Growing up in the Deep-South formed my philosophy of generosity, abundance, and the pleasures of the table.

This upbringing helped form the idea behind The Paris Kitchen, to share my favorite insider addresses with readers to eat and drink like a local, not a tourist.

Another long-time American in Paris with a Southern connection who shares this philosophy and wants visitors to experience culinary Paris like a local is Alexander Lobrano, author of the popular blog and book, HUNGRY FOR PARIS: The Ultimate Guide to the City’s 102 Best Restaurants.

This is why I’m excited to participate with Alexander in his new venture, the Paris Supper Club ™, our ongoing series of hosted twice monthly all-inclusive prix-fixe dinners in some of our favorite off-the-beaten path restaurants and bistros where great food, interesting conversation, good times, and a love of Paris on the menu.

We will personally welcome 8 participants during these intimate dinners (possibly less for smaller venues) and look forward to sharing a meal and conversation - where guests can ask us everything from the best restaurants, cafes, shops, markets, bakeries to living in Paris. All reservations include a list of our favorite 6 bistros & restaurants that will be sent prior to our guest's visit.

The first Paris Supper Club events will take place at the modern bistro Frenchie on March 25, 2010 (which just won a Michelin Bib Gourmand Award) with only a few spaces left, and classic favorite Chez Denise La Tour Montlhery on April 8, 2010. (More details below). I’ll be posting details of the event here and Alexander will simultaneously be posting on his site, www.hungryforparis.com.

Reservations and Information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Average Cost: 100e per person. Meals will include a starter, main course, dessert and wine.
Dates on the Calendar: Thursday, March 25 and April 8, 2010. Future dates to come soon.
Time: 8:30 until -
Restaurants for the First Two Dates: (as written by Alexander)

Frenchie: Tucked away on a tiny cobbled lane in the Sentier, or Paris’s old garment district, Frenchie has been a big hit ever since Chef Gregory Marchand opened it last summer. Marchand, a native of Nantes, cooked in England with Jamie Oliver and then did a stint in New York City with Danny Meyer, experiences that inform his superb cuisine de marche, or market driven seasonal menus. Working in a tiny kitchen, he offers a short menu that changes constantly according to his inspiration and what he finds in the markets of Paris.

Chez Denise La Tour Montlhery: One of the last and best old-fashioned bistros in Les Halles, this lively place looks like one of those sepia-toned photos of Paris by great photographers like Edouard Boubat or Robert Doisneau. The menu hasn’t changed much since I first ate here in 1972, and this is why I love it so much—it offers one of the increasingly rare opportunities to sample hearty, generously served real bistro food. They pour good house wines, and the atmosphere is convivial and wonderfully, eternally Parisian.

More on Alexander Lobrano:

Though he’s originally from Connecticut, Alec attributes his love of good food and the pleasures of the table to the fact that his father’s family is originally from New Orleans. Alec has been an American in Paris since 1986, when he arrived in town to take a job as an editor in the Paris offices of Fairchild Publications, and has since been Paris correspondent for Travel & Leisure, European Editor for Departures, and most recently, European Correspondent for Gourmet from 1999 until it’s sorry recent closing. Alec has written on food and travel for most of the many English language newspapers and magazines in the United States and United Kingdom, was a founding editor of the Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide to Paris, and is the author of HUNGRY FOR PARIS: The Ultimate Guide to the City’s 102 Best Restaurants (Random House, New York, 2008).

More on Wendy Lyn:

Originally from the Deep South, Paris-based food writer Wendy Lyn knows the city’s food culture inside and out and has an enviable network of contacts. Although she has served as a culinary public relations advisor to some of the best French chefs and restaurants in the world (including Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy and the red Michelin Guide), she remains a down-to-earth Southern gal at heart.

Today, she reports on the culinary scene in Paris as the Founder|Editor of The Paris Kitchen™ blog. In between deadlines, she can be found taking food-curious travelers to eat & drink at the local insider addresses from her black book, leading themed culinary tours & walks through her favorite food neighborhoods, conducting wine tastings in Paris' top wine bars, arranging cooking demos/classes, making dinner reservations where the locals eat and organizing socials to introduce travelers to her like-minded food friends who love the city as much as she does.