From the New York Times bestselling author of My Paris Kitchen and L’Appart, a deliciously funny, offbeat, and irreverent look at the city of lights, cheese, chocolate, and other confections.Like so many others, David Lebovitz dreamed about living in Paris ever since he first visited the city and after a nearly two-decade career as a pastry chef and cookbook author, he finally moved to Paris to … cookbook author, he finally moved to Paris to start a new life. Having crammed all his worldly belongings into three suitcases, he arrived, hopes high, at his new apartment in the lively Bastille neighborhood. But he soon discovered it’s a different world en France.
From learning the ironclad rules of social conduct to the mysteries of men’s footwear, from shopkeepers who work so hard not to sell you anything to the etiquette of working the right way around the cheese plate, here is David’s story of how he came to fall in love with—and even understand—this glorious, yet sometimes maddening, city.
When did he realize he had morphed into un vrai parisien? It might have been when he found himself considering a purchase of men’s dress socks with cartoon characters on them. Or perhaps the time he went to a bank with 135 euros in hand to make a 134-euro payment, was told the bank had no change that day, and thought it was completely normal. Or when he found himself dressing up to take out the garbage because he had come to accept that in Paris appearances and image mean everything.
Once you stop laughing, the more than fifty original recipes, for dishes both savory and sweet, such as Pork Loin with Brown Sugar–Bourbon Glaze, Braised Turkey in Beaujolais Nouveau with Prunes, Bacon and Bleu Cheese Cake, Chocolate-Coconut Marshmallows, Chocolate Spice Bread, Lemon-Glazed Madeleines, and Mocha–Crème Fraîche Cake, will have you running to the kitchen for your own taste of Parisian living.
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Light, enjoyable reading.
this is an armchair vacation to Paris- I laughed out loud at several stories, and was quite jealous of others- nice light reading for people who love cooking and Paris.
I live David’s cookbooks and tey to at least read theough them all. His recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients are readily available. I especially live his side dish and dessert recipes.
Interesting – the narrator basically lets Americans know some of the cultural differences between living in the U.S. versus Paris. It also focuses on his own industry (baking) which is not as much of interest to me. There are practical tips that could also have been added for Americans who anticipate becoming expats.
I loved all the “American in Paris” stories and the recipes were amazing!!
Loved his stories about Paris and his recipes. Next best thing to going to Paris!
Good recipes
the perfect Paris travel guide. Loved the recipes
I was surprised by all the difficulties he had moving to and living in Paris. There were lots of good laughs though and I now know I would not want to move to Paris! Visitor status only for me, thank you. I will be trying out all the delicious looking recipes the book is full of, however.
A memoir from a well known pastry chef who got his start with Alice Waters. Includes a few recipes and lots of insight about his life change after he moved to Paris. He is entertaining, I enjoyed the vignettes of the vagaries of Paris life, but how much can you take?
This is a funny and engaging book about an American expat dealing with the quirks of living in Paris, with the bonus of some great recipes. David is a wonderful writer and his recipes are excellent-easy to follow and they come out great. I just received his latest book, l’appart, and I cannot wait to start it.
The experiences delightfully described by the author-raconteur reminded me of my experiences in Paris as a young woman. AND, the recipes seem to be a non-cook’s dream: not too hard and very special.