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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
This is definitely one of my top books for 2009. Lebovitz combined two of my favorite things: Paris and baking and the result is a delight! In addition to David's musings on life since his move to Paris, he included 50 recipes. I tried the chocolate cake and gave it an immediate A+. This book will definitely be on my Christmas wish list...if I can wait that long.
David Lebovitz, an American chef, chronicles his move to Paris and his adventures over several years as he tries to find his way into and through life in France. The essays, which are often humorous and self-deprecating, are interspersed with recipes. I found the memoir enjoyable, but not a masterpiece along the lines of Adam Gopnik's "Paris to the Moon."
Humorous read with some delicious recipes interspersed. Very enjoyable.
LOL funny. I want to make every single recipe in this memoir. Recipes are simple and intriguing--i.e. absinthe cake. Made the Chicken Tagine--incroyable.
This book is delightful. The author makes you laugh out loud, a rare thing for me with a book. I loved it!
A lot of these observations rang true for me, and probably many Americans in Paris! Includes recipes. Also check out his blog for more content.
Quotes that stood out:
"Coming from America, where the average kitchen is the size of my entire apartment (and often larger), it was quite an experience learning to bake on a counter so small I had to lift one bowl up before I could set down another. I wasn't baking so much as practicing crowd control." (23)
"Believe it or not, most French people do want to be helpful. A lot of shopkeepers and merchants are rightly proud of what they are offering. It's just that le marketing is a cultural no-no and many feel odd, or tres commercial, if they try to push something (behavior I've also heard described as tres americain). Handing out samples is considered vulgaire, and if you come from a capitalist country, you need to forget that vendors should be eager to make a sale. Here, if a vendor has high-quality products, it's up to the client to be worthy of their wares. Losing a sale is nothing compared to loss of pride." (142)
"In America, I used to spend whatever time it took in pursuit of a bargain. But in Paris, bargains don't exist, so no one even bothers." (235)
Socca (Chickpea crepes) - these sound really good (240)
"Despite my setbacks, I was proud I had survived le bizutage, the hazing one must endure when you move into a new neighborhood in Paris, spending a solid year befriending the local merchants so you get good service." (264)
"Parisians have a reputation for being difficult, and sometimes kindness seems to be a priceless commodity, doled out parsimoniously to the lucky few. Yet I've managed to survive any wrath I've invoked with my special brand of American optimism (and brownies). I'm also grateful that I'm probably treated better than someone who moved to America would be, not speaking a word of the native language, trying to get by in a foreign land." (265)
Quotes that stood out:
"Coming from America, where the average kitchen is the size of my entire apartment (and often larger), it was quite an experience learning to bake on a counter so small I had to lift one bowl up before I could set down another. I wasn't baking so much as practicing crowd control." (23)
"Believe it or not, most French people do want to be helpful. A lot of shopkeepers and merchants are rightly proud of what they are offering. It's just that le marketing is a cultural no-no and many feel odd, or tres commercial, if they try to push something (behavior I've also heard described as tres americain). Handing out samples is considered vulgaire, and if you come from a capitalist country, you need to forget that vendors should be eager to make a sale. Here, if a vendor has high-quality products, it's up to the client to be worthy of their wares. Losing a sale is nothing compared to loss of pride." (142)
"In America, I used to spend whatever time it took in pursuit of a bargain. But in Paris, bargains don't exist, so no one even bothers." (235)
Socca (Chickpea crepes) - these sound really good (240)
"Despite my setbacks, I was proud I had survived le bizutage, the hazing one must endure when you move into a new neighborhood in Paris, spending a solid year befriending the local merchants so you get good service." (264)
"Parisians have a reputation for being difficult, and sometimes kindness seems to be a priceless commodity, doled out parsimoniously to the lucky few. Yet I've managed to survive any wrath I've invoked with my special brand of American optimism (and brownies). I'm also grateful that I'm probably treated better than someone who moved to America would be, not speaking a word of the native language, trying to get by in a foreign land." (265)
Great anecdotes about living in Paris, can't wait to try the recipes.
Very enjoyable and entertaining memoir by chef David Lebovitz on his time in Paris following the death of his partner. Some of the recipes included in the book sound great (so far, I've only made the Mousse au Chocolat from it), but what i enjoyed most were the descriptions of his daily life and experiences, the snooty Parisiens and how the author went to great lengths to assimilate.
I've been living in France for 18 years, so I've been skimming through this book since it's the umpteenth book I've read about someone moving to Paris and writing about it. I probably won't finish the entirety of the book..
It was a good idea to share recipes, however...why not list the ingredients as they are called in French as well as in English. That would make it easier for those of us living in France to find said ingredients, and not have to translate those that we don't know.
It's for this reason I gave the book a low rating.
It was a good idea to share recipes, however...why not list the ingredients as they are called in French as well as in English. That would make it easier for those of us living in France to find said ingredients, and not have to translate those that we don't know.
It's for this reason I gave the book a low rating.