The New Paris Podcast

What does it take to run a successful restaurant or several in a city full of them? Josh Fontaine, cofounder of Candelaria, Le Mary Celeste, and the newly opened A La Renaissance, knows something about it. He joins me to talk about what’s changed in the Paris food and beverage scene since COVID, the proliferation of concept-driven restaurants, creating longevity, and some of the details he’s most proud of at his new restaurant.

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Almost a year ago, I launched a series on my newsletter called Leaving America, based on the multitude of reasons Americans opt to leave the country and why many of them, as it happens, end up in Paris. Through this series and my network of creative women in Paris, I’ve connected with so many brilliant Americans who have moved, want to move, or at least understand the desire to. That includes Susanna Schrobsdorff, a former executiv...

Paris = luxury fashion, right? Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel are pillars of France’s soft power and legacy of craftsmanship. And they are among the most counterfeited brands in the world. That's part of what I learned reporting on secondhand luxury and authentication issues for Bloomberg Businessweek.

I got to go behind the curtain at Vestiaire Collective, the leading French secondhand platform, to understand the surge in s...

Today's guest, André Michel, is a Paris insider; the unofficial Mayor of Paris with a deep and varied knowledge of food and culture, and a talent for weaving it all into compelling storytelling and events. The occasional food and travel writer and event organizer joins me to talk about what it means to know Paris, why there’s never been a better or more dynamic time to visit or live in Paris, and what travelers should check out...

Diehard fans of Paris already know there’s never been a shortage of activities to fill one’s intellectual and cultural cup. Art openings, talks and conferences, concerts and performances happen every day of the week. But if you’re interested in learning in a classroom setting without going back to school in the traditional sense, the options dry up. That’s where Off Campus steps in. It’s a two-month-old coffee shop and bookstore la...

My new book is officially on shelves! To celebrate, The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore hosted me for a launch event last week. At the start, I was in conversation about the project (and more) with the legendary New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award–winning cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. This episode is an edited version of that discussion.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Eater Guide to Paris

Dorie Greenspan

Julien Pham / ...

In the canon of Paris narratives, few focus on oddball finds and secrets lurking right beneath our noses. But Vanessa Grall, more commonly known and Messy Nessy, has made it her calling card. For more than a decade she has sussed out offbeat tales and fascinating individuals who have shaped our world and published several guidebooks to help travelers get beyond the obvious. More than a year ago, she opened a storefront, Messy Nessy...

So far, the year in Paris has been bright — at least in a cultural sense. The Louvre Museum is leading the charge with its very first full-fledged fashion exhibition in its 232-year history. To talk about why it’s significant, what visitors can expect, and the cultural context surrounding the pieces on display is Amy Verner, a fashion journalist and longtime Paris resident who has likely spent more time pondering the works inside t...

Like many people living in France, I took a break from alcohol during the imported milestone of Dry January. But we’re in February, and two wine fairs have brought wine lovers and wine pros to the city for talks, tastings, and buying. Wine consumption has been dropping steadily in France, and sales have declined since the 1970s.

So what’s happening here? How are people drinking? Are they drinking? What’s the status of natural wine ...

A quick one from me to kickoff season 9 and share some fun news: I have a new book coming out this spring!

The Eater Guide to Paris hits shelves on April 29 in the U.S. /Australia/Europe and on May 8 in the U.K., wherever books are sold. A few links below to pre-order now:

Abrams (publisher)

Bookshop.org

Barnes & Noble

Amazon (U.S.)

Shakespeare & Co

Waterstones

Indigo Books

Booktopia (Australia)

Audio production & editing...

I'm recording new episodes for season 9 (coming soon!) but I wanted to bring back some of the most appreciated episodes of the show in the meantime. I originally recorded this episode with Comice co-owner and sommelière Etheliya Hananova in March 2022, and it ranks among the most listened-to since I first started recording in 2017.

She talks about the journey from Montreal to Paris, the type of dining environment she and her h...

This month is my 18th December living in Paris, and as I reflect on that time, I’m struck by how much the city still enchants and surprises me. It might be a buzzy neighborhood, a refurbished historical marvel like Notre Dame, a dining experience, or something more unexpected. Someone in the business of sussing out and building such experiences, including some I have attended, is today’s guest Catherine Down. She’s a food writer an...

In times of turmoil, we naturally seek sources of calm. And in Paris, perhaps nothing that recenters Parisians more than the Seine. The city’s most iconic waterway has shaped its mythology long before there were tourist boats and selfie-taking travelers. Today, the significance of the Seine is front and center again, thanks to the Olympics and a billion-euro cleanup project. To talk about this, I’m joined by my friend and fellow jo...

Did you know that Arabic is the second most spoken language in France? However, the way it is perceived and taught has led many Arabic speakers in France to either abandon the language or not pass it down to their children. It’s this particular experience that the journalist Nabil Wakim sought to investigate in his documentary for France 2, Mauvaise Langue. He joins the show to talk about the project, what has been done, or not don...

It’s been several months since the President threw us into a mess by calling a snap election and in early September, months overdue, Macron finally named a prime minister. What does his choice mean for the country, and what does it signal to voters who cast their ballots for the left coalition? I speak with Alexander Hurst, a writer and columnist for The Guardian whose recent op-ed looks into what went wrong and what issues the new...

After enduring nearly a year of pandemic-related isolation and a punishing lack of human touch, author Glynnis MacNicol boarded a plane for Paris in August, 2021 to sublet a friend’s apartment for the month. She was 47 years old and on a mission—100% enjoyment. An exploration of pleasure. Close contact. Her memoir about this time, called I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, came out a few months ago and I was delighted to interview her...

It’s the end of summer holidays, the city is slowly filling up again and that means, novelty is upon us. I associate this time with new restaurant openings, events, and even pop-ups that will carry us to the end of the year. It’s a return to life. One person who is full of life, with plenty of creative ideas to usher in a new season, is Fanny Boucher. She’s the creator of the jewelry brand Bangla Begum and she joins the show to tal...

After years of planning and a solid 7 months of Parisian complaining, the Olympics are here! Over their history, they have put some tourist destinations on the map, attempted to build unity, and accelerated social and infrastructural change in host cities. Of course, not everyone benefits, and the legacy of the Olympics, including the impact on tourism, is fraught. To discuss both Paris 2024 and the broader issue of tourism, the go...

In the last episode, you heard me talk to Katy Lee about the snap elections in France. Why they happened, what they mean, and what party was predicted to perform well in the first round. Now, the day before the second round and not only has everything we discussed come to pass, but the stakes are even higher now. Let's go through the results of the first round, what they mean, and why the far right really does present the same ...