We had a few errands to run.  My all time favorite department store is Bon Marche.  Everything around the home there is incredible and that includes the food.  I usually do a walk-through the clothing area but to me, Bon Marche is all about the home.  We also stopped into Conrans (above), that still exists here in Paris.

They have done a great job.

Each area feels very much like an installation, a concept shop paired with ideas.

We figured we would hit up some more museums hoping for a little heat relief.  Ends up at Palais De Tokyo Museum there was a Rick Owens fashion show.  Set up outside on elevated walkways it was quite the scene.

Popped into the Museum Moderne where there is currently a show on jewelry.  It was ok but I did get to see Michael Jackson’s glove.

At the Palais de Tokyo there were a couple of exhibits.  The other on dioramas.  Neither rocked our both.  I have always liked the physical space more than the installations.

Although there were a series of dioramas in regards to how the art world has used them over the years.  This one I knew because we actually own one of this artists work.

We did get a peek at the fashion show from behind the scenes.

They are in the midst of change.  New store and a new restaurant are coming so we will see what is in store next time we come.

We went back to the comfort of our AC place before heading out to dinner.  You could feel that the temperature was about to change.  What a relief.  We had dinner at Kunitoraya.  There are two places, one that you can’t get a resy and the other that you can.  We opted for the latter.  What an amazing place.  The restaurant is Japanese, located in the area of the 1st where there are several Japanese restaurants.  This place feels very Parisian and the food has a slight edge to that.

We started with a small tasting of tofu with peas.

Had a few appetizers which is part of the tasting we went with.  Chopped raw tuna.

Crab topped with roe and caviar.

Caramelized foie gras topped with truffles and a few strawberries on the side.  This was incredible.

Loved the tempura.

Udon noodles is the call here.  A light miso broth with delicious noodles and pieces of pork.

For dessert, we had this dessert that is a flaky pastry stuffed with sesame pastry creme and topped with a crispy sweet cracker of seeds.

We walked home, the air had cooled, the ferris wheel was lit up and we loved our dinner.

 

I have been reading the slow but meaningful fall out of the “boys” in the tech industry over the last week.  It was bound to happen, it was just a matter of when.  I have spent the last decade investing in start-ups.  When I began this journey of my career, I made a conscious decision to invest in women and minorities.  It isn’t that I don’t invest in men but the men that I have invested in are strong supporters of women and treat them as equals with the utmost respect…just as it should be.  Some would say that they are part of the girls club and I am sure that they would all welcome that title.

Over the past decade, I have heard from almost every woman I have invested in about all the inappropriate comments.  That includes sexual innuendos, dismissive respect over their businesses, coming straight out and saying that they do not want to invest in women who are going to have children, noting how hot they are, asking to meet in a hotel room, texting that they miss them and so much more.  It is vile and a complete misuse of power.

Women in tech and many other businesses have heard it all, but we have ignored it or talked among ourselves about that “asshole” to our female peers and moved onward.  Coming out in public takes tremendous strength because the fear has always been if I say anything, I will be marked and it will hurt my career and my company.  I believe, and certainly hope, that times are a changing.

A woman I am invested in noted that as women and people of color rise to the top of the media, more stories like this will come out.  Women have been putting up with this shit for years. In my book, Niniane Wang, Susan Ho, Leiti Hsu and Susan Fowler are heroes.  It takes serious “balls” to do what they did.

Women keep their guard up every time that they enter a room of men and they shouldn’t have to.  I am hoping these heroes have turned the table.  That this will push every single man to think about their behavior and that includes calling out their peers or even partners when it comes to blatant harassment or unconscious bias because women have reached the boiling point.  We are not going to take it anymore.  There should be repercussions for bad behavior and it appears in the past week there was.

The power is shifting.  As more female-led companies become unstoppable, go public or exit at high valuations, our power will shift.  When more women lead publically traded companies, the power will shift.  When more women make multi-million dollars movies, the power will shift.  The foundation for change has been built over the last ten years.

So all you bad boys….I believe the gig is up.

The heat is debilitating.  We feel and look like drowned rats but still made our way out in the world.  The Hockney Exhibit opened at the Pompidou and we weren’t the only ones looking to be there when the doors opened.

The show was at the Tate, now at the Pompidou and next stop is the MOMA come November.  I will most definitely go again when it gets to the MOMA.  The show is fantastic.  I am a huge fan of Hockney’s work but seeing a retrospective of his work makes me an even bigger fan.  The work begins in his high school years.  This is a self-portrait done with small pieces of cut-up paper.

I got in trouble taking photos….who knew.  I did manage to take this photo of this classic Hockney.  Seeing it in person was pretty amazing.

There was another room of drawings of people.  This one is of Warhol.

I loved this painting of his parents.  There was another room of photographs, one in particular called Pearl Blossom Highway.  It is of maybe a hundred photos from all different angles and together it creates one big image. There are certainly different phases of his life and his work showed it.  He did some video work at one point.  There is a small area that has four walls.  Each wall is a video of the same exact road but each is from a different season.  It is beautiful.  We both left the exhibit so happy and exhilarated.

The Pompidou was also showing the furniture line being launched around the show.  All poolside goodies.

We had lunch at a private club.  Jessica’s friends who are from Paris took us.  Their membership has been in the family for generations.  It is quite a place and we had such a nice time.  We all sat under these umbrellas and just sweat while eating our meal and sipping rose.  It was fun to see what is behind the curtain of some of the beautiful buildings in Paris.

We prepared ourselves for the dinner sweat.

Had dinner at Chateaubriand with a friend.  I believe this is the third time we have been back here.  It was one of the first new places that opened over a decade ago that changed the restaurant scene in Paris.  It used to be more old school and now there are new places opening with young chefs who are not necessarily trained by the old guard.  It was nice to return…good food and good conversation.

We did walk for awhile after dinner.  Once a year the streets of Paris erupt with music.  People are playing music on the streets, and parks.  It is called “Fete de la Music”.  There are over 18,000 events around the country.  This is the 36th anniversary of this event.  We saw a bunch of music parties on the street on the walk back.  Everyone was sweating but they were having fun.

It is purely uncivilized to be in Paris sweating but that is what we are doing.  It is 96 outside which means it is even hotter inside.  Air conditioning is not widespread and truth be told, this heat is rare.  Shop owners are fretting and I don’t blame them.  Walking into their stores, restaurants or even some museums is like being in a low-grade sauna.  Regardless, we soldiered through and had the best eating day we have had all month.

Our first stop was Coutume, a sweet little coffee shop near the Rodin Museum.  Good coffee and food all day.  We sat in the window, praying for a breeze, and have coffee, freshly squeezed OJ and breakfast.

The Rodin Museum had a major renovation and reopened two years ago.  They are having an Ansel Keifer/Rodin exhibit right now.  There are a bunch of Rodin installations around the globe right now, it is the 100 year marking of his death.  The curators note the thread of their work that speaks to a past life and a life to come.

I have always loved this museum and no matter how many times I see the Kiss, I smile.

It is small and the gardens are beautiful.  Sitting outside in the shade is the way to go.

We did a bit of talking over to a poster shop that we have walked by countless times.  Why we chose today to enter is beyond me but we did.  I stood there while sweat dripped down my face but did manage to purchase these 3 posters.

Always check to see what museums are open and which are closed.  We shifted gears and went over to the 15th to see the Balenciaga installation at Musee Bourdelle.  They set up some of the pieces throughout the museum that is filled with the permanent statutes.

At first, it seemed a reach but then there was a full on room downstairs with pieces from the past.  All black, all beautiful and amazing.  Balenciaga was trained from a tailor so it is not surprising to see the drapes of the clothing to create timeless pieces.

Even the jewelry is off the charts.

We grabbed a fully air-conditioned car and went over to L’Avant Comptoir.  A wine bar that is wall to wall people at night but pretty open during lunch.  We grabbed a seat at the bar, had a very cold crisp glass of white wine and ordered a few things.  Small dishes that are all creative.  Have to love this brick of butter for all to share on the counter.

This is the ceviche of the day.

This salad was a mixture of green beans, peaches and mushrooms.  So good and fresh.

These sardines were amazing.  Lathered in butter doesn’t hurt.

Before taking an afternoon siesta we stopped in Pierre Herme.  This is a double napoleon.  One of the most decadent delicious items.  Someone turned me on to these over a decade ago and I go back at least once a year for this treat.

Dinner was at Le Servan.  It was easily 98 degrees inside but the food there is the best meal we have had all month. Everything was excellent.  The room in itself is very edgy with an old school vibe with a hand-painted ceiling that feels very Parisian.  The Filipino duo behind the restaurant is Chef Tatiana Levha who trained at L’Arpege and L’Astrance and her sister Katia (front-of-house).

We began with the wontons.  Deep fried wontons stuffed with boudin noir (black pudding) with a sweet chili sauce for dipping on the side.  We savored these.

Tiny mussels steamed in a spicy thai broth with thinly sliced red peppers and thai basil on top.  So good.

Grilled squid on top of a galette (crusty cake) stuffed with vegetables and small crispy pieces of ham with two sauces on the side, one of them had some heat.  The mixture of flavors was amazing.  We were blown away by this dish.  That crispy ham layered into the crunchy and soft vegetable galette with a piece of buttery yet crisp squid on top and then dipped into the sauce was divine

Oysters from Utah beach layered inside a thinly sliced green mango salad.

Crispy piece of grilled duck served with sweet cherries with tiny beets.

Roasted pork with roasted eggplant and a grilled piece of tofu.

We left nothing on the plates.  We considered dessert which was either cheese and a salad or two dessert options. Figured we had our treat of the day and we were drenched in sweat so it was time to go.  I can hardly wait to go back and also the menu changes nightly….but hopefully, the weather will be a little cooler next time.

 

 

Documenta is a contemporary art exhibition that takes every 5 years in Kassel Germany.  This year the event began in April in Athens, Greece and opened this past month in Kassel.  The show’s theme is around the crises of immigration and finances particularly the connection between Greece and Germany.  Germany is one of the strongest financial countries under the European Union and Greece is one of the weakest.  Greece has also become a portal for immigrants coming from the Middle East, in particular, Syria.

The installations are spread throughout Kassel, some are inside and others outside.  It is not that clear on how to experience anything and the signage is weak at best.  The good news is that many of the art leaders have come and posted the highlights which we happily followed.  The Fridericianum hosts the collection of the National Museum of the Arts in Athens.  This building has been the primary venue in the past but not this year.  I liked the concept of moving all the work from Athens to Kassel to bridge the communities together.

One of the best installations is this Parthenon of Books.  It is constructed with over 100,000 currently or formerly banned books.  It is also on top of the same location where the Nazis burned books in 1933.

Food in Germany has never been that interesting although Berlin is slowly getting there.  Kassel is hardly a mecca of creative good tasting food but we did manage to grab a decent Bratwurst at the event.

I believe I found the nicest place in Kassel to have dinner, Voit Restaurant.  Michelin Starred!  Casual, contemporary and great service.  There were definitely others there who came for Documenta.  There was a group of people from the art world next to us.  The highlight was definitely the main course of wagyu beef and veggies.

Day 2 we got up and walked 8 miles.  I am a bit obsessed with my iHealth app on my phone.  We started at Rokkeberg for breakfast.  Such a great spot.  Reminded me of Copenhagen but much cleaner and buttoned up.

Then we walked.  Our first stop was at a former underground train station.  There is a small container sitting in the middle of a square that people are entering.  You have to do a double take because people keep going in and the container could only fit maybe 8 people but when you enter, you go downstairs to a huge abandoned train station. Not surprising that every piece from video to paintings to drawings to a tent is all about immigration.

The coolest install was at the Neue Neue Gallery.  It is in the back of a brutalist Post Office.  The main hall is filled with iron ingots in sacks from American Artist Dan Peterman that are placed all around the other exhibits.  My favorite install here was a series of photos of a family.  A Greek man came to Kassel and found love.  They married, opened a Greek restaurant, and built a family together.  If more and more people create those connections then certainly hatred of others would ebb.

There is an installation of a variety of artists in an abandoned glass commercial space.  Each glass storefront had a different artist in them.  My favorite was of Nassib’s Bakery.  A Lebanese artist who as a child worked in his family bakery that worked insanely hard during strife to just get the place up and running then within days find the bakery bombed.  His ideal recipe was posted as his perfect pizza.  It basically sums up Documenta 14.

1 – Extra Olive Oil from Greece, 2 – Dried za’atar from Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan so each man’ouche can be surprisingly different,  3 – Freshly ground sumac from Izmir, 4 – Dried pistachios from Aleppo, 5 – Dried sesame seeds from Izmir, 6 – Extra salt from the Mediterranean, 7 – White or whole wheat flour from Germany, 8 – Some tap water from Kassel to make the dough.

The last installation we went to was done by a Ghana artist who covered the Torwache venue with tattered jute sacks stitched together with the thought that we need to create new forms, new thoughts around the day.

Lunch was at a local Doner Kabab place, a Lebanese/Germany sandwich.  Shaved chicken mixed with a ranch like spicy sauce and fresh cabbage, tomatoes, cilantro then wrapped in a pita.  Josh is eating these daily in Berlin.

We got on the train and took a 3-hour journey back to spend the night in Berlin before heading back to Paris the next day.  What struck me as the most interesting thing about Kassel was not the art but the city.  It is a city of over 200,000 people.  Germany is a socialist country so not surprising that the town is predominantly middle class, you don’t see wealth and you don’t see poor.  There is a middle east population that you can see on the street but also in the shops such as the Lebanese Market.  That is really good to see.  It is not a place where I would usually travel to so to get into a town in the middle of Germany is just eye-opening to see how people live.  Documenta was a worthy trip and the statement that they are trying to make is amplifying daily in the art world.  There is nothing I can point to as memorable but walking 8 hours with Josh and Fred, discussing the city, the culture, immigration, politics and everything else is perhaps what art is all about.

 

Berlin is a big city.  We came for a few days to see Josh (who is here for the month studying) and go see Documenta in Kassel.  Josh had been to Berlin twice before but once when he was much younger so he is truly exploring everything from a totally different set of eyes.  We spent the day together doing some serious walking.

We jumped on the metro to go out to the Neukolln neighborhood.  The public transportation in this city is amazing.  NYC could take a few lessons here.  This neighborhood is the supposed new hip neighborhood but what that really means is the youth is moving here because the prices are still low.  We had an iced macchiato before making our way to Tempelhof Park in this friendly coffee shop.  A Copenhagen vibe with more grit.

Tempelhof is a sight to see.  Tempelhof was designated as the main airport in 1923.  By 1927 the airport terminal was built and in the 30’s the Nazi’s did a massive renovation.  In the 1950’s the main building was one of the biggest in the world.  All flights stopped in 2008 in and out of Tempelhof.  It is now an incredible park.

Needless to say, there is a tremendous amount of history here and a lot of controversy around to or to not develop the property.  It is used for recreation from music festivals to bike riding and everything in between.  It is their Central Park.  It is amazing.

We walked into Kreuzberg to stop by Voo, a store always worth stopping by when in Berlin.

Then on to lunch.  Josh has been sampling the middle eastern food that is in abundance in Berlin.  We went to a place he likes called Doyum Grill Haus.  The hummus as thick and delish.  They pour a spicy paprika oil over it that takes it to another level.

We also had the lamb and eggplant with bread to sop everything up.  Perfect lunch.

We got a train to Mitte and did a little shopping before heading to the Future Gallery.  I wanted to get there because we had purchased a Jon Rafferty from them a few years back.  This is the exhibit they had up from the artist Rube Grilo.

This past year we watched the Chef’s Table show that featured Tim Raue.  Food saved him and if you get a chance it is a worthy episode.  So it was fitting that we had dinner there together.  I am not a huge fan of the tasting menu that the chef’s put out in the star chef restaurants.  We used to do them often particularly when this trend started but when in “rome” you must.  Each dish is about the flavors.  He is heavily influenced by Asian cuisine.  This first group of tiny appetizers was all seasoned with Asian flavors.

First out was the scallop.  A marinated and steamed scallop over a stock of elderflower and rice vinegar with tiny pieces of green melon, apple and cucumber, and lemongrass.

Second was the pikeperch.  They brought it out in a container that had steam coming off of it.  Ends up it is all for show and has zero to do with cooking the perch.  That kind of stuff is all about the entertainment which I am definitely not into.  The pikeperch was steamed with a bit of butter, spring leeks and ginger.  Then they pour a 10-year aged soy sauce over the top when served.

Third was the langoustine.  This is fantastic.  A deep fried crispy langoustine covered in a wasabi mayonnaise and deep fried green rice.  The stock is made from fish stock, mango and carrot.  I could have eaten a tray of these.

Fourth was the sate chicken.  This was also a huge winner.  In one dish is the salad of mango, cucumber, red onions, mango, and peanuts.  Tiny bites that burst in your mouth.  In the other dish is the chicken leg marinated in rice wine and a broth of peanut and butter.  I literally picked up the bowl after eating the chicken and drank the broth.  Powerful flavors in small bites and a small portion.

Fifth was the dong po pork belly.  Red-cooked pork belly braised in a star anise stock with kumquat and pomelo, watercress and watermelon with pomegranate jelly and a mash of green radish.

Sixth was the signature dish of the house, Peking duck.  You have the crispy duck breast with five spices, apple, and leek with a five spice wafer in one bowl.  A duck liver terrine with pickled cucumber and ginger cream in the other. And last a broth from the tongue, heart, and stomach with winter melon and bamboo mushroom.  I happen to love Peking duck.  I really like how he used each piece of the duck to create a full dish.

Seventh was dessert.  This was the best of the desserts.  A burnt banana pudding.  It was rich with tiny pieces of burnt bananas at the bottom.

There was also a macadamia nougat and passionfruit caramel roll marinated in quince, passion fruit, and saffron.  I don’t love passion fruit so it wasn’t my thing.

There is always the last grouping of tiny treats at the end.  Nothing here was that interesting but it is part and parcel of how the chefs do these meals.

We had a great time particularly with the two bottles of Reisling.  We have been returning to Berlin for years.  The food scene continues to evolve in the city.  It is good to see and certainly taste.

 

 

Today Fred posted that 30 years ago we were married.   30 years married, 35 years together and 36 years best friends.  At one point I used to laugh that we had been together more than half our lives.  That time has long past.

There were the years in college where we first met, became great friends and eventually became one.  Then there were the post-college years where we kicked that off with a two-month cross-country journey before planting ourselves in NYC where we had visions of taking over the world (well, at least I did).  I began to climb the first ladder of my career at Macy’s and Fred worked for a naval architecture firm before going to graduate school taking his engineering degree and applying some business to it.  Fred graduated and went to work in the venture world and I left Macy’s to work in the schmatta business. We got married and bought our first piece of real estate, a one bedroom apartment in the East Village.  We were moving forward.

Then we entered a new kind of adulthood wherewe had our first child, Jessica and life changed…. We had very little cash, you could say we were bootstrapping our lives and in many ways, we still operate like that but that did not stop us.  We then had Emily and shifted gears from living in the city to living in the suburbs.  We knew that we could not afford the life we wanted to live in the city and so it was to be that suburban life was our next stop.  I stayed home for the first few years as the full-time CEO of the Wilson Family.  Although we could barely make ends meet, I figured it out by filling up at Stu Leonards once a month, buying a sewing machine and making curtains, painting old furniture, canning cucumbers and more.  That time was truly a gift.  At the same time, we had Josh and Fred began Flatiron Partners.  Stress could be one word that would describe that time but so could thrilling and exciting as we both saw the future on the Internet.

Mentally I needed to return to work but under my conditions where I could continue to be the CEO of the Wilson family which has always been my number one job and joy.   And so I began my career in the technology space starting as the CRO of Silicon Alley Reporter.  Between being a parent and watching young kids grow, it was a roller coaster of a ride on the world wide web too.  Flatiron’s first investment was in Geocities and when it went public, our lives changed again. We were able to return to our beloved city of NYC with three kids in tow who were ages 8, 6 and 3.  Hands down one of the best moves we have ever made.

We returned, we bought real estate then we bought more real estate and we traveled, we ate, we went to art shows, we began to collect art again and we raised our kids.  We relished the city every day and still do.  I stayed home for a bit before figuring out my next road as after the technology world imploded in the late 90’s, I stepped away again.  Fred decided his next road was to stay in venture and began Union Square Ventures.  I decided I loved the technology space too but I’d take a different angle this time and begin investing our capital.

Of course, there are many, many other stories in between and now we have three grown-up kids who are the shining light of our lives.  They have gobbled up everything available to them and seem to dig in with as much gusto as we did at that age.  That is the most rewarding thing we have done together.

We are entering our next stage of life with the hope that there will be another 30 years together with the same curiosity, love of life and each other that keeps our never ending conversation moving forward.

Co-founder & CEO Erica Jain talks about how a massive void in the market led her to create Healthie,  an all-in-one, HIPAA-compliant platform for nutritional healthcare. Erica’s out-of-the-box approach to client acquisition, and what led her down that path, provide great insights for entrepreneurs in any market.

First stop this morning was the Pompidou.  The Pompidou is one of my favorite museums.  There is always an interesting installation.  Right now, Walker Evans is the show.  Evans was an American photographer/photojournalist who also worked for the Farm Security Administration documenting the depression.

In many ways, the show is timely.  Evans essentially documented human dignity during the Depression as well as the country growing through transportation thanks to FDR.  I read an article this past week about the explosive growth in China around the building of bridges, roads and transportation in order to connect rural communities with urban communities.  As China grows at a rapid rate, we are watching our infrastructure age.  Evans photos of the roadside places is what made America American.

The photos he took of people during the Depression showed their true suffering in their eyes.

He also captured labor.

Then we walked through the Marais, one of my fave neighborhoods.  We went to Minzon for lunch.  About 7 years ago we went to Tel Aviv and had lunch at Abraxas Tzafon.  It was fantastic and very memorable.  Ends up Minzon is the same owners.  Highly recommend going.  There is always a line and the place just rocks with 90’s music cranked up.  We had a few things but I could have ordered the entire menu.  The roasted cauliflower is a must.

The plate of ratatouille is so good.  Chunky and insanely flavorful.  The condiments for everyone to take from are tahini, pureed tomatoes, spicy roasted peppers and a spicy vinegar sauce.  They are the key to everything.

We also had the chicken salad sandwich.  Pulled poached chicken roasted with a light very lemony mayo, lots of chopped cilantro and thinly sliced red onions stuffed into a warm soft pita that soaks up the sauce.  So good.

Our next stop was the Grand Palais to see the Rodin museum.  This year Rodin would have been 100.  The installation must have been crazy considering the weight of these pieces.  George Baselitz

Always a fave, the Kiss.

A few pieces from other artists that followed in Rodin’s footsteps.  I loved this Antony Gormley piece.

The rest of the afternoon was strolling and shopping.  Can’t go wrong doing that in Paris.

 

 

 

After all these years I have never visited Marche D’Aligre.  The market is open every day except for Monday.  A street filled with fresh products surrounded by many food stores, a flea market, and an indoor market, Marche Beauveau.  I couldn’t help but think about other markets such as Union Square Greenmarket that would be comparable in NYC and then Campo De Fiori in Rome that used to be like this over a decade ago and has become completely inauthentic and just a tourist destination.  I want to experience what life is like if I lived here.  Marche D’Aligre is just that.  Bear with me on this post….it was a long day!

We started out for the most amazing croissant and chocolate croissant at Ble Sucre.  Fabrice Le Bourdat, the former pastry chef at Le Bristol, the three-star Michelin restaurant, opened up his own shop a few years ago to just focus on the pastries.  The smell is intoxicating.  The shop is small with some outdoor seating across the street from a local park.  Great way to start the morning.

Fabrice Le Bourdat, the former pastry chef at Le Bristol, the three-star Michelin restaurant, opened up his own shop a few years ago to have his own shop.  The smell is intoxicating.  The shop is small with some outdoor seating across the street from a local park.  Great way to start the morning.

Coffee is not as easy.  I am not as much of a coffee snob as Fred who limits himself to one perfect cup a day.  I emphasize the word perfect.  Cafe Aouba is on Rue d’Aligre behind the stands.  They roast their own beans and there is a counter where you stand and toss back your coffee.  Might be one of the best cups he has had in Paris.

Then the market.  White asparagus is just French.

Green figs.

Mushrooms.

Delicate Raspberries.

I love how beautiful these stands are.

Herb stand

Turkish breads in a small store behind the farm stands.

Artichokes of both sizes.

Always the rotisserie chicken.  Nothing else like it.  I always think about buying one of these, perhaps at the beach and people can just come by and buy a chicken and the potatoes that have been roasted in chicken fat.

French radishes.

The flea market is a bunch of junk although you never know.  The Marche Beauveau is another gem.  Charcuterie.

Meat.

Always Cheese.

Oysters.

Pates etc.

Sabah stands at the very beginning of the market.  Reminds me of Kalustyan’s in the city and Sahadi’s in Brooklyn.

Feta cheeses.

Olives and every spice imaginable.

We took it all in and started to walk and walk and walk.  Through Bastille towards the Marais stopping in a few stores en route.  Tom Greyhound is one where we did a bit of damage.

Then we hit some of our favorite galleries.  These are from James Brown.

Mirrors with gold chains spelling out words at another gallery.

Lunch was calling.  We walked over to Broken Arm for lunch.  The store/restaurant sits on a beautiful park.  The weather is magnificent.  The playground is a kid haven.

People were hanging out.

Such a beautiful spot.

I had a roasted red pepper stuffed with sausage and roasted veggies on the side.  Really delicious.

Hit up Merci afterward.  I like the concept more than the store although the linens in there are off the charts.

We were shattered.  Honestly my legs were pounding.  We went back to rest a bit, do some work (gasp) before heading out to dinner.  Dinner was at Ellsworth.  Ellsworth has been open about two years, the same owners as Verjus where we went many years ago.  Never loved Verjus but was game to try Ellsworth.  I screwed up the reservation.  I thought the dinner was at 830 but it was 730.  The hospitality here is not what it should be and all it takes is a smile to make you feel ok but that was not the case.  The good news is that there were two seats at the bar so we sat ourselves down.

The menu is small.  The concept is small plates to be shared.  There are 7 small plates and then 3 larger plates.  We just ordered the ones that looked interesting to us and they all happened to be from the smaller plates.  Each delicious.  A large oyster cut into slices and then tossed with cucumbers, red currants and nasturtium (greens).

Heirloom tomato salad with chunks of watermelon and ricotta.  Very summer.

This is a brilliant presentation and also delicious.  An egg yolk ravioli, white asparagus, parmesan and summer truffles.  When you cut into this the egg just seeps out.  It is surprisingly light.

Fried chicken is a signature dish.  Juicy pieces of chicken with a crispy skin and a hint of spice served with a buttermilk dressing and a few pickles.  Excellent.

Dessert was a must.  Strawberry shortcake with whipped ricotta and elderflowers.  Look at those beautiful flowers.

The woman behind the bar could not have been nicer.  Yet after dinner, we were told to go and pay for the meal vs them coming to us.  The guy running the place knew I screwed up the resy but he never once came over to say I hope this worked out and were we enjoying the meal.  In all honesty, we had the same kind of attitude the second time we went back to Le CouCou in the city.  Someone should be reading up on hospitality….it would be a worthwhile education regardless of the delicious food we had at Ellsworth.  Maybe Moliere across the street can help them out.