You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
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
Yummy! More accurately 3.5 stars. This book is a delicious collection of Lebovitz's blogs posts and humorous anecdotes about his experience re-locating to Paris from California. His descriptions are hysterical, from how to wait (or not) in a Parisian line to how to dress appropriately to take out the garbage to where to find the "best" chocolat chaud in Paris, and while the book clearly paints a picture of the difficulties Americans may face adjusting to the pace of Parisian life, it also makes you want to jump on a plane to sample the delicious pastries and French delicacies this cookbook author details in his book. Lots of bonus recipes included!
This book made me hungry!! I probably gained a few pounds just dreaming about the food he talks about - the pastries, the cheese, crepes, chocolates. I loved the the everyday anecdotes of the author's life in Paris, becoming assimilated into the culture and nuances of life there. I also learned how to properly slice different kinds of cheeses, which is always good to know.
I loved his chapters on chocolate and coffee- two of my favorite things. It seems that while Paris has amazing chocolate, and I would love to have some delivered to my door in a turquoise bag from Patrick Rogers (I would like to try Arrogance please), it appears that I would hate the coffee. Immensely. I think that was my favorite part in the book- where he discusses French coffee, and the many ways it can be ordered, and how you should order it if even in Paris. Since I practically have a coffee drip attached to me, this is information I can use.
I plan on passing this book on to my husband, who actually enjoys cooking and baking, and his favorite is French cooking and baking. Hopefully he will try his hand at some of the recipes provided, such as the financiers, the cinnamon meringue with espresso, and the fromage blanc souffle. And of course the nutella crepes.
I loved his chapters on chocolate and coffee- two of my favorite things. It seems that while Paris has amazing chocolate, and I would love to have some delivered to my door in a turquoise bag from Patrick Rogers (I would like to try Arrogance please), it appears that I would hate the coffee. Immensely. I think that was my favorite part in the book- where he discusses French coffee, and the many ways it can be ordered, and how you should order it if even in Paris. Since I practically have a coffee drip attached to me, this is information I can use.
I plan on passing this book on to my husband, who actually enjoys cooking and baking, and his favorite is French cooking and baking. Hopefully he will try his hand at some of the recipes provided, such as the financiers, the cinnamon meringue with espresso, and the fromage blanc souffle. And of course the nutella crepes.
Really an enjoyable and fun read. Author not afraid to tell stories about some of his embarrassing moments in Paris. Interesting look at what it is really like to live in such a glamorous city especially when you are not French.
David Lebovitz expands upon his popular blog about the culinary (recipes included) and other (often funny) experiences after he moves to Paris. I can't wait to try some of the recipes in this book. They sound so delicious!
Yet another one from the "French-Memoir-Cookbook" genre of which I obviously cannot get enough! (Seriously, I could practically write one myself except that I've never lived in France, so....)
This is a fun, quirky romp through Paris and its famous (and not so famous) restaurants, cafés, and boulangeries via pastry chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz's sassy and discerning POV. Through personal stories taken from his almost decade of living in the French capital, Lebovitz highlights not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly of Paris and Parisians themselves.
While he's certainly not afraid to critique Parisians, one cannot deny that he clearly loves the famous city he now calls home and that he has become somewhat of an adoptive "Parisian" himself. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading about some of his more embarrassing experiences and "faux-pas," and also found myself nodding my head in agreement during his descriptions of living the expat life, having done so myself.
Amongst the stories, Lebovitz sprinkles in plenty of tips on where to find the best in Paris, from baguettes, to cheese, to chocolate, as well as those of which to avoid. At the end of each chapter are two or three recipes, usually falling in line with that chapter's theme, and always sounding absolutely divine, if a little complicated.
Obviously I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and although some of the recipes do seem cumbersome and time-consuming, there are a few - his famous chocolate brownies he used for bribing those most stubborn of Parisians, for example - that I will definitely have to try myself. Recommended for foodies and francophiles alike.
This is a fun, quirky romp through Paris and its famous (and not so famous) restaurants, cafés, and boulangeries via pastry chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz's sassy and discerning POV. Through personal stories taken from his almost decade of living in the French capital, Lebovitz highlights not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly of Paris and Parisians themselves.
While he's certainly not afraid to critique Parisians, one cannot deny that he clearly loves the famous city he now calls home and that he has become somewhat of an adoptive "Parisian" himself. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading about some of his more embarrassing experiences and "faux-pas," and also found myself nodding my head in agreement during his descriptions of living the expat life, having done so myself.
Amongst the stories, Lebovitz sprinkles in plenty of tips on where to find the best in Paris, from baguettes, to cheese, to chocolate, as well as those of which to avoid. At the end of each chapter are two or three recipes, usually falling in line with that chapter's theme, and always sounding absolutely divine, if a little complicated.
Obviously I enjoyed this book quite a lot, and although some of the recipes do seem cumbersome and time-consuming, there are a few - his famous chocolate brownies he used for bribing those most stubborn of Parisians, for example - that I will definitely have to try myself. Recommended for foodies and francophiles alike.
I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. Lebovitz's style is very tongue-in-cheek and appropriately self-deprecating. His various anecdotes about his forays as an expat in Paris leave you smiling and wondering how you'd fare in the BHV.
I really was not a fan of the rather catty tone of the book. There were a few interesting stories that I found, but they were few and far between.
I haven't read his blog or his other books, I just picked this up on a whim ("Ooh, Paris! And food, oh joy!") and really enjoyed it! Very readable, interesting, and funny. And there are recipes, too, as well as addresses for where you can find some of the ingredients, AND some places to look up when in Paris.
David Lebovitz is rightly renowned for his dessert cookbooks--just ask anyone who's tried the chocolate/guinness ice cream I make following his instructions. And as his blog makes clear, he's an engaging, affable narrator. But until I read The Sweet Life in Paris, I hadn't realized quite how laugh-out-loud funny he is.
Ten years ago or so, Lebovitz was leading a happy existence in San Francisco, following a long stint as a Chez Panisse pastry chef with a series of acclaimed cookbooks. Then his boyfriend suddenly and tragically died, of causes that Lebovitz doesn't go into, and he decided to move to France. He describes this as running toward rather than away from something, an explanation that his loving depictions of French food support.
French food--if you don't want to go there after reading Lebovitz's descriptions of it, there's something wrong with you--is on the plus side of living in France. On the debit side, there are haughty salespeople, nonexistent customer service, and Parisians. But Lebovitz makes himself right at home, being so persistently friendly to shopkeepers that one of them consents to chat with him a mere five years into his stay. He also begins shaving before taking out the trash.
Interspersed among his very funny--and appetizing--accounts of life in Paris are recipes, all delicious-looking and no doubt well tested. You should make a lot of them. (Let me know in comments if you need my address.) And if you've ever wanted to go to Paris--or even more, if you haven't--read this book.
Ten years ago or so, Lebovitz was leading a happy existence in San Francisco, following a long stint as a Chez Panisse pastry chef with a series of acclaimed cookbooks. Then his boyfriend suddenly and tragically died, of causes that Lebovitz doesn't go into, and he decided to move to France. He describes this as running toward rather than away from something, an explanation that his loving depictions of French food support.
French food--if you don't want to go there after reading Lebovitz's descriptions of it, there's something wrong with you--is on the plus side of living in France. On the debit side, there are haughty salespeople, nonexistent customer service, and Parisians. But Lebovitz makes himself right at home, being so persistently friendly to shopkeepers that one of them consents to chat with him a mere five years into his stay. He also begins shaving before taking out the trash.
Interspersed among his very funny--and appetizing--accounts of life in Paris are recipes, all delicious-looking and no doubt well tested. You should make a lot of them. (Let me know in comments if you need my address.) And if you've ever wanted to go to Paris--or even more, if you haven't--read this book.