Newsletter #121: October 24, 2012

In this Issue:

Feeling Good to Support Breast Health
Cup Cakes for the Make-a-Wish
10k to Support Cancer Patients
Jazz at the Ambassador’s Residence
Soup Kitchen Needs Volunteers
Spooky Day of the Dead Events
Favorite Fall Museum Exhibitions
Disneyland Paris 20th anniversary show
Two Free Paris Apps
French Culture through Food & Wine

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Nutella, Speculoos, Banania and other French Spreads

Last week I was shopping at my local Carrefour supermarché and stopped at an aisle I had previously tried to avoid like the plague: pâtes à tartiner. Jars and jars of sugary spreads for slathering on a baguette...or to be consumed by the spoonful while sitting at your desk pretending to work. Ahem. I'm usually a Nutella addict, but after a recent discovery of crunchy Ovomaltine spread, I ventured back into the danger zone and found many, many more tasty choices (I took the Banania spread home with me...bananas are healthy, right?)

Also particularly surprising: the 100% real maple syrup for just €4.80. No need to go to the American food stores in Paris for this anymore!

The Future of Food is in the Flavor

If you don't already know about Dan Barber's Manhattan restaurant Blue Hill, or his family's Upstate New York farm, or his TED Talks on natural foie gras (made without force feeding the geese) and how he fell in love with a fish (sustainable and tasty), or even how he was named one of Time Magazine's World's 100 Most Influencial People in 2009, know this:

Dan Barber is on a crusade to bring flavor back to the table. Not just to the tables of Michelin-starred restaurants, but to YOUR table. This month Alain Ducasse brought him to Paris to spread the word.

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Bon Marché 160th Anniversary Expo

I took a short cut through the Bon Marché Department Store last week (well, it's big), and was surprised to find the 160th anniversary decorations are actually pretty cute. Catherine Deneuve is the muse for this Rive Gauche event, with her cartoon caricature accompanying you in a fun little photo booth (€5) and a moody video of the actress traipsing around the Left Bank. There are quite a few "Limited Edition" products for sale created especially for the event, including a Jean-Paul Gaulthier sailor shirt, a cute Lapin Ange stuffed animal, a chocolate bar in the image of the shop, and plenty of home decor and clothing. The scootering Lacoste shirt, I quite like. Have a look if you're in the hood. Through October 27.

Jewelry by Famous Artists

The Credit Municipal de Paris (Marais, 55 rue des Francs Bourgeois) is hosting an exhibition "Bijoux d'Artiste, Une Collection", featuring 180 rare peices of jewelry designed by great artists such as Picasso, Man Ray, Giacometti and Dali, today through January 8th, entry €5. Open Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm.

The Merde Factor with Stephen Clarke

Paris expat Stephen Clarke is the author of the best-selling series of "Merde" novels such as A Year in the Merde and books about France and its people such as Talk to the Snail and -- one of my favorite history books -- 1000 Years of Annoying the French. Earlier this week I met up with Stephen at Café Le Nemours on Place Colette (outside the Palais Royal) to chat about his latest novel about the adventures of Paul West and his motley gang of Parisian friends and co-workers: The Merde Factor (available in France and the UK now, coming to the US end of October).