The Historic Restaurants of Paris: A Guide to Century-Old Cafes, Bistros, and Gourmet Food Shops

by Ellen Williams

The vanished world of nineteenth-century Paris still awaits behind the doors of select restaurants and gourmet shops that have delighted customers for more than a hundred years. Crossing these thresholds, the discriminating diner and shopper can step into a gilded Belle Epoque setting favored by Manet and Degas, a vintage confectioner that supplied bonbons to Monet, or a shaded café terrace frequented by Zola. From tiny pâtisseries, cozy bistros, and rustic wine bars barely known outside the quarter to bustling brasseries, elegant tea salons, and world-famous cafés, The Historic Restaurants of Paris is an indispensible guide to classic cuisine served in settings of startling beauty. Charming anecdotes relating to a restaurant’s history and celebrated former patrons, among them Proust, Balzac, George Sand, and the Impressionists, enhance this pocketable guide, which is both a practical resource and lovely gift book.

Genres: Travel, New York, Nonfiction, History, Paris

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a complete nut for old hardware stores.
If I ever go back to NYC, one of the places I will go to
is Garber Hardware store in Greenwich Village.

Opened in 1884.
from the book: "Members of the forth and fifth generation now work in the warren of storefronts - the family took over the two adjoining properties years ago - which are stacked floor to ceiling with decades of accumulated merchandise."

[Tom]

The Perfect little Nightstand Book!!!!

Prepare to go on a journey back when everything was made with a little more heart!

[pjr8888]

I specifically joined public radio station KQED-FM to get this book as a "premium" to give to a self-identified Franco-phile. He didn't even crack the binding to look at the Table of Contents...
"you can't please eveerybody, so you might as well pleas yourself!"

i shall read it myself with a certain bitter relish... and a glass of cabernet!

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this as I had read City Secrets of Venice by the same publisher.
Although obviously this has a specific subject matter I was disappointed. The entries are very abbreviated, presumably to fit them in, but you'd have to go elsewhere to really find out about the places listed.
You'd be better off with a bigger guide with all the information you need.