Barbra Austin

If you’re at all interested in the Parisian dining landscape, chances are high that you read Mark Bittman’s recent piece for the New York Times, Four Paris Restaurants Worth a Metro Ride. His assumption — and it’s mostly fair — is that most tourists don’t make it to the 10th, 18th, 19th, and 20th arrondissements.

But, as someone who lives in the 10th, it’s actually the restaurants in the center of town — never mind the bistro wonderland of the 15th– that require a commute. One that surely merits a ticket is Les Bistronomes.

I don’t know about you, but I find it reassuring that a place like Le Rubis still exists in Paris, particularly in a high-rent part of town, where one of the hottest places to “eat” is something called a “water bar”.

Le Rubis is a 1930s-era bar à vin that seems to have changed little since then. From the zinc bar to the barrels on the sidewalk out front, it’s a kind of time capsule that would almost feel fake if it weren’t so utterly authentic.

Continue reading at Girls’ Guide to Paris…

I never ate at the first Spring, so I didn’t really have any preconceived notions about what the new Spring would be like.

That’s not exactly true: I have met Daniel Rose, visited the boutique, and read plenty about the old Spring. But with the exception of a superb ceviche whipped up for the Paris by Mouth launch party, I had never eaten anything made by M. Rose until last Friday night.

Two good meals, two wildly different price points.