working in his lab and selling his treats to high-end restaurants and hotels, Jacques Genin has finally opened his own shop/tea salon. It is located a few blocks away from the busy area of rue de Bretagne, its trendy cafés and popular shops.

Jacques Genin
133 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris
tel: 01.45.77.29.01
Metro: Filles du Calvaire

Tu-Sun: 11am-7pm
Closed on Monday

Le Baron Rouge in Paris: A casual well known wine bar around town.

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:43:27 +0000

If you want to mingle with a laid-back crowd—a mixture of blue and white-collar workers, young and old people, fashionable and less fashionable creatures, weirdos and mainstream Parisians—head for Le Baron Rouge. You can’t miss this place, there’s always a huge crowd spilling onto the street in the early evening (apéro time) or on Sunday mornings—there’s nothing like a glass of wine and a plate of charcuterie or a platter of oysters to start the day! The wines are very affordable and the plates of cheeses and charcuterie are generous and delicious. Sometimes the quality of a wine will be directly reflected in its price, but 3€ wasted on piquette (that’s French for cheap wine) is forgivable. It is Paris after all, and it’s hard to find such low prices in popular wine bars. It is also hard to find a table unless you come for a drink outside of drinking hours, so don’t expect to be comfortably seated. And if the only room you find to sip your wine is on the street then be ready to partake in some secondhand cigarette smoke while sharing the sidewalk with interesting looking people… Once I saw an older woman standing out there dressed up in a white leotard exhibiting a very nice body for her age and a pretty indecent camel toe. This alone was worth a stop.

Le Baron Rouge
1 Rue Théophile Roussel
75012 Paris
tel: 01.43.43.14.32
Metro: Ledru-Rollin

Tu-Sat: 10am-2pm / 5pm-10pm
Sun: 10am-4pm
Closed on Monday