Richard Nahem, an ex-New Yorker living in Paris, leads private insider tours showing visitors the Paris most of them never see on their own (www.eyepreferparistours.com), and also writes a popular insider's blog www.eyepreferparis.com.
Hot, new restaurants are heating up the Paris culinary scene this fall with old and newly discovered chefs creating some of the most imaginative food around. Here are our newest favorites.
Semilla
Veteran Paris restaurateurs Juan Sanchez and Drew Harré, owners of the popular bistro Fish and sandwich shop Cosi, have created another winner, Semilla.
Located across the street from their other successful ventures on rue de Seine in St. Germain, Semilla offers fresh from market food at reasonable prices for high quality and inventive food. The two-course lunch menu for 23 euros is practically a steal. Award winning chef Eric Trochon makes magic but keeps no secrets in his gleaming open kitchen where he delivers honest, fresh, and unpretentious food.
Semilla
54 rue de Seine, 75006
Tel. 01 43 .54 .34 .50
Terroir Paris
Stepping down from his high perch as the celebrity chef of the three- star restaurant at the Meurice Hotel, Yannick Alleno has opened Terroir, Parisian, a much more affordable and accessible bistro. Alleno serves classic regional French dishes with a particular focus on the freshest vegetables from a coterie of small farmers he has hand selected. The modern dining room has an open display of the current vegetables available. Traditional dishes include onion soup, charcuterie and cheese platters, frisee and lardon salad, and lamb stew with carrots, peas, and potatoes.
Parisian Terroir
20 rue Saint Victor, 75005
+Tel. 01 1 44 31 54 54
Open daily
La Dame de Pic
Probably the trendiest new restaurant to open this fall is La Dame de Pic, which was the go to place during Fashion Week in October. Anne Sophie Pic, the highly regarded chef and one of the rare female chefs to achieve a three star rating for her restaurant in Valence, France, has finally spread her wings to include a Paris outpost. The dining room and kitchen at Le Dame de Pic is oh-so slick and pristine and the set menu has three courses at lunch for 49 euros and a three-tiered menu for dinner with a 79, 100, and 120 euro price point. Inventive dishes include venison with juniper berries and pink grapefruit, smoked goat cheese with forest mushrooms and tonka bean, and tarte tatin with beer and hazelnuts.
La Dame de Pic
20 rue de Louvre, 75001
Tel. 01 42 60 40 40
Abri
The 10th arrondissement near Gard du Nord and the Canal St. Martin, a formerly run down area that has turned into the next trendy spot of Paris in the last three years, has become the hotbed for new chefs opening their own restaurants.
Add Abri to the list of uber popular, hip casual bistros in the area. Japanese born chef Katsuaki Okiyama is turning out some of the smartest and cleanest food in Paris with a clever combination of French inspired dishes with a hint of Japanese ingredients. Don’t be put off by the sign in front that says City Café Sandwich and think it’s a sandwich shop, although they serve sandwiches and fresh juices on Saturday and Monday at lunchtime.
Abri
92, rue du Faubourg Poissonniere, 75110
Tel. 0 1 83 97 00 00