Eat, Drink, See & Read: Paris in September

Plus two in-person event announcements!

First, some event news: I’ll be in conversation with two extraordinary authors in the next few weeks and I hope you’ll be in town for one or both of them. Catch me at The Red Wheelbarrow bookshop on September 17 (7-9pm) for a chat with author

Glynnis MacNicol

about her book I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself. And on October 1 (7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) I’ll be moderating a discussion with Cody Delistraty about his book The Grief Cure at The American Library in Paris (event details here, including an option to join remotely). See you there!

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Was there more to say about Paris 2024 and the Olympics / Paralympics experience? Definitely. (Especially about this). Is it time to go back to regularly scheduled programming? Indeed. And given the number of visitors I have passing through the city between next week and the end of the year, it seems everyone else is ready to get back to Paris business—eating, drinking, seeking out the culture, as one does.

What’s good lately? What’s on the horizon? A few thoughts below.

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SOMETHING TO DRINK

Dreamin Man Roastery

Paris is inundated with specialty coffee shops which is a massive departure from the years I was knee deep in writing The New Paris (2015-2016) when I could count the truly good spots on less than two hands. Still, I think there are but two high-level and consistently good spots that nail every single option, from single origin pour overs to flat whites: Motors and Dreamin’ Man.

The latter has been my neighborhood go-to for years. I first met Yuichiro Sugiyama when he was a barista at Boot Café and have gotten to know him and his girlfriend Yui Matsuzaki, the café’s pastry chef through spending hours at his 11th arrondissement café that’s only marginally larger than his previous place of employment (which can only be called a glorified closet). For years, he’s mentioned a desire to begin roasting his own beans and have more space to prepare and serve a slightly wider selection of sweets. He and Yui got a few steps closer when they opened a coffee corner at The Broken Arm (still operating) but it wasn’t until late summer that they opened the doors to their third and largest space, located a block from the Bourse de Commerce in the 1st arrondissement.

Here, they’re offering Japanese sandos, cakes, coffee, and pancakes, with other options to come, and will begin roasting this fall. It’s still early days and they’re getting used to the space (and the crowds) so if you go, give them a little patience. But if you’re a coffee nerd like me, I promise it will be well worth the wait.*

Dreamin’ Man Roastery
31, rue Coquillière, 75001

*They do an excellent hojicha latté, too, for non coffee drinkers.
** Want more coffee recs? Get my digital guide!

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Ragu at Scarpetta Paris

SOMETHING TO EAT