I've lived in the District for over 10 years now and as the French expat one of the top question I usually get asked is "where can I find good bread?" Usually it's recent transplants from France asking... The answer partially depend on where you live I guess. I mean, Bread Furst probably makes the best baguette in the city. But I live in Shaw. It's bad enough I have to spend close to $3 for bread, I'm not trekking all the way across town on top of it. So I get my baguette mostly at A Baked Joint now, and occasionally at Paul or Le Pain Quotidien. Two places where I would never buy bread back home...but hey, I have limited options here ;-) Of course, Parisians take their bread very ...
French Friday
Discover the Wines of the Languedoc Region
Is it August yet? I'll be traveling to Montpellier, Bezier and Carcassonne in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in a few weeks and I can't wait!! The Languedoc isn't as famous when it comes to wine as say Burgundy or Champagne, but the Southwestern French region is one of the largest and oldest wine-producing area in France. Two wines that I personally love from the Languedoc are Corbière reds and rosés. The Languedoc, which spans the Mediterranean coastline from Provence to the France’s border with Spain, enjoys a warm and sunny weather, with 320 days of sunshine a year, and produces some wonderful rosés. Since today is #LanguedocDay, an occasion for wine lovers around the world ...
Postcard from France: Marseille
Last Christmas, my uncle invited us to spend the holidays at his house in Goult, a lovely village in the Luberon, located halfway between Aix-en-Provence and Avignon. My uncle is my mother's brother and they both grew up in Marseille, France's second largest city. Rather than take the train to Avignon and get picked up by my uncle there, we decided to spend a day and a half in Marseille and rent a car to drive to Goult. I have very little childhood memories of Marseille, and my husband had never been so I was excited to discover the city, especially with my favourite Marseillaise - my mom - as our guide! FIRST THINGS FIRST: LUNCH AT CHEZ ETIENNE The trip from Paris Gare-de-Lyon ...
Meet Mimo, the Cheesy Jack O’Lantern
Last year, mimolette gave me quite a scare when it looked like its sale was going to be banned in the US because of some microscopic mite on its rind. Well, mimolette is back without mite this time and it wants to be part of your Halloween celebrations. Afterall, mimolette is round and orange, so it's definitely a great alternative to a pumpkin for a Jack o'lantern and the French Cheese Board, the home of all things French cheese in New York city, is showcasing mimolette from October 23 to November 7 at their HQ at 26 West 39th Street. Conveniently enough, I will be in New York to cheer for a French friend running the New York marathon... looks like I'll be meeting you soon mimo! ...
Give Your DC Summer a French Twist
Stuck in the city for the summer? Luckily, there are a ton of events across town to help you pretend you're in France. CHEER FOR LES BLEUS DURING THE WORLD CUP Head to Redline on game day to join the French Expat Meet-Up and L'Union des Français de l'étranger de Washington in supporting l'Equipe de France as they fight to get out of Group H. And if you want to learn more about Les Bleus, head to l'Alliance Francaise after the game on Friday, June 20. Sports historian Lindsay Krasnoff will moderate a panel of sports journalists on the history and importance of the 1998 World Cup champions in French society. LA FETE DE LA MUSIQUE It's one of my favourite events every year. New York goes ...
Angelika Pop-UP at Union Market
The Angelika Film Center in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood is a cultural institution for arthouse cinema. Its affiliate at the Mosaic District in Fairfax is FABULOUS! It's an elegant, state of the art, 8 screens theater where you can nibble on tadoori popcorn and reserve your seat in advance. If it weren't so far in Fairfax, I'd go there all the time! Luckily, soon enough, there will be an Angelika movie theater near Union Market, right here in downtown, DC. Until then (then being 2015), Union Market is giving us a little preview of what it will be like with an Angelika pop-up. The pop-up opens this weekend with screening of Queen Margot, a French period drama featuring Daniel Auteuil ...
My french Film Festival Point Com
MyFrenchFilmFestival.com was quite a success last year with 750,000 film viewings in different 189 countries so it's not a surprise that the leading worldwide French film festival on the Internet is back on our computers. The 4th edition of MyFrenchFilmFestival.com takes place between 17th January and 17th February and feature 10 features and 10 shorts in 13 different languages. That's all great, but my favourite part of the whole festival? The poster! I find it quite brilliant of course ;-) You can download the film on iTunes for a fee but if you're in DC, you can also screen them for free at Malmaison and Napoleon Bistro and Lounge. Starting on February 3rd, Napoleon will ...
Stromae Gets Some Love From Daily Candy
Towards the end of every week, there's a few emails I can't wait to see pop-up in my inbox. One of Frijolita's awesome Weekend Reads because a) she always shares the best links b) it means it's FRIDAY! The other is Daily Candy's Apps and Distractions email. There's always a couple of great finds in there. And this week, Daily Candy gave some love to Stromae, a Belgian singer that had the entire francophone world dancing to the gloomy beat-heavy hit Alors on Danse back in 2009. Four years later, he is back on top of the charts with his new album Racine Carrée. French music rarely makes it to American iTunes so it's a testament to the success of this album that you can actually buy it in the ...
Who Needs Rankings when you have Paul?
Colonials, I have some good and some bad news for you. By now, I'm sure you've heard, George Washington University (which, full disclosure, is one of the main reason I'm in the US now... class of '05... go buff and blue!) lost its U.S. News & World Report ranking earlier this week. Womp womp womp. But on the bright side, Paul Bakery is opening on campus, so you have at least something to celebrate! The newest member of the Paul USA family at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW - Photo Credit: Larkin Goff for PAUL USA When I was studying at this now unranked institution of higher learning, there wasn't much around Foggy Bottom beside McFadden's (already quite douchy btw) and the worst ...
French Fridays: Gratin Dauphinois
Greetings from Paris everyone! I just arrived this morning to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. It's actually very likely that there will be a Gratin Dauphinois on our holiday table. In the past, for Thanksgiving, I've made this traditional French dish either with a mix of regular and sweet potatoes to give it a little extra seasonal flavour or with sun dried tomatoes to make it a little fancier.I was particularly excited to make Gratin Dauphinois for this week's French Fridays with Dorie because it's a dish I know very well and grew up eating. I also wanted an opportunity to show off my cute turquoise polka dot dishes! I mean, how adorable are those?French Fridays with Dorie: Gratin ...
