Barbra Austin

It was a sort of twisted curiosity that drew me to Ralph’s, the restaurant in the new Ralph Lauren shop on the boulevard St. Germain. Fried chicken? A supposedly great burger? A staff trained by Danny Meyer?


I just wanted to see if they could pull this thing off.

Two good meals, two wildly different price points.

Where do you have dinner with an American living in Paris who is facing a two week visit to the States? “Something good and French,” were the requirements.

So helpful!

It’s such a relief (and all too often a surprise) when the restaurant that every is talking about turns out to be good.

Right now that restaurant is Rino.

Zinc Caïus is the younger, smaller, less expensive offshoot of Caïus, the restaurant across the street where chef Jean-Marc Notelet dazzles diners with his use of exotic spices (for France, anyway) and unexpected combination and techniques. At Zinc Caïus the fare is more straight forward, a pared-down bistro menu for neighborhood locals more than visiting foodies. Yet a meal here is just as memorable as one served by its sophisticated sibling, not because it’s complicated or ambitious, but because it’s so very good.

“I’ve come for the burger,” I announced when I walked in.

I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this one.

There aren’t too many places in Paris where you can eat with your hands.

Casanova is an olive oil lover. Cédric Casanova, that is.

A dark, wet and wintry afternoon was perhaps not the best time to visit the Paris Catacombs and the cimetière de Montparnasse, but it was a perfect day to tuck into the nearby Crêperie de Josselin for lunch.