My Vegan Monday

Morning
Green tea
Oatmeal

Afternoon
Super Foods smoothie
Almond butter and pear sandwich
A most deliciously crisp Honeycrisp apple
Handful of peanut butter m&ms—which are a nice alternative to peanut m&ms, but don't hold a candle to pretzel m&ms

Evening
Carrots and hummus
Dried pineapple

As I bounce between pious and pathetic, uber healthy and sugar overloading, I've been enjoying some great "foodoirs." In addition to Ann's The Art of French Eating, I've also indulged in Eddie Huang's Fresh of the Boat and am currently loving Marcus Samuelsson's Yes, Chef. Amazing stories, delicious details.

Mastering the Art of French Eating

“I’m not a voracious carnivore, but there’s something about being in Paris that makes me want to sink my teeth into a bloody piece of beef.”

I’m not a carnivore either, and the even though being in Paris makes me want to sink my teeth into a hot, melty Nutella crepe, with that first line of Ann Mah’s Mastering the Art of French Eating, I knew I was in trouble.

Chapter by chapter, Ann—whom I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know while we were both living in Paris—takes us all over France, from the buckwheat fields of Brittany to Provence’s pink hills. It’s a culinary blitz through the most delicious country on earth—a loving and heartfelt blitz.

And of course in the center of the grand Gallic explorations, there’s Paris. It always comes back to Paris. And what it means to an expat: subsisting happily, if guiltily, on French bread; the pangs of loneliness at seeing gaggles of friends, not your own; and suddenly noticing that your American habits are un peu moche in the eyes of Parisians.

I’ve been excitedly waiting for Ann’s book to come out (I had the honor of reading, and blurbing, an advance copy so I’ve long known how delicious it is), and today the wait is over. Bravo, Ann! So excited that the lovely and amazing Mastering the Art of French Eating is out! Mes amis, scoop it up—it’s a wonderful book and it will have you dreaming of your own French adventures.

A new season

It's official. As of Sunday, we reached the autumn months. It's no secret that I'm a lover of summer. As I wring every last ray of sun ray and hour of mild weather from this shoulder season, I wanted to share some of the beautiful summer moments around New York.

 

 Bon. Now that it is a new season, what are you most excited for?

A gift from the chocolate artist

My friend Silvia has been spending some quality time à Paris this year. I'm jealous. I can't believe I haven't been since December of last year. It's the longest I've gone since moving back to New York.

Needless to say, when she brought me back a box of Patrick Roger chocolates, I melted. That turquoise packaging is as iconic to Paris as Tiffany's blue is here to New York.

He calls himself a chocolate artist for the dazzling gem-like bonbons he creates, to say nothing of the full-scale chocolate sculptures in his boutique vitrines. But since—in my hands, anyway—his chocolate art is fleeting, it's his exquisite packaging that is the eternal art.

Sweet cinnamon

I go to The Smile to Go fairly often for lunch. Always tantalized by its display of home-baked breads, muffins and cookies.

Finally, I skipped the farro salad and roasted squash. I went straight for the good stuff.

Not even the strawberry almond bread. Or the old-fashioned coffee cake.

I skipped the sweet little rustic galettes, too.

I got myself a giant, doughy, delicious cinnamon bun.

Tinged with the essence of orange. Drenched in sugary frosting.

And would you believe... vegan? For the good grace of grapeseed oil, soy milk and maple syrup.

Colón et Garnier

With the publication of my latest travel article for The New York Times, 36 Hours in Buenos Aires, six months after being in that fabulous city, I wanted to share some photos of Teatro Colón, their grand opera house, that I never posted.

Magnificent, no? While the exterior is not nearly as grand at L'Opera Garnier, it still brought back some wonderful memories.

Memories of art, magic, history and awe. Awe at the beauty and romance of it all.

Almost everywhere you go in this world, there's a beautiful reason to think of Paris.

Next stop: Indonesia

Unfortunately, not for me. But it’s where Paris, My Sweet will next be translated. Woot woot! In the meantime, I wanted to share the cover for the fabulous Polish edition. 

 Cute, no?

La Rentrée

Paris is no doubt buzzing with more Vespas this week, and clacking with more chic mommies as la rentrée is underway. Back to school, a fresh new start—even though I prefer summer, early fall in Paris makes a good run for the best time of the year. Everyone is energized, fresh, bright, bordering on outright optimism.

While I was putting my rentrée chapeau on, thinking of what I want to focus on this season, I realized I was trying to tackle some pretty monumental stuff—namely, polish off a new book proposal, finish my new apartment renovations (never mind that they haven’t even started), and go on a big, fat trip to someplace new and exotic.

While I still have my fingers crossed for all three of those things, I thought it realistic to focus on more modest rentrée aspirations. Like back to school shopping. Here’s what’s on my list:

Some of those baggy sweat-style pants

A perfectly fit black blazer

A grey shoulder bag (Saint Laurent would do just fine)

Fitted leather pants

Black biker boots

Cowboy booties, grey or maroon

A fabulously soft and feminine blouse

A new shade of lipstick

In other words, I think I need to get to Paris to do some shopping!

My Vegan Monday

Morning
Kashi GoLean with almond milk and banana

Afternoon
Hummus toast
Fuji apple

Evening
Angelica Kitchen's house salad
A lotta chocolate

After a weekend of binging on crabs, cookies, cake, cheese and wine (!), it was nice to be home, in front of the computer, eating simpler food. And wonderful to have shared last week's Vegan Monday with the wonderful Ann Mah, who's about to give birth twice: to her anxiously anticipated baby and her second book, the delicious Mastering the Art of French Eating.

 We were lucky enough to catch up over salads and sandwiches at The Butcher's Daughter (which leaves me, sadly, less impressed each time I visit). The last time we dejeunered together was at Septime—two years ago.

I just scrolled through the posts of that trip to Paris to find the one of our lunch. It broke my heart a little. Every month is further from that magical time that I lived in Paris. And all those subsequent trips that brought me back in its embrace, close to the memories and thrills. I couldn't be happier with my life right now. But there will always be Paris...