Wednesday, 26 May 2010 10:03
Written by Madelaine Bullwinkel

Lunch at the Colombe d'Or

The terrace of the Colombe d’Or in the south of France is a lovely place for lunch. Arrive early and you can get a shady table under a grape arbor. It’s an ideal place to enjoy dining as theatre: Is that elegant gentleman at the center table the owner the gold Rolls- Royce outside? The hip couple by the trellis, wouldn't they make great leads in a Peter Mayle novel? And don’t look now, that quartet with the big cameras, they have to be Americans. (It’s best to keep your darkest sunglasses on while doing this.)

Best Baguette

Only in France can a simple baguette cause the kind of controversy that arose in Paris this spring. Bread, if you weren’t already aware, is a very big deal in this food-obsessed country. Marie Antoinette found this out to her detriment in the 18th century. When told that a bread shortage was behind gathering mobs of angry Parisians she responded, “let them eat cake”.

baguette

GOING BIO IN PARIS

In Paris vegetable and fruit market stalls are everywhere. Their colorful displays used to be so tempting. Now, not so much. After I took an early morning tour of Rungis, the city's enormous central market, it dawned on me that ingredients grown and delivered on this scale were not the same fruits and vegetables that make French cuisine great. Where could I find them?

wine shop wine shp int

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