Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [253]
Chairs
I love the wrought-iron chairs that are set up around the fountain in the Tuileries Gardens. People move them around to their liking, usually based on where the sun is shining (or not), and I have taken dozens of photos of them. There is something incredibly attractive about their shape and decorative scrollwork, and I remain fascinated by the fact that the chairs aren’t permanently affixed to the ground (so that no one steals them) or covered with graffiti (the way they might be in many other cities). I was disappointed to learn a few years ago that the original Tuileries chairs had been replaced with far less attractive models. I have no idea why, so the photos on the facing page are for those of you who may have never known the beautiful originals.
Chèque-cadeau
A chèque-cadeau is a gift certificate, which I learned when I wanted to buy my friend Luc one as a birthday present to use at La Librairie des Gourmets. A staff member kindly taught me this phrase, and I thought an occasion might arise when you, too, would be happy to know how to ask for one.
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E. Dehillerin
Dehillerin (pronounced DAY-luh-rhain), a family business founded in 1820, is the mother lode of stores selling materiel de cuisine (18–20 rue Coquillière, 1er / e-dehillerin.fr). If you have a passion for cooking, you have likely already read about Dehillerin and my voice will just be one more added to the chorus of those who love this store. I haven’t yet bought a copper pot or bowl from Dehillerin—its copper cookware is usually the first thing enthusiasts note—but the help I received when I was looking for a kugelhopf mold was kind and helpful (many people say the service is frosty at best). My only other purchase here was a set of pewter skewers for grilling, with decorative shells, fish, and crustaceans at their ends, but even if I never buy anything else again, I will not miss out on walking around this (rather dusty and) rambling shop. The Web site is fine for seeing the vast assortment of items available here, but nothing beats a real visit.
The only store I’m familiar with in North America that is remotely similar to Dehillerin is Bridge Kitchenware, which is also a family business, founded in 1946 by Fred Bridge. Bridge was located in Manhattan until 2008, when Steven and Kathy Bridge moved the store to New Jersey (563 Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland / 973 287 6163 / bridgekitchenware.com) so they could be closer to their family. The store, like Dehillerin, has been a favorite for home cooks and noted chefs; there is a customer story shared on the Web site about a young woman whose grandmother “grabbed her by her arm and said buy whatever Mr. Bridge recommends, he knows his stuff and never argue with him, just nod and be quiet and hand him your money.” I think the Dehillerin family would recognize the story as being similar to many of their own.
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Edible Idioms
A feature I love in A Food Lover’s Guide to Paris by Patricia Wells is the sprinkling of French words and phrases throughout the book that are culinary inspired but used in everyday speech. Beurré (buttered) is a colorful way to say someone’s had too much to drink, and le temps des cerises (literally “the time of cherries,” equivalent to our phrase “salad days”) is one of my favorites as well. Clotilde Dusoulier, on her blog, Chocolateandzucchini.com, calls these “edible idioms,” and she regularly adds such phrases to her site. A few she’s highlighted are tourner au vinaigre (literally “turning to vinegar,” but implying a situation or conversation