Immoveable Feast Quotes

“Though griffe literally translates as 'claw,' Parisians have redefined it to mean 'stamp,' 'label,' or 'signature.' It describes the pattern of favorite cafes, shops, walks, meeting places, which each of us imposes on the city and which makes it uniquely 'our Paris.' A griffe is no trivial thing. As surely as a passport, it identifies one as a bona fide resident, with loves, hates, tastes, and prejudices.”
― John Baxter, Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas

“Bowls and dishes have to be ferried to and from the table, plates filled and passed, sauce boats replenished. extra bread brought, dishes explained, recipes summarized -- not to mention arguments adjudicated, reminiscences patiently listened to, glances exchanged, eyebrows raised. . . all the choreography of a social event that no menu can possibly reflect. Every meal is a world of its own, from which we emerge, however subtly, changed.”
― John Baxter, Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas

“To the French, sin—provided it is conceived with imagination and carried off with flair—is like the dust on an old bottle of burgundy, the streaks of gray in the hair of a loved one, the gleam of long, loving use on the mahogany of an ancient cabinet. It’s evidence of endurance, of survival, of life.”
― John Baxter, Immoveable Feast