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268 reviews for:
The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious---And Perplexing---City
David Lebovitz
3.68 AVERAGE
268 reviews for:
The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious---And Perplexing---City
David Lebovitz
3.68 AVERAGE
I am not generally a big reader of non-fiction, but occasionally I come across something special like this one: The Sweet Life in Paris by famous pastry chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz. Lebovitz was named one of the Top Five Pastry Chefs in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle and has been featured in numerous magazines and news papers. He has written seven cookbooks and his latest, My Paris Kitchen, was named the best cookbook of the year by Amazon.
The Sweet Life in Paris is more memoir than cookbook as Lebovitz shares with us all he has learned since he followed his dream to pick up and move to Paris. The writing is both informative and funny. An American living in Paris has much to learn and he is happy to share his lessons with his readers. Did you know there is a right way to eat a banana? And no, it really isn't the way you do it. Lebovitz describes the painstaking way Parisians eat their bananas with a knife and fork, slice by slice. Then he says, "I admit that I still eat bananas like my primordial predecessors, but only in the privacy of my home. Outside of the house, though, I avoid fruit. It's too stressful." He tells about the dangerous adventure that can be walking down a Parisian sidewalk. At first he was very confused by the way it seemed the other people were aiming to run him down. As he adjusted to life in The City of Lights, he learned that yielding was the problem. Now he barrels down the street as if he belongs there.
It took Lebovitz a little while to learn the ways of the city, but don't ask him if he's fluent in French.
When people ask, "How long did it take you to become fluent in French?" I respond, "Become fluent? Even the French aren't fluent in French." To prove it, there's an annual Dicos d'Or, or a dictation contest where French people compete against each other to see who can best comprehend and write down what's spoken to them- in their own language!
This book is filled with hilarious anecdotes and hard lessons learned. It is also filled with an amazing number of places one must visit in Paris. If I ever make it back, I will be headed straight to Patisserie Viennoise for the thick hot chocolate "topped with a completely unreasonable amount of billowy whipped cream". And then there are the recipes. There are over fifty recipes for delicious-sounding dishes included in this book and each one is accompanied by a story. I can't wait to try the Chocolate Macarons and the Cheesecake.
Think of this as a memoir or a cookbook or a travel guide, but any way you think of it, you will enjoy it. I may never move to Paris, but this book certainly sparked my wanderlust.
Check out more of my reviews at SmartGirlsRead!
www.smartgirlsread.blogspot.com
The Sweet Life in Paris is more memoir than cookbook as Lebovitz shares with us all he has learned since he followed his dream to pick up and move to Paris. The writing is both informative and funny. An American living in Paris has much to learn and he is happy to share his lessons with his readers. Did you know there is a right way to eat a banana? And no, it really isn't the way you do it. Lebovitz describes the painstaking way Parisians eat their bananas with a knife and fork, slice by slice. Then he says, "I admit that I still eat bananas like my primordial predecessors, but only in the privacy of my home. Outside of the house, though, I avoid fruit. It's too stressful." He tells about the dangerous adventure that can be walking down a Parisian sidewalk. At first he was very confused by the way it seemed the other people were aiming to run him down. As he adjusted to life in The City of Lights, he learned that yielding was the problem. Now he barrels down the street as if he belongs there.
It took Lebovitz a little while to learn the ways of the city, but don't ask him if he's fluent in French.
When people ask, "How long did it take you to become fluent in French?" I respond, "Become fluent? Even the French aren't fluent in French." To prove it, there's an annual Dicos d'Or, or a dictation contest where French people compete against each other to see who can best comprehend and write down what's spoken to them- in their own language!
This book is filled with hilarious anecdotes and hard lessons learned. It is also filled with an amazing number of places one must visit in Paris. If I ever make it back, I will be headed straight to Patisserie Viennoise for the thick hot chocolate "topped with a completely unreasonable amount of billowy whipped cream". And then there are the recipes. There are over fifty recipes for delicious-sounding dishes included in this book and each one is accompanied by a story. I can't wait to try the Chocolate Macarons and the Cheesecake.
Think of this as a memoir or a cookbook or a travel guide, but any way you think of it, you will enjoy it. I may never move to Paris, but this book certainly sparked my wanderlust.
Check out more of my reviews at SmartGirlsRead!
www.smartgirlsread.blogspot.com
Really enjoyed this book. Quick read. Highly recommended to anyone who likes memoirs, books about life in France, and/or cooking.
After the death of his partner, San Francisco pastry chef David Lebovitz packed up his life and headed to Paris to start anew. This book is the result.
Part travelogue, part cook book (the recipes alone will make your mouth water), and part guide for living in the City of Lights, The Sweet Life in Paris is a fascinating look at what it takes to leave your home of twenty years and move to a country where you speak the language imperfectly, where the simplest things, like buying a shoelace, are fraught; but equally where some of the simplest things are the most sublime. Lebovitz handles his trials and tribulations with aplomb (more or less) and humour (more, rather than less).
I read an electronic copy borrowed from the library, but I think I may have to find a hard copy for my own bookshelves.
Part travelogue, part cook book (the recipes alone will make your mouth water), and part guide for living in the City of Lights, The Sweet Life in Paris is a fascinating look at what it takes to leave your home of twenty years and move to a country where you speak the language imperfectly, where the simplest things, like buying a shoelace, are fraught; but equally where some of the simplest things are the most sublime. Lebovitz handles his trials and tribulations with aplomb (more or less) and humour (more, rather than less).
I read an electronic copy borrowed from the library, but I think I may have to find a hard copy for my own bookshelves.
This is an absolutely delightful book about his experiences moving to Paris to work. The recipes at the end of every chapter are a fun bonus.
This was charming, but maybe a little too try-hard.
I like his blog better...and his ice cream cookbook even better than that!
I like his blog better...and his ice cream cookbook even better than that!
After reading this, I have realized that I can never fit in nor live in Paris.
The French are very particular when it comes to their appearance, and you can't expect me to be looking fabulous everyday because being fabulous takes real talent that I don't have. Also, the French nibble their food, whereas I fucking gobble up my food caveman style. And the list goes on and on. So there goes my hopes and dreams for being a Parisienne.
My inner Francophile may be disappointed, but at least now I know more about their culture and it's not all fashion and romance.
Well at least now I could cook like the French thanks to the recipes, or at least try to.
The French are very particular when it comes to their appearance, and you can't expect me to be looking fabulous everyday because being fabulous takes real talent that I don't have. Also, the French nibble their food, whereas I fucking gobble up my food caveman style. And the list goes on and on. So there goes my hopes and dreams for being a Parisienne.
My inner Francophile may be disappointed, but at least now I know more about their culture and it's not all fashion and romance.
Well at least now I could cook like the French thanks to the recipes, or at least try to.
Three weeks ago, I was in Paris. In a week, I’ll be there again. And in the in between time, I’ve been reading The Sweet Life in Paris, David Lebovitz’s primer on Parisian life (and pastries).
Nearly 15 years ago, in the aftermath of his partner’s death and professional upheaval, David Lebowitz moved from San Francisco – where he worked as a pastry chef at Chez Panisse and my favorite San Fran spot, Zuni Café – to Paris, where he embarked upon a new career as a food writer and cookbook author.
Much like another famous whingeing David who lived in Paris, Lebovitz spends much of The Sweet Life in Paris lovingly skewering the city’s idiosyncrasies and inefficiencies. He discovers the secrets to getting the freshest food from markets, butting in line without getting caught, and find good coffee in the city (eschew French roast and find some Italians). He absorbs the unspoken rules of Paris retail – greet every sales person, touch nothing, and play hard-to-get about anything you really want. And he develops patience in the face of Parisian bureaucracy, learning to work around the city’s endless strikes, slow pace, and draconian rules.
Just as Lebovitz learns things as he habituates to the city, I to learned a lot over the course of this book’s 270 pages and 50 recipes. I picked up manners (like once you pick up your knife to eat, you shouldn’t put it down until you’re done eating), tips (don’t ask the French what they do for a living), and recipe tricks I’ll probably never use (like how to properly dry out meringues and how to distinguish a crepe from a galette).
Cringe-y cover and litany of complaints aside, The Sweet Life in Paris left me hungrier not only for France’s famous food, but for also for the so-beautiful-it-hurts feeling of being there.
Nearly 15 years ago, in the aftermath of his partner’s death and professional upheaval, David Lebowitz moved from San Francisco – where he worked as a pastry chef at Chez Panisse and my favorite San Fran spot, Zuni Café – to Paris, where he embarked upon a new career as a food writer and cookbook author.
Much like another famous whingeing David who lived in Paris, Lebovitz spends much of The Sweet Life in Paris lovingly skewering the city’s idiosyncrasies and inefficiencies. He discovers the secrets to getting the freshest food from markets, butting in line without getting caught, and find good coffee in the city (eschew French roast and find some Italians). He absorbs the unspoken rules of Paris retail – greet every sales person, touch nothing, and play hard-to-get about anything you really want. And he develops patience in the face of Parisian bureaucracy, learning to work around the city’s endless strikes, slow pace, and draconian rules.
Just as Lebovitz learns things as he habituates to the city, I to learned a lot over the course of this book’s 270 pages and 50 recipes. I picked up manners (like once you pick up your knife to eat, you shouldn’t put it down until you’re done eating), tips (don’t ask the French what they do for a living), and recipe tricks I’ll probably never use (like how to properly dry out meringues and how to distinguish a crepe from a galette).
Cringe-y cover and litany of complaints aside, The Sweet Life in Paris left me hungrier not only for France’s famous food, but for also for the so-beautiful-it-hurts feeling of being there.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
If you love Paris, you'll enjoy this book.
If you hate Paris, you'll enjoy this book.
If you've never been to Paris (c'est moi) and you're weary of hearing your Francophile friends gush about how absolutely everything French is better simply because it's French, you'll enjoy this book.
A bit dated feeling. I wonder what has changed since this has been written. Although entertaining, the author tends to poke at the French Parisian culture quite a bit as an outsider moved into the chaos, ending on a weird “status in between but now mostly French” note. As an aside he’s also not so complimentary toward his actual fellow Americans, particularly the annoying tourists.
I was also expecting beautiful recipe photos but there were NONE so this came off as a travelogue/what to expect/what not to do in Paris blog, the majority of which will be completely different now.
I did bookmark several recipes but I definitely would not call this a cookbook.
So I found this book enjoyable to read but I am also glad it was a library book.
I was also expecting beautiful recipe photos but there were NONE so this came off as a travelogue/what to expect/what not to do in Paris blog, the majority of which will be completely different now.
I did bookmark several recipes but I definitely would not call this a cookbook.
So I found this book enjoyable to read but I am also glad it was a library book.