november-2010

PHOTO © GETTY | ILLUSTRATION ALEX GREEN/FOLIOART.COM
City of Bites
PARIS
An explosion in Parisian food
blogs has left many foodies
with information overload, but
new site ParisByMouth.com
is changing all that. Launched
in June by a collective of the
city’s best local food writers,
it fi lters food writing from all
over the web and presents it
(in English) alongside original
opinion. “Because let's face
it, it's no longer possible to
just stumble into any old
Paris restaurant and have
an amazing meal. It helps to
have access to some trusted
reviews,” says founding
editor Meg Zimbeck. “Our
contributing editors have
written thousands of articles
about eating in Paris and
nearly 40 books about food
and wine.”
To help locals and visitors
fi nd the best restaurants
quickly, the site’s “guide”
lists them according to
price, location and opening
times. It also provides
practical information about
atmosphere and how hard it
is to book a table. But it’s the
“blogger buzz”, revealing new
openings and trends, that
is sealing Paris By Mouth’s
reputation. For example, it
has been at the forefront of
covering the latest fashion for
diners nibbling hors d’oeuvres
rather than sitting down to
three-course meals.
“Two of the hottest chefs
in town – Daniel Rose of
Spring (6 Rue Bailleul),
and Inaki Aizpitarte of Le
Chateaubriand (129 Avenue
Parmentier) are opening wine
bars before Christmas,” says
Zimbeck. “After decades of
buttoned-up dining, I think
that Paris’ restaurant scene is
fi nally starting to relax. These
chefs are responding to a
desire among diners to have
options that are less formal
and less expensive.”
“My favourite is still L'Avant
Comptoir (9 Carrefour de
l’Odéon),” she continues,
“where I always order a stack
of three ham croquettes,
made with Iberian ham, for
€3.” We can’t all be Paris
foodie insiders, but with
a little help from Paris By
Mouth we can start to be the
next best thing.
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