not drinking poison in paris

I used to complain often about a dearth of actual wine bars in Paris. I defined them as places where quality wine could be enjoyed st...

The Native Companion had been hinting that she'd like to visit Brittany for several years. But since no wine is produced there, it ne...

Cosne-sur-Loire is not the most exciting place on earth. It's where life goes on surrounding Sancerre tourism. But it's also whe...

A brief moment of on-stage banter at last Monday's Hamilton Leithauser show at La Boule Noire saw the former Walkmen singer - argu...

For a certain class of Parisian, familiarity with the marché aux puces  is a basic mark of distinction. It doesn't matter if very few...

The most expensive fallacy of wine travel, to which I habitually succumb, is to assume that, to experience the full breadth of a given r...

Half our group missed the visit to historical Sancerre standard-bearers Domaine Vacheron. They decided to spend the morning by the pool...

What a wonderful world we'd live in, if the elusive Great Neighborhood Restaurant existed in numbers commensurate to how often the t...

The town of Sancerre is a bright, windswept agglomeration of medieval belfries and tasting rooms atop a hill with views for miles around...

The entrance to Sancerre legend François Cotat 's tasting room must be one of the most sweetly vexing tableaux in the wine world. On...

Who knew what to expect when chef Rodolphe Paquin,  le   roi de la terrine , announced he was turning his divisive bistrot Le Repaire de ...

Two observations on restaurant service, following a meal at Le Servan , the spiffing new restaurant on rue Saint Maur by the charming a...

Twenty minutes into our bike trip around Sancerre last July, as we wended south along the left bank of the Loire, the rear innertube of ...

It goes without saying that Irish culture doesn't lack for originality or regional nuance. But a history of economic subjugation and...

At the restaurant I used to manage in Los Angeles, we had an amusing problem. One of the owners was friends with R.E.M. , and accordingl...

One day I'm going to walk into Le Meurice and stand for an hour on one foot. Then I'll bow and the press will take photos and I...